Swollen back and paralyzed in back legs

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Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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Hello,

Just wanted to comment on your dragon! I am so glad that the injuries were not more serious.
I think with better UVB lighting & the addition of an oral liquid calcium, she will do a lot better.
When you use the Zilla calcium, do you just spray the food? I could help you dose it per her weigh, if you wanted to give it to her via syringe to be sure she gets more calcium.

I hope that she feels better soon.

Tracie
 

Tintin1945

Member
Original Poster
Yes he did! We are taking that every day. One leg is coming back. The other isn't. Thanks for everything guys!
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Oh so one isn't coming back but the other one is? Well, if nothing is broken, he may have strained one side more than the other. Hopefully, it will catch up. Reptiles do heal somewhat slowly so be patient with him.
How is he doing today, does he have a good appetite & is he basking normally then?

Tracie
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
ElliotTheBeardie1":2obu5nvb said:
I would guess she probably was impacted. What kind of base do you have in your tank?

Welcome to the forum!
The input is appreciated, but the cause has been addressed in the first post, along with a photo showing the enclosure has repti-carpet. I don't mean for my response to deter you from using the board going forward, I just thought it was best to let you know the cause has been established and the OP did do a vet check-up as well :D
 

Tintin1945

Member
Original Poster
Sorry for responding so late! I didn't see there was another page. Yes we spray the calcium on the veggies and that is working very well for my beardie.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That's great, I hope he eats most everything that has been sprayed with the calcium.
How is he doing today? I hope he gets back to normal soon!


Tracie
 

Tintin1945

Member
Original Poster
She is doing good this morning! I am going to give her more pain killer. The legs haven't twitched in a bit and she still drags them but when I went to reposition her legs she pulled one away. We are getting a black light(one that just is heat) soon but right now it has been hot enough in the evenings for her to go without.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
I'm glad she's getting better, but please do not buy a black light or any other color light for her at nighttime, beardies see in color and ANY light on at all at night will disrupt her sleep a lot and cause more health issues. You should never ever use any colored basking or heat bulbs for her, whether for nighttime heat or daytime basking, no black (sometimes called a "moonlight bulb"), no red, no blue, no yellow, no colors at all. Any basking or heat bulbs should be only bright white, and she should not ever have any light on at nighttime.

She needs her temperatures inside of her enclosure to drop much lower than they are in the daytime in order for her to be comfortable and sleep well. In the desert the temperatures are very hot during the day, and the temperature drops to being extremely cool at night naturally.

You always want your beardie's lighting to be as close to natural lighting in the wild as you can make them, so if you think in those terms it will allow you to make good choices when buying her basking g lights. So during the day you want only bright white basking lights right alongside her UVB light, so she gets both at the same time while she's basking in her basking spot, as this mimics natural sunlight.

At nighttime most people do not need ANY type of heat source on at all, as the desert at night has a very, very cool temperature naturally. So she wants and needs it to be much cooler than her daytime temperature. Also, there are no lights at all in the desert at night, and certainly not any red, blue, yellow, green, or purple lights, which is exactly what color those "Black" or "Moonlight" heat bulbs are, they all emit a purple light. Any light at night will not allow her to sleep because she can see the light and the colors, and she will most likely be too warm to be comfortable.

******As long as the temperature inside her enclosure stays at 65 degrees or above at nighttime after her lights are turned off, you don't need to buy or use any type of nighttime heat source. You actually want the temperature inside her enclosure to drop down to around 65 degrees. Most people keep their homes at least at 65 degrees at night, even in the summer with the air conditioning on. 65 degrees is cooler than you think, so even if the room her enclosure is in has the air conditioning on at night, her enclosure is most likely warmer than 65 degrees. So adding a nighttime heat source and making her enclosure even warmer will make her very uncomfortable and she will not sleep well. And this is in the summer when we use air conditioning and our houses are at their coolest of the year. So they definitely do not need any nighttime heat source during the winter when we turn the heat in our houses up. I know that sounds backwards but it's based on the artificial cooling and heating that we use in our homes.

If you look at the thermostat in the room of your house that she's in at nighttime and see that the temp is 60 degrees or higher in your house, then you know she doesn't need any nighttime heat source at all. If by chance the thermostat in that room of your house at nighttime is below 60 degrees (I actually use below 60 degrees on the thermostat in the house as the cutoff, because I know that her enclosure is going to be warmer inside than the temperature of the room it is in), which would mean that your house gets down into the 50's at night and I doubt that, but if by chance it reads below 60 degrees, then take your digital probe thermometer and place the probe on the floor of the Cool Side of her tank, after waiting at least an hour after turning her lights off to make sure the enclosure is as cool as it's going to get. If the temperature inside her enclosure is 60 degrees or higher she needs no extra nighttime heat source, she is actually very comfortable at night and is sleeping well.

If your house is kept down in the 50's at night and her enclosure temperature is actually reading below 60 degrees, then the ONLY nighttime heat source that you want to buy and use over her enclosure is a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE). It looks like a piece of coiled up black wrought iron with a regular lightbulb bottom on it, and it screws into a normal lightbulb fixture, like any clamp lamp or dome lamp. They come in different wattages just like light bulbs (you want a low wattage because her enclosure won't need much heat to be supplemented) and they emit heat but do not emit any light at all. That's what you need to use if a nighttime heat source is necessary, not a black/moonlight or red nighttime heat bulb.

Again, you most likely need no heat source on at nighttime, it's only wasting money and disrupting her sleep.
 

Tintin1945

Member
Original Poster
I have bad news! Nellie has been constipated and has not pooped in a week. However she is still trying to and is fighting hard. We have been giving her 3-4 baths a day (she hates baths) and giving her little doses of mineral oil. Interestingly enough Her legs are no longer limp but paralyzed in a box shape. Fingers crossed!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Try some baby food squash , sweet potato and prunes. Beardies like the taste [ of the first 2 ] quite a bit. Forget mineral oil, use veg.oil or raw honey [ they like that too ]

Cut the baths out too, she is stressed enough so you want her to be comfortable. The natural laxatives will help her go.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Goodness, poor thing! Definitely try the softer foods, hopefully that will really help her out.
So she is still having trouble with her back legs?
Has her beard been black thus far?
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie
 

Tintin1945

Member
Original Poster
Hey guys! Sorry my phone is stupid and accidentally sent before I was ready. Nellie is doing well. She still hasn't pooped but she seems normal and actually wants more holding time. We started mixing the mineral oil with applesauce and she enjoys that more. Her legs still twitch and she has regained feeling in them. Her beard has not turned black since she fell but she has fluffed her beard when she is in pain, uncomfortable, or just got put in the bath. She is sleeping so much better with no lights but she has started to prefer being with me than in her tank.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am glad Nellie is doing better.
I would recommend using either coconut or olive oil instead of mineral oil. It's tolerated a lot better
in their system.
So she is using her legs a little bit more now? Are they still swollen or has that improved now also?
That's great she is having more restful sleep now without any lights on at night. At least she isn't black bearding though, hopefully that means she isn't hurting much right now.
Keep us posted on her.

Tracie
 
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