Swollen back and paralyzed in back legs

Tintin1945 · Jul 20, 2017

Hey guys, I am new to the bearded dragon forum and created an account today. My Bearded dragon Nelly George is a year and two months old have had her for six months. She loves sitting on my shirt while I do homework, Xbox, and other activities. Yesterday evening she crawled up my shoulder to get on the back of the chair(she had done it before and never had any problems) however she was having a lot of difficulty getting up. She lost her grip on the wood and fell on our carpet. I immediately picked her up and put her on my thigh so she wouldn't try climbing again. Everything was fine until I picked her up and noticed her beard was black and her tail tip was black as well. Thinking she was just mad and hungry I put her in her cage. When I got back home with her wax worms I put them in her cage and noticed a large lump on her back and that she was paralyzed in her hind legs. She slept well last night and this morning had many tremors trying to make her legs work. I am new to bearded dragon pet owning. She has an appointment with the vet at two. Is there anything I need to do for her? Take her climbing stuff out?

EllenD · Jul 20, 2017

Oh I'm so sorry this happened, but you're doing the absolute best thing you can do by taking her to the vet quickly. Yes, I'd remove all of her climbing stuff because you don't want her to fall again, especially if she has a broken spine, which is what it sounds like unfortunately. You'll have to lower her basking light so she can get warm enough since she won't be able to climb up onto her usual basking spot, and I would also told up some towels or blankets and pad the bottom of her enclosure. You might want to bump her temps up a little too, by 5-10 degrees, just to keep her comfortable. Then just keep her as still as possible, if her spine is broken you don't want her moving around. Be careful handling her when you take her to the vet.

Good luck, keep us posted on how she is.

kingofnobbys · Jul 20, 2017

Tintin1945":3priuek3 said:
Hey guys, I am new to the bearded dragon forum and created an account today. My Bearded dragon Nelly George is a year and two months old have had her for six months. She loves sitting on my shirt while I do homework, Xbox, and other activities. Yesterday evening she crawled up my shoulder to get on the back of the chair(she had done it before and never had any problems) however she was having a lot of difficulty getting up. She lost her grip on the wood and fell on our carpet. I immediately picked her up and put her on my thigh so she wouldn't try climbing again. Everything was fine until I picked her up and noticed her beard was black and her tail tip was black as well. Thinking she was just mad and hungry I put her in her cage. When I got back home with her wax worms I put them in her cage and noticed a large lump on her back and that she was paralyzed in her hind legs. She slept well last night and this morning had many tremors trying to make her legs work. I am new to bearded dragon pet owning. She has an appointment with the vet at two. Is there anything I need to do for her? Take her climbing stuff out?

Oh poor little girl .... she's injured herself in the fall , they don't have to fall far to do serious injuries. Hopefully she's only bruised her spine and will be fine in a little while.

Yep take out the stuff than requires climbing , lower the basking globe and the UV lamp.

This might be attributeable to poor UV source (not all UV sources are created equal or as well).
Might be a good time to check the UV source
>>>> is it close enough to give her about 190 microW UVB / sqcm at her basking spot ?
see viewtopic.php?f=34&t=234800
... you'll need to either install a false floor or lower the basking globe and the UV source to adjust these to provide a new lower basking spot , wont hurt to have the warm zone and cool zone a few 3 -5 degC warmer while she's recovering/repairing her injury/s , will help boost her immunity and metabolic rate.

Nice soft surfaces to bask and sleep on (an old towel or t-towel say) will be appreciated by her while she's sore and not comfortable and recovering.

>>>> and what exactly is it ?
see my general cheat sheet , viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050
age of the UV source, the brand, the type, the positioning (incl reflector or no reflector) and rating in %UVB , and wattage are all crucial data for to know to help you and her.

If the UV source is not strong enough (very low UVB) and a poor quality (clone) and too far away , she may have early MBD which will make her bones less dense and more prone to damage even from minor falls
.... ask the vet for an assessment of her bone density (potential of MBD) and her blood calcium and vitamin D3 levels while he's checking her if the UV is not the best for one or more reasons.

Since dusting insects and salad is very hit and miss, I think it's worthwhile for while she's recovering and repairing any injuries (especially if she's hurt her back or hips) to get hold of some VETAFARM CALCIVET (liquid calcium) and a syringe and a 12G feeding /crop needle see viewtopic.php?f=45&t=232687
and
http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/vetafarm_calcivet_liquid_calcium_supplement
is easier to get the liquid calcium into her mouth (from the side) using a feeding/crop needle than trying to get the end of the syringe into her mouth.
Calcivet is very sweet tasting and I've used it for a few injured rescues and pet lizards and they seem to like the taste.

Waxworms are very poor feeders see viewtopic.php?f=76&t=234999&p=1807834#p1807834
but more nutritious than mealworms and superworm.

If you can get silkworms , they have natural anti-inflammatory enzymes in them and are a super live feeder to offer her , slow moving, soft and squishy , very nutritious and rich in calcium, and she wont have to eat many to get good feed
She can probably handle medium sized (2 inch) silkworms with no problems.

Tintin1945 · Jul 20, 2017

Here is a picture of her tank. It in 15 inches top to bottom. I have a 2 100 wat lights(white and red) and a UVB light that is 50. I will try to put more pictures out soon.

AHBD · Jul 20, 2017

Poor girl, sorry she's had this accident. Can you post a close up of her, the lump isn't really visible. Hopefully it's just swelling pressing on the spine rather than a fracture [ both are possible but with her sitting up it's more hopeful of a lesser injury ]

Either way, xrays would be the thing to do ASAP.

What exact uvb are you using ? If it's weak or too far away, it could contribute to a calcium deficiency [ they need good uvb or they can't absorb calcium ] so it's very important to show exactly what kind you have so she can heal better.

Tintin1945 · Jul 20, 2017

These are the lights I use, the brand of worms, calcium I use, Tempratures, and a close up(the bulge is where the tail and the back meet but it seems the swelling has gone down). She didnt like meal worms so we were trying these. She also recently decided she didn't want to chase crickets. I hear that it's normal for them to stop eating mealworms and crickets as they get older but she always seemed hungry so we were finding a way to compensate. As for UVB I got it from petco here is the one I bought. https://m.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/reptile/reptile-heating-lighting/light-fixtures-hoods/zilla-slimline-desert-50-uvb-t8-fluorescent-fixture

She wouldn't eat worms and crickets with calcium powder so we got her a spray to go on her veggies.

Thanks for the replies!

kingofnobbys · Jul 20, 2017

Done some of my magic on the image . Does the arrow indicate where the lump is ?

Zilla are made in China and reboxed / relabled by them (so right away it's suspect).
Add the fact kit's a T8 rated at 5%UVB , and mounted on top of the viv trying to shine through a mesh screen lid, so is DEFINITELY too far away for your beardie to get adequate UVA and UVB from it (even if you had a GOOD QUALITY Zoo Med , or Exo Terra , or Arcadia T8 tube of the same rating).

Definitely advise the vet beardie has been getting insufficient UV. Likely this is a direct result of some worthless sales person telling you the Zilla was a good tube and a 5% T8 was good for bearded dragons (so not really your fault - you were mislead by bad advice - now you have an injured pet beardie).

I recommend ditching the Zilla T8 tube and replacing it with an Arcadia T8 12%UVB tube , this will be more than 2x more powerful in UVA and most importantly in UVB. Please take steps to ensure your beardie can get to a position where it can get about 200 microW UVB / sqcm from the new tube , if you cant get the Arcadia T8 12%UVB , then a Zoo Med T8 or Exo Terra T8 rated at 10%UVB will have to suffice.

Tintin1945 · Jul 20, 2017

Yep! I forgot the calcium picture in the last post here it is.

kingofnobbys · Jul 20, 2017

Tintin1945":1jcyv0xu said:
Sort out beardie's injury at the vet first , note there are some problems with the setup as is
>> dial style thermometers like shown are so inaccurate as to be worthless
These http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aquarium-LCD-Electronic-Digital-Thermometer-Fish-Tank-Water-Detector-Practica-BU/252762165947?_trksid=p2385738.c100677.m4598&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3D6ac464a2a1b24339be32c744b2ff5cf9%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D201577608563 are loads better and accurate as well (with 1 degCelsius !!) and dirt cheap.

>> the red basking / heat light needs to go , the red glow effects the colours of the foods and this may well be why she became fussy with eating .

>> the T8 reflector hood needs to be moved UNDER THE LID and positioned about 6 - 8 inches from her viv floor (she's needs to have no climbing until the vet gives her clearance to climb) , I'd get hold of some wire coat hangers and modify them to become hangers for the T8 reflector hood .
Careful she's apt to want to climb ontop of it at that distance.

I strongly recommend retiring the T8 reflector hood and upgrading to a T5HO reflector hood and T5HO 10 - 12% UVB tube , which will give appropriate UVB at 10-12 inches from her floor, so you will need to hang it under the lid to get this distance floor to tube.

These are the lights I use, the brand of worms, calcium I use, Tempratures, and a close up(the bulge is where the tail and the back meet but it seems the swelling has gone down). She didnt like meal worms so we were trying these. She also recently decided she didn't want to chase crickets. I hear that it's normal for them to stop eating mealworms and crickets as they get older but she always seemed hungry so we were finding a way to compensate. As for UVB I got it from petco here is the one I bought. https://m.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/reptile/reptile-heating-lighting/light-fixtures-hoods/zilla-slimline-desert-50-uvb-t8-fluorescent-fixture

She wouldn't eat worms and crickets with calcium powder so we got her a spray to go on her veggies.

Thanks for the replies!

kingofnobbys · Jul 20, 2017

Tintin1945":mfyh5rwn said:
Yep! I forgot the calcium picture in the last post here it is.

I think the Zilla calcium spray is going to be too hit and miss , especially since she's likely got MBD, I think direct oral dosing by syringe of the correct amount of a vet grade liquid calcium ( ie CALCIVET ) based on her body weight will be necessary (as already described by me earlier) , this way you can be sure she's getting the dietary calcium she needs , and along with an upgrade to a T5HO 10-12% UVB tube mounted under the lid about 10 - 12 inches from her floor will ensure she's metabolizing her calcium to produce VitD3 , and will be in with a chance of recovering .

AHBD · Jul 20, 2017

Thankfully it has gone down and is barely visible as a lump. Hopefully with a few tweeks to your lighting as mentioned and some rest she will be O.K

traildrifterphalanx · Jul 20, 2017

Stepping in late to this conversation, I would really recommend switching out your UVB light to a bigger brand name like Reptisun 10.0 T8.

Considering the fixture you have is a T8 bulb, this light should honestly be installed under the mesh screen rather than on top. She is not getting enough UVB with an off-brand UVB bulb that is now too far for her to benefit. Above the screen the range on the UVB is knocked down to about 6-8" if I remember correctly, and if this is the bulb you started with 6mo ago it's definitely time to be replaced

my post is old and the info was since covered. started this 20mins ago and got interrupted at work :lol:

Tintin1945 · Jul 20, 2017

Good News! Got back from the Veterinarian and he said that there was nothing broken or fractured. He said there was a small sublubrification on the spine( slightly out of line) and she is good on calcium and her bones are good and healthy. I am going to get a black heat lamp for the evenings so she can sleep better at night and get a new UBV bulb. Thanks all!

traildrifterphalanx · Jul 20, 2017

Awesome news, Tintin!
Please be sure the nightime source heat you get does not put out any light. If you're referring to the black bulb that puts out purple, please do not use this, it's still colored.
There are ceramic heat emitters, they're like coiled iron, and this produces heat and no light. Best source of night heat if it drops under 65F. If above 65F, no additional heat is needed.

kingofnobbys · Jul 20, 2017

Tintin1945":f27ri4ro said:
Good News! Got back from the Veterinarian and he said that there was nothing broken or fractured. He said there was a small sublubrification on the spine( slightly out of line) and she is good on calcium and her bones are good and healthy. I am going to get a black heat lamp for the evenings so she can sleep better at night and get a new UBV bulb. Thanks all!

That's great news .... I hope you've bought a lottery ticket while you're luck is in.

Definitely sounds like a good plan : Ceramic Heat Emitter (for keeping her warm overnight) and new 10-12%UVB ( T5HO ? ) to go under the lid as described for better UVB and healthy growth.

Did the vet prescribe any painrelief for her while she's healing , and any anti-inflamatories ?

Swollen back and paralyzed in back legs

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