Help! Bearded dragon paralyzed??

I've read these blogs for a long time looking for tips and help about Taking care of my beardies but now I'm stumped! I woke up today with my boy levi (about 1 year old ) scooting around on one arm? last night I let him out for a lil run around the room to get some exercise I watched him carefully making sure he didn't eat anything random and didn't get hurt when climbing after that I put him back in his home to sit under the lamps for a lil while before bed. He was fine sat straight up moved around good, was bright eyed and perky. But this morning not so much I took him out of his cage to see if he may had somthing stuck to his bottom causing him to scoot around. Bottom was clean and looked normal stomach was okay and smoothlno bumps or lumps his back and spine look good he pulls away with his legs if I move them around but he himself won't use them to walk. I thought maybe it was impaction so I gave him a nice warm bath and belly rubs for a good 35 minutes until he pooped it was normal sized and color. He strained a lil hard and moved his back in a weird way while he pooped. I've been feeding him organic apple sauce today but he still isn't moving around right. I do have another male beardie in the room hes in and they tend to blacken there beards and scratch at the walls at each other but then never come in contact and they never get physical enough to hurt them selves biting at the glass.His cage is basic with a low large rock home and a half log home along with water bowl he's got a uvb lamp and heat lamp I believe there right for him and his tank. He is my world and I'll do anything for him . I don't have enough money to take him to a vet. But I want him to get better so I came here for help!

Hello,

Sorry your boy is having some trouble!
Which UVB type & brand are you using? How often do you use calcium supplementation for him?
It sounds like he had a lot of trouble going to the bathroom. Were his urates hard since he had
to strain quite a bit?
That could have possibly done a little damage to his spine, or perhaps he is impacted?
What type of substrate is he on, a loose or solid substrate?
What are the temperatures in his tank & what type of thermometer are you using to measure the
temperatures?
If you have a picture of him along with the tank setup, that would be great.

Tracie

Hello thank you for replying !
My uvb light is the exo terra reptile uvb 150 its 26w its a coil one im about to invest in a hooded tube one soon. I dust his crickets with calcium +D3 every other day probably 2 to 3 times a week I also have a reptile Boost made by flukers it's labeled as a high amp boost I give them that once a week the days I don't give them calcium.
His urine isn't very hard looks kinda thick gooey but still has shape. I have him on the traditional brown fabric mat his temperatures are 100 somtimes they get to 105 on his basking spot and his cold side is around 75 -80 I don't use fancy thermometers I just use the traditional zillia circle one that has both humidity and temp. Then I have another at his basking that's exoterra. I would send a picture of his setup but it is completely different now I took all his stuff out and put him on a t shirt under his lamps so he didn't feel the want to drag himself around ?

I'm starting to really worry losing my boy would be horrible I love him so much. I just don't know what to do and feel really bad for not being able to take him to the vet. He doesn't want to eat anything he looks skinny and dehydrated. Should I give him the vitamin boost would it help any ?

So I've been reading around on the different pages seeing if I could find any other cases like what my boy has I found one where the beadie had lack of vitamin b1 and it cause his legs to just stop working and him to not walk on them levi doesn't eat his greens often could this be the cause of it or more like cyst or abscess? If so how can I fix either of them ?
Sorry to be such a bother I'm really scared about my boy getting worse or in pain

Hi there, poor fella he does not a better uvb bulb ASAP. Try to get a Reptisun 10.0 t5 or go with a mercury vapor bulb [ MVB ] like a Megaray [ Google Megaray MVB for best prices ]

For now get him out in the sun by placing him in the grass since he can't run away....sit out there with him for an hour a day , that should help him for now.

I will look into those thank you ! He's very very afraid of out doors he window surfs and run and hides within 15 min I don't think it's calcium tho I didn't think MBD hit over night he feels his legs but he won't use them at all I think it's a cyst or abscess of sort on his nerve but I don't think that would cause him to stop moving both sets of arms. Maybe he had a stroke or seizure? I've talked to vets and they said the vet bills wouldn't be to much for x ray so Monday I'm going to take him if he's not better until then is feedding him chicken baby food apple sauce and pedilyte all organic okay ?
Thank you for you help !

Hello,

It is most likely going to be metabolic bone issues starting. The early signs are muscular weakness starting in the back legs. Do upgrade your UVB light as soon as you can. As mentioned, the T5 high output tube bulbs are excellent. Reptisun & Arcadia both make them & are very good.
You could consider getting him on liquid calcium to help boost his levels right now, too.
Is he eating very well?
Yes, the organic chicken baby food & apple sauce is perfect, he should really like that.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

I ordered the exact one reptisun t5 10. I ordered it onine and should arrive very soon I hope I took him outside for some fresh air and sun as someone recommended and Im going to do it again today I'll look into the liquid calcium I've always wanted to get it knowing it would betater then powder.
He's not wanting to eat but once I get the baby syringe in his mouth he'll lick it up. His limbs are also swollen his hands and feet seem puffy I was curious if that's also a symptom I ordered silk worm for him hopefully he'll want to try and eat them. Once I get the lamp and set it up how long do you think it will be before he regains strength ? Can his condition get any worse ?
Thank you so much for the replies and help!

Is the Reptisun T5 High-Output UVB light you ordered a long tube or another coil or compact bulb? Because it needs to be a long tube, either 18" or 24" are the common sizes, and you'll also need to order a long flourescent tube fixture rated for a T5 tube, which is cheapest on Amazon.com from what I've seen. If you ordered another compact bulb then I honestly don't know if it is appropriate or not for a beardie, we always recommend the long tube UVB lights, so someone else can chime in and let us know, as I've never seen anyone buy a compact version of that bulb. If you ordered the coil version then I know it's not adequate for him, coil bulbs are known for causing all sorts of serious health issues in bearded dragons, the most common issue being severe damage to their eyes, sometimes even blindness. So I hope you ordered the long tube and a fixture for it. The reason the tubes are best is because the fixtures contain a very long reflector and they cover a much larger area of the tank anyway, but with the long reflector in the fixture your beardie will be getting adequate UVB light (the T5 High-Output tube needs to be 11" away from his basking spot at a minimum, but can sit on top of a mesh lid, it's strong enough to penetrate the mesh, but not a glass lid) not only on his basking spot but anywhere in his tank. UVB light is so important for beardies, their entire lives are dependent on adequate wavelength and strength of UVB light for at least 12-14 hours a day, every day, or they cannot make vitamin D3 or process any of the Calcium you're giving him at all. The EXO Terra coil UVB you've been using for a year (should have been replaced at 6 months old, do if it wasn't he's had no UVB at all for 6 months) is very weak to begin with, and this is definitely the cause of his issues without a doubt.

He has classic symptoms of MBD due to a bad UVB light. Typically their back legs becoming very weak or suddenly partially paralyzed due to weakened muscles is the first symptom you'll see in MBD. If you get him an x-ray tomorrow this will typically confirm a diagnosis of MBD easily, as his bone density will look very transparent. He definitely needs to be on a liquid Calcium supplement for a while instead of a powder, something like Calcivet. Hopefully once he's under the T5 High-Output Reptisun UVB his appetite will pick up within a matter of days, as will his activity levels, and giving him liquid Calcium every day under appropriate UVB light should stop the MBD development, there's no way to tell how much if any of the issues he already has will be reversed, but it's possible. He's also very skinny from not eating as you've said, so his muscles are also being weakened from being broken down for energy on top of the MBD. So you're taking the right steps to get him back on track.

If someone else can comment on the Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output UVB light in the compact version please do, as I'm thinking that is what the OP ordered to replace her current coil UVB, because she didn't mention ordering the fixture for a T5 tube. I am not familiar with the compact version of that UVB bulb, obviously the coil bulb is not adequate, but I have no idea about the compact. If you did in fact order the long tube UVB and a T5 fixture for it, then ignore this comment.

Also, the Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output UVB light, no matter what the version, needs replaced every 10 months to a year, as they stop emitting any UVB light at that point even though they still emit light.

The one I got is tube light it says it's the T5 HO 36" Hood 1×34 watt reptisun T5 HO lamp. I can add a screen shot of the one I bought if you want to take better look at it for me.I ordered it from pet mountain. I Really want to make sure I go everything right for my boy he means the absolute world to me. When he was a baby I used a tube light the zilla slimline desert fixture t8 but it was on top of the normal starter kit tank lid 10 or 20 gallon so the larger hole metal mess i removed the plastic cover off the light itsself also. Just here within the last month have I switched to his coil bulb cause I recently upgraded his home to a 50 or 55 Gallon tank he's only had it for about 3 weeks now. This Is why I didn't think it was MBD Should I take his old t8 tube light and stick it in his tank ? The bulb is maybe 10 months old.
He's been kinda skinny for a week now I noticed him not really eating much of his crickets and not really doing to much or basking like normal but 3 days ago he perked right up he ate good and ran around for a while I was very happy thinking he was okay and then the next morning is when this happened
I got some flukers calcium in the liquid bottle form and I got a better thermometer for him the digital one you point if I should return this and buy the one with the pegs you leave down please let me know.
I really appreciate your help. I want to know everything I can about having a bearded dragon especially personal opinions and experiences with lights food ect. I will post a picture of him all crippled and sad

*the lamp I got have both lamp and bulb *

Update- I moved the old t8 tube light I had in with levi. I've been feeding him organic baby food and water through syringe I'm still waiting for his stuff to get here in the mail. I'm worried about his swelling in limbs it hasn't gotten worse but still worries me. He pooped again today a tiny bit of solid maybe he had a mild impaction as well or the baby food is really doing him good. He's a lil less dehydrated. He's been moving a lil more nudging himself along with his head and kicking with his back legs. Hopefully his stuff gets here soon
This is him yesterday .

Hello,

How is your boy doing tonight?
That is good you got the Reptisun T5 10% tube bulb. What other bulb came with it, a basking
light? Do you know if the bulb is a speciality bulb that has a neodymium coating on it? If so,
you can use the basking light you have now.
I hope it gets to you soon!
The older T8 tube bulb would be better than the coil until you can get the new light over him.
He has been trying to use his back legs some?
I would watch the swelling carefully to be sure it doesn't get any worse. Hopefully it's just his
calcium issues causing the swelling & not gout.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

He's been on and off. His swelling is worrying me is there anything I can do to prevent / soothe it ? Even somthing simple like a colder damp cloth on his feet and legs?
I do not know if it has the coating or not but I will check to see.
He nudges himself around using his head and pushing Slightly with his back legs. I have close to his old uvb lamp still waiting on the new one he gets hot faster then normal but I guess it's cause he's got swollen limbs.
I've been feeding him chicken butternut squash tiny bit of prunes and apple sauce and also water. Tomorrow is sun day I'm going to stay out there with him in the sun for as long as I can take it.
I don't think he has gout unless it can just all of a sudden pop up too. What exactly is the cause of it ?