My bearded dragon's leg is twitching?

[Shannon Pitman]

Hello, I am new here. I have a 9 month old bearded dragon and his leg is all of a sudden been twitching. He is eating and pooping like normal. He is fed mealworms (only a couple) once a week and crickets daily along with salad. His salad includes collard greens, squash, and romaine lettuce. He has just recently been twitching his back leg and I'm starting to worry. He has not been given calcium in about a week since I haven't been home much but I have been progressively been getting him back into the calcium since Monday. He has a Zilla 50 UVA/UVB light that is approx. 8 inches away from him. I have a 150 watt heat lamp, I can't remember what type but it doesn't emit light (a ceramic maybe?) He's really worrying me because I did a little research and found out about MBD and then found this website! Please help, I really don't want to lose him.

 

[Pat B]

Are your temps correct? 105 - 110 on the basking side and about 85 on the cool side. A CHE (ceramic heat emitter) should only be used at night if needed. I would venture to say that your lights should be separate....UVB and heat bulb. There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum that know more than I do so you have come to the correct place. Are you able to post pictures of his setup? I know how beardies can cause you to worry....all of us do!! Good luck and I hope the little guy is going to be OK!!

 

[Shannon Pitman]

I do have my ceramic heater on most of the time as it provides the correct temps. He is always at 108 if not a little higher on his basking side and his cool side is about 87 at the moment. I have him in a 75 gallon tank that me and my father custom made out of oak. I also made foam/styrofoam backing and ledges for him to climb on, which he loves and is always on. I included pictures of my setup below. Thank you, in advance.

 

[Germ]

I agree with Pat on all counts, BDs thrive on bright, white light, so an actual light bulb of some type is a much better choice for daytime heat. Yes you are correct that the twitching of the legs can be a symptom of MBD, a visit to the best Herp vet that you can find is what is needed to find the actual cause. We could guess all day, but an actual examination & the proper tests that only a vet can do are what is needed in this type of instance as soon as possible. If it is MBD, it generally can not be reversed, but can be stopped from progressing any further with proper treatment & care.

If you were not home much, why wouldn't the person caring for it while you were away, not be providing it's usual calcium intake along with it's food. Or was it not being fed either?

 

[Germ]

What is the purpose of the blanket? How old is your UVB bulb?

 

[Shannon Pitman]

The light is brand new, I've had him since July and he was 3 months then. The light I bought when I first got him was brand new but since it's been 6 months I renewed it, I guess you could say. The purpose of the blanket is just for support. There is a large branch under the blanket that i got when he was little but since his fat tummy doesn't fit on the legs of the log anymore I put a blanket there to hold him up. I did a little research while awaiting an answer and saw that meal worms could be a major cause of MBD, if I stop feeding these to him immediately do you think he will be fine? I'm a little tight on money so I'm really dreading a vet appoint., that's why I came here.

 

[Germ]

That is the first I have ever heard of mealworms being the cause of MBD, I have heard them inaccurately blamed for many things, but never MBD. MBD is caused by the lack of, or the lack of the ability to process, their needed calcium intake (No or poor UVB). How would Mealies be the cause of this. The twitching would not be caused by an impaction, you have said that it is eating & pooping normally. As I mentioned before, guessing around all day is not going to do it any good, if anything, may do more harm, this is a job for a Vet to diagnose.

Added
Is your desert 50 a tube & in the long fixture? If it is, would there happen to be a plastic cover over it between the bulb & the screen?

 

[Shannon Pitman]

Okay, well the closest exotic animal vet I know of hasn't been good to my past animals and do charge quite alot. Do you think that if I bring him to one on saturday (today being wednesday) it will get worse?

 

[Germ]

Has the twitching been a one day thing, or an ongoing happening for a while? Please answer the above query about the type of UVB bulb & plastic cover.

You also appear to have a large water bowl in the enclosure, with much of the screen being covered\blocked, reducing the ventilation. This could very well be raising the humidity to dangerously high levels, which could also be part of the issue.

 

[Shannon Pitman]

I have seen this happen for a few days, maybe three, but only once or twice in that time span. The bulb is a desert bulb but I don't see any film or plastic over the bulb, no.

 

[Shannon Pitman]

Yes, it is the long tube, also but I do not see any plastic.

 

[Shannon Pitman]

hello, i took him to the vet today and they said that there wasn't a possibly of mbd and they think, if anything, that it is a thing called Atasenovirus and they tested for it by swab. they said he was perfectly healthy and that I am doing everything that I should, they are also requesting a stool sample to test for internal mites and I will be getting that there shortly. the vet said that she thinks the shaking is caused by the shedding that the leg is currently undergoing and that giving him a warm bath twice a day should speed the process up and make him comfortable. the results will be back in a week. thank you all for helping me through this as best you could.

 

[Pat B]

Whew! What a relief it is not MBD!! You have done the right thing and had him checked out! Don't be a stranger....and keep us all updated on your little dragon. You can't go wrong on this forum.

 

[Shannon Pitman]

Thank you! And I wont Although, I'm not really sure why they tested him for the Atadenovirus, I did a tab bit of research and he has zero of the signs, maybe just a precaution or maybe a scam for money. Either way, I don't mind; as long as my baby is safe and healthy I'm happy