sick baby bearded dragon

[congo04]

hey wondering if anyone could help me!

i have a baby bearded dragon couple of months old about 2 weeks ago his two back legs and his tail lost their strenght he looked very sick and would not drink or eat. He hadnt got a uvb light in his tank at the time but i got one straight away when i spotted this problem after about a week he started looking ok again he was eating loads of greens still not interested in live food though but drinking too he is up looking around again and moving one of his back legs but noticed today that his tail started to turn blue?

does anybody have any ideas wat might be going on with him???

 

[zebraflavencs]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.
Well to be honest it could be several things.
First that comes to mind with the lack of appetite could be :
Relocation stress- basically dragons don't care for change, when they are rehoused or rehomed, they go on strike. Once they acclimate, they will eat again.
Parasites- appetite and lethargy.
Lack of uvb/calcium causes metabolic issues. If you can post a picture of this fellow we may be able to pinpoint if this particular issue is a problem now.

Hope this helps out !
Janie

 

[congo04]

i was told by a friend that it could be a case of metabolism bone disease beacuse he (sid) hadnt had a uvb for a couple of weeks he has a small lump on his back didnt think much of it at first but that could be part of the problem. sid shares a tank wit a female (ariel) but shes fine nothing wrong with her they've been living together since december and have not moved cages since

 

[renich]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Sorry that you have joined for these reasons.

I agree with Janie. It is nearly impossible to diagnose over the net. I would consider taking her to a herp vet and have her checked. Get a fecal ran see if there are any parasites or if you do have MBD.

Or it could be the result of housing 2 bearded dragons together. If she is the submissive female, she can get very sick from the dominant one.

There are a multiple of possibilities. Can you run over your setup for us -
1. What UV light are you using?
2. What is the temp on the hot side?
3. What is the temp on the cool side?
4. What are you using to measure the temp?
5. What substrate (flooring) are you using?
6. When was the last time she pooped?

 

[congo04]

im afraid to say that it is the male who is sick not the female theres not a bother with her she still very active and loves the attention. the uv light i am currently using is a 10.0 light with a heat mat under the sand with a heat lamp over and a uvb light on the other side of the tank. i am measuring the temp wit a komodo termo hygrometer which there is a constant heat of 50 c in the tank with sand for the flooring which is not a problem with them and the last time he pooped was earlier on today but had difficulty wit it

they both are 4 months old and live quite happily together. i took advice from a friend who told me that i would not need a uv light until the dragons where at least a year old. only whn sid the male dragon fell sick i went to the petshop where i bought them and they said it was a nessessity that bearded dragons needed straight away so i got one there and then which was last week. it first started about a month ago when sid formed a lump on his back then he stopped eating and lost power in both his back legs and his tail. since putting in the uv light he looks to be more lively back eating greens and drinking again still taking no interest in live food though and some small improvement with his back legs but i spotted today that his tail has started to change to a blue / black colour :'( unfortunatly there is no vet close by that deals with reptiles and i was recommended this forum by friends and other reptile owners to seek advice which i am desperatly seeking :-\

 

[renich]

50C is a bit too hot. You want the basking area to be around 43C and the cool side to be around 29C.

Ditch the heat mat. It is not needed and could potentially burn your beardies.

Sand is a controversial substrate. I do not recommend it for beardies under 1 year of age. It harbors bacteria, which can lead to a lot of issues with your dragons. It can also be ingested, which can lead to impaction. Not a good thing.

By 10.0, do you mean ReptiSun 10.0 tube or ReptiGlo 10.0?

Beardies are not social and a male and a female should not be housed together for risk of impregnating the female before her maturity, as well as, stressing her out. I do have to ask if you are certain of their gender? 4 months can be young to make that determination.

I'm glad that you took your friend's advice and sought out help on a forum. Please keep in mind that forums can give advice on caring for your beardie, but diagnosing symptoms over the Internet is nearly impossible.

Honestly, what you are describing sounds like your beardie is pretty sick and needs medical attention. Adding a light and changing a diet may not suffice. If you don't have a herp vet locally, you can call your local vet and see if they can do a fecal - most can. That will help you with parasites.

 

[zebraflavencs]

I'll try to help out as I am limited to by the net.
Here are my suggestions:

50 C ? That's a bit high, dear... try lowering the temps to say 43C.

Now, as for the lack of uvb for 2 months being the cause of MBD, I'd question that. Now say it was for their whole life, and that of the parents, maybe. I'd even believe to their being without for 6 months...

Also, that sand... what kind is it ? How often do you scoop out waste material (poops) and how often do you do a total change out ?

I see that you use a 10.0 tube.. which brand ?

I'm not familiar with the Komodo therm you are using.. does it have a probe, or is it a stick on round ?

Now, here's more trouble brewing for you... 4 months old means they will be entering adolescence soon... everything changes. The dominant dragon will increasingly start to batter away at the submissive dragon, even to the death.

There is also the issue of male/female. He might be sexually ready to breed in several months.. She however won't be for many months longer. He can actually breed her to death, so perhaps you may wish to look into separating these two.

I have found that when I have an animal that shows signs illnesses, I tend to separate, so I can pay more close attention to that animal and the behaviors exhibited. Not to mention, if parasites are involved, housing together means they both have this issue.

Heat mats... Dragons actually "see" heat and uvb from above... heat from below can risk belly burns.. painful, and dragons don't heal as quick or as well as a mammal would with the same injury.

Difficulty with passing the poop.. what kind of difficulties ?

I also haven't seen any mention of bathing either dragon.. This helps with hydrating the dragon, and easing sheds.
I would suggest that you have (human) baby warm water, up to the shoulders, and place each by them selves in this water... duration for at most, 20 minutes 3-4 times a week. You can also use this bathing time ( since each bath should be totally monitored) to exercise little man's back legs, by gently and slowly swishing him back and forth in the warm water.

Now to address the vet issue. If you can give us your general location, city, county, state, country... we may be able to help you locate one.

Hope this helps !
Janie

 

[Pogie]

Poor baby..

Everybody here has pretty much covered it all.

I would say:

Ditch the sand... too big a health hazard as they will most likely eat some of it and can get impacted.

Seperate the two

Lower the temps... 50 c def tooooo hot

I dont remember reading this.. maybe didnt see but, do you supplement with calcium at least 6 days a week, If it is MBD, it will most probably be more

Hope this helps
Good luck

 

[li]

You've got a lot of information to process right now so I won't add anything yet. Just really take a look a the questions posed to you by Janie and Renee as they can go a long way to figure out what is up with your sick dragon. Good Luck!