Beardie not moving back legs! Help!

[elisabeth-kate]

Please help! We noticed this morning that Louie is not moving well at all! He is dragging the back of his body and having a terribly difficult time getting around. He also was in a very odd position at one point this morning: he was kinda laying on his side. He has been eating and pooping fine. He has eaten a lot of crickets in the past couple of days. Do you think he just needs to poop? He was fine last night. Has not been mishandled. He has also had his mouth open a lot today. We are concerned and not wanting to handle him for fear that we could aggravate a possible injury. He is our first beardie; we've had him for about 4 months.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Hi sweetheart... Okay first, breaaaaaaath ! Now, run a bath for baby water temps warm (90-1008F) up to baby's armpits... Now lower him into said bath and stroking gently in a downward motion on the left side.. you want to feel for something hard, once you find that, continue stroking. This is usually the way to get impactions ( which I am sure what this is) to release and the dragon can poo.
Once he does, it will most likely be a pretty big poo. Just wait for him to raise his tail, and watch out !

Now to prevent this in the future, only feed insects no longer than the distance between his eyes, also daily baths help keep things moist enough in his digestive tract so this won't happen.

Now all you are feeding are crickets ? No meal worms ?
Also, could you give us the current temps in his viv, basking site, cool side, and how you measure? If temps are not high enough, then he will have difficulty digesting properly, leading to impactions.
Temps for a dragon under the age of a year should have for basking 105-110*f, older than one year, 95-105. Cool sides should always be under 85*f.
Keep us posted,,, and Welcome to the Family, darlin.!
Janie.

 

[crypticdragons]

Re: Beardie not moving back legs! Help!

Also what kind of UV lighting are you using (and are you using any at all)? Their systems cant properly metabolize calcium without appropriate UV light

 

[renich]

Hello and welcome to our forum. Sorry that you had to join with such worries!

You mentioned that he poops regularly. Can you expand on that a bit? Exactly when was the last time that he pooped.

And I have the same question as Brian, what UV light do you have and what are your temps?

 

[elisabeth-kate]

Thanks for the help. We are just following the directions that we were given at the pet store...they set us up with the light, the heat pad underneath the aquarium, the screen, sand, etc. I can look more closely at those later, we are too caught up in his behavior at the moment.

It's like he is seizing. His mouth opens wider than we've ever seen, it's like he's almost gagging, but his tongue is in normal position. His body curls up. When this happens, we take him back to the warm bath and continue to stroke him until he settles down. He is quite lifeless otherwise, obviously not himself. We think we can feel a bulge, but not sure. He still has not pooped, maybe since Thursday. He normally poops daily.

We do not have a herp vet anywhere near us. A call to another vet has yet been unanswered.

THanks for any additional info.

 

[corrine]

Your really better off listeing to the advice from here then at the pet store. Pet stores are known to give off a lot of wrong information

 

[crypticdragons]

The lighting is very important and could be what is causing your problems. it sounds like the onset of metabolic bone disease which is caused by inappropriate uv inappropriate diet and inadequate heat (all things normally set incorrectly due to pet store advice) so if you could answer the question on exactly what kind of uv and what heat you have it is what is important.

 

[elisabeth-kate]

The lightbulb is printed Zoo Med 75 watt.

The temp on the lighted side was 89-90 and the cooler side was 79. Obviously, from what we've read, that is way too low. How do we raise the heat? Bigger bulb? THe fixture is only rated for 75 watts. There is also the heat pad under the aquarium.

He is offered mealworms at all times and crickets daily, unless our cricket source has not made delivery. Sometimes he will go for a few days without crickets. He is also offered greens, but does not eat much at all of them. No mealworms, also learned here.

 

[angel]

do you only have 1 light or do you have the heat lamp and the long uvb/uva light? the proper basking light should be able to go way higher than 75watts , Im using a 150watt and my tmp is about 100 . if you dont have another light or if its not avail at the pet store dont know where you are from try using a house bulb for now might have to use both lights until you can get the proper bulb.

 

[corrine]

for basking light(heat) i use a 100 watt household bulb for my baby and a 60 watt for my adult. As far as uvb light i use a reptisun 10.0 from what i have read it's one of the best for beardies. The heating pad you should put on the side if you have to use it. Beardies have sensitive bellies.

 

[crypticdragons]

the best way to help you through this is gonna be to give you links to all of the information that you need

first lighting
http://www.mybeardie.com/Beardie-Lighting-Requirements.php

care sheet
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/GeneralCare.html

write up on MBD
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/MBD.html

 

[elisabeth-kate]

His tongue seems swollen and almost white. We have had him in the water all day today at a warm temp. Whenever we put him in his cage he has seizures where he puts his head back and opens his mouth really wide and his back gets all messed up. Then we immediatly take him out and put him in the water and starte strokining his back. And then he seems to settle down until we put him in his cage again.

We have put in another bulb and now the temp. is up to 96 f.

 

[crypticdragons]

just making an observation
the 75 watt light that zoo med makes is a basking spot lamp. it does not produce any UV light. More than likely your beardie is going through metabolic bone disease due to a lack of appropriate lighting for so long. Unless you have another bulb besides this zoo med halogen lamp you do not have any source of UV light. You need to take your baby to a qualified herp vet for blood work and a bone density exam to see how far gone he is. it will take a lot of care and proper supplementation as well as the best lighting possible. im sorry i know this really isnt the answer you want. but if you dont get your beardie to a vet qualified to work with exotic reptiles asap and get him on the road to recovery soon he will die.

 

[angel]

where are you located perhaps by some luck you may be close to one of us on here and someone could refer you to a good vet , I know a bunch in my area and didnt know they were there until i got dragons.

 

[crypticdragons]

also check on herpvetconnection.com

 

[elisabeth-kate]

Marshall, MN (southwest area)

 

[renich]

It sounds like you need to take your beardie to a vet ASAP. Based on the responses to the questions and what you are describing, I'm in agreement that it is the onset of MBD. This disease can be treated if caught in time.

Here is our link to find a herp vet in your area:
Herp Vet Directory

 

[crypticdragons]

I looked through the herpvetconnections.com listings and there dont seem to be any vets listed on that site that are near you (nothing less than 2 hours away). Now you can go through the phone book and flat out ask the vets if they are exotic animal vets. Most wont lie to you if you ask them if they are knowledgable about reptile care.

 

[crypticdragons]

these vets are in or near your area
hopefully one of them treats exotics

BAUMAN PAT A DVM
N Hwy 58
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 537-1537


MARSHALL ANIMAL CLINIC
704 Huron Rd
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 537-1537


KUECKER SCOTT A DVM
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 537-1537


CONVENIENT HOUSE CALLS
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 532-7387


SOUTHWEST VETERINARY SERVICES
1604 E College Dr
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 532-5235


ANIMAL HEALTH CENTER
1300 N Highway 59
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 532-5000


BLACK WARREN L VET
1604 E College DR
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 532-5235


WESTEGAARD TRACEY J DVM
1300 N Highway 59
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 537-1537


HEALY MICHAEL D DVM
1300 N Highway 59
Marshall,MN 56258
(507) 537-1537


MCGREGOR VETERINARY CLINIC
308 1st Ave NE
Aitkin,MN 56431
(218) 927-6444


BRAINERD ANIMAL HOSPITAL
2720 Oak St
Brainerd,MN 56401
(218) 829-5118


COMPANION ANIMAL CARE OF BRAIN
601 Madison St
Brainerd,MN 56401
(218) 829-2422


LAKE REGION VETERINARY CENTER
21462 Gilmer RD
Crosby,MN 56441
(218) 546-5470


FOLEY VETERINARY CLINIC
310 Dewey St
Foley,MN 56329
(320) 968-6677


MILLE LACS VETERINARY CLINIC
310 Dewey St
Foley,MN 56329
(320) 968-6677


COMMUNITY ANIMAL HOSPITAL
406 12th St NE
Little Falls,MN 56345
(320) 632-2994


MINNESOTA VETERINARY ASSOCIATE
16571 Haven Rd
Little Falls,MN 56345
(320) 632-9216


DEVRIES GORDON VET
Little Falls,MN 56345
(320) 468-6174


PET VET
21 3rd St N
Long Prairie,MN 56347
(320) 732-7004

 

[ladyknite]

Actually skip calling around. I've PM'd you a phone number to lead you to the best vet available, and a very good rehab person as well.
Give her a call and she'll help you out.

Sorry Brian, great info. Didn't mean to over step you. I can just cut to the chase here.