HELP.... parasite/mbd/nurological issue

so my dragon Peter has had alot of ups and downs as mor recently hes been acting wierd over the last year , but more recently hes acting verry strange somtimes. He is about 10 years old ive had him for about 6 years now with my other one and basically he mainly misses food and is very slow and lethargic at time thus hes almost always been that way with random energy burst ocassionaly. Now he get all twitchy and wierd when u get near him almost siesure like , runs around and does the arm wave and head bop but there is noting around? now im pretty sure he does have mbd but ive had a proper uvb and spot for him last 6 monthsas he is not a caged animal and never has been much, he travels everywhere i go most the time and is active and well cared for but agian really woried about him and no vets has been able to help, any ideas , sound familiar as i cant find any info that relates, can send a video of it as well , he sometime has a freek out were hes just running around into walls whatever wont stop even when you pick him up last about 10 -30 seconds .

I'm sorry to hear he isn't acting normally. 10 years is a pretty good run though so he's getting up there in age which may be a factor. Can you post some photos of him and his setup? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

You can upload video to a host like vimeo or youtube and then share a link here using the URL button.

as far as his setup as I mentioned he does not have one, brand new uvb 10.0 and 75 watt spot about 8-10 inches unubstructed to him, carpet floor majority of the time, i appologize for the audio could not turn it off but best vid I could get atm , https://youtu.be/wrPtpMFXzgI , will update when i can get him doing the freak out , this one he more doing a submissive thing but he's really touchy and never used to do that other than in water so why i though it may be a parasite as they get reactive with environmental changes. Basically when he gos of he doesnt cordinate and runs into walls or whatever frantically even when pciked up and falls over side ways somtimes and flips over and i gotta hold him to calm him down, not agressive in any way either and again with food hes reall yslow to get it and misses and looks like he can see it but cant actually get it.

He looks healthy in that video. The head bobbing is probably seasonal "spring fever" hormones kicking in. The antenna tail is usually a sign that he is content/happy and roaming around exploring which is also good. If you can post videos of the other behavior I'll be happy to take a look.

As far as lighting goes, are you using a compact bulb for the UVB? That isn't likely providing enough UVB for him at that distance. If he is free roaming you are probably better off using a mercury vapor bulb. I suggest either a 100w PowerSun or 100w Mega Ray at that distance. You could set up a separate bulb that is just a basking light. I've found that when my guy is out and about he splits his time under the MVB getting some UVB and under his halogen basking light getting just heat. I think it's good to provide both options.

Well I have had him and my other one for 6 years and he has never done the "spring fever thing" he will do the normal walk and look around , but this is frantic he does both arms and runs and doesnt even finish, looks like hes trying to attack something but nothing is there , I have two males and he does the same thing as when they use to fight or compete for dominence and again when you get near him he twitches out of control somtimes and seems to not be able to judge distance properly, and cant eat his food properly , jst misses two to 3 times s and eithe gives up after and goes to his light again or gets it, as for the ligths, I do have both lights on a dual fixture, a 10.0 uvb and a uva spot so he is defintly gettiing the light he needs and a quick uvb test proves this as i work with uv reactive glass so i know by how fast it charges a glow and have a testing card thing, Im looking into a mercury but after alot of reasearch the to main brands I dont trust them annnnd am waiting tilli can source a btter brand here. last year actaully he didnt eat for 8 months had maybe a few dandelions aand like 6 superworms in that time. maybe hes just aaaaa special dragon lol gonna see how he progress till i get him to a vet in two weeks

ok so was able to get two videos of pretty much what he does, almost looks like he has a seizure but not quite. Also he does not walk correctly , he does somtimes but most the time he walks in a wadle and almost sideways or really slowly like hes old and cripple.

Any idea ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYFtqOL671k&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAuGBD-ao14&feature=youtu.be

Hello,

If you are using a dual fixture, then you are using a compact/coil light then? What brand
is it?
I would recommend getting a T5 high output tube bulb, used in combination with a nice
bright halogen light for basking or even a mercury vapor bulb like the Powersun or the
Solar Glo. They make a good combination for overall light & UVB spectrum.
It appears that he probably has not had ample UVB or supplementation. Especially if he
didn't eat for that long, his body has probably drained a lot of his calcium stores down.
Over time, that will cause neurological problems which is really what it looks like, to me.
Where are you located, what brands of UVB lighting can you obtain?
I would also recommend starting him on a liquid calcium supplement, 4-5 days per week
right now to help get his levels up.

Tracie

Well thats the issue, not sure if you read through or not but I explained he gets more than ample uvb, he get over 2 hours of direct sunlight almost every day on top of having a exoterra uvb 10.0 8 inches from him uncovered. so really not sure how he might not be getting uvb's.

Just kind of confused normally you need a regular basking bulb witch I have 75watt uva zoo-med spotlamp and a separate exoterra 10.0 uvb witch I have and there both much closer in reality than people would normally have them and no screen inbetween so that should be more then plenty.

And on the other hand, if I had a mercury vapor bulb wouldn't that not eliminate the need for any other uvb bulb? And why would A want a halogen? As he already has a spot lamp and those are not very great for dragons other than lighting and heat unless u can find a specific brand that has high uva in it witch is hard. I am getting a 125w exoterra solar glo for him today and gonna try a 100w powersun as well side by side see what he likes more so that will sort out any posible uvb issue.

The other dragon I have is in a tank with the same light setup only has a 100w basking bulb and two cfl 10.0 uvb bulbs as there 16 inches away, screen covered and is great and only had a shaking issue witch I before didnt realize was not get the proper calcium/vitamin d and a multi and that was same with Peter only he didn't get the shakes. So I definitely think a vitamin issue is the problem along with possibly a parasite issue, one thing he does have these little growths on his underside on his legs Femoral pores I'm 99% sure but are whitish and look calcified and just crumble away? no idea if thats normal or not.

I have since gotten the reptivite and other necessary stuff and my other dragon has been improving a lot however with Peter I'm not sure where I would get the liquid cal as he pretty much will not eat anything I dust so help there and what I could use and where to get it would be really help full, I'm also in Canada, I know in the states people have different methods than here also mainly with the lighting set up to so any info there i will gladly take, thanks again

Well Tracie is an expert and I agree with her, even if he is getting 2 hours of natural sunlight a day, that's great, but in the wild they need good lighting the entire day.. and any kind of UVB bulb gives off horrible outputs of UVB lighting, unless theyre within a couple inches of it and stay within the tiny diameter that is actually getting UVB. Even then, when dealing with a lizard like yours who is already showing signs of a bone disease, it is probably smart to spend the 50 dollars on a T5 HO tube lighting which would be in his best interest. And I think you should also get the liquid calcium, it is way more effective than the powder

so are you listening then? Cause what you guys are saying is conflicting... and clearly you didnt see where I said "I am" a lighting expert and worked with specialty lighting & spectrums and know how much umols/intesity an area gets. The uvb he has is new, where he is he has limited sunlight the entire day and direct for about 2 hours and for about 8 hours a day he is under the uvb 7/8 inches away with a spot lamp witch I have replaced today with 100w powersun uv and that is suppose to be adequate enough on its own is it not at around 12-14 inches witch is sits at about 7-8 inches , let alone that with the uvb on the same spot and same height should be way more the t5 even at 10-12 inches away. And as I have also said I have a measurement tools as well. so not trying to argue but the fact is I know its producing a large amount of uvb as I've tested it so that has been looked into and taken care of. You also said liquid calcium, again I asked where I could get it as I have not been able to find it for him here?

Again I will also mention he is 10yers old, I got him and the other one I have in very bad condition and they were literly skin and bone , and sand gray colour with scabs and stuff all over them , took over two years for the colour to come back and get them back to somewhat healthy, as again my other one is fine and they do not get along at all only difference in setup is one is in a tank and one is not, Ive had over 13 yeas experience with dragons and know what they need to survive the reason I'm here is cause a vet could not identify the issue and there a reptile specialist catered to bearded dragons, they basically said its a neurological issue but I wanted other opinions as somedays he is really good then maybe one day hes weird and back to noraml for another few days, he has been improving since the original post, as I said he does travel with me and before a december I had neglected buying a proper uvb for him as I was constanly moving and before he would not come out of brumation for about 8 months witch I brought him to a vet for 2 times and was watching him closly every day and keeping his weight.

so atm he has a brand new 10.0 uvb repti-sun and a 100 watt powersun 8 inches from him from 7am till 930pm, with suplemental daylight and natural light, I'm trying to find liquid calcium so any help on that would be great and also got him the herpivite multi vitamin powder, other than the t5 light is there anything else recomended or that i should try ?

PeterTheDragon":2x2vbzew said:

Again I will also mention he is 10yers old, I got him and the other one I have in very bad condition and they were literly skin and bone , and sand gray colour with scabs and stuff all over them , took over two years for the colour to come back and get them back to somewhat healthy, as again my other one is fine and they do not get along at all only difference in setup is one is in a tank and one is not, Ive had over 13 yeas experience with dragons and know what they need to survive the reason I'm here is cause a vet could not identify the issue and there a reptile specialist catered to bearded dragons, they basically said its a neurological issue but I wanted other opinions as somedays he is really good then maybe one day hes weird and back to noraml for another few days, he has been improving since the original post, as I said he does travel with me and before a december I had neglected buying a proper uvb for him as I was constanly moving and before he would not come out of brumation for about 8 months witch I brought him to a vet for 2 times and was watching him closly every day and keeping his weight.

so atm he has a brand new 10.0 uvb repti-sun and a 100 watt powersun 8 inches from him from 7am till 930pm, with suplemental daylight and natural light, I'm trying to find liquid calcium so any help on that would be great and also got him the herpivite multi vitamin powder, other than the t5 light is there anything else recomended or that i should try ?

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Are you able to order the liquid calcium online? All i did was go on amazon and search "Liquid calcium for pets" and one with a bearded dragon was on it, along with others, and also it looks like you just answered your question, maybe he got worse during December when he didn't have proper UV lighting. Glad to hear he is doing better

well whats best for him for the calcium? just wanted specific answers on what was wrong with him Other than calium Ive pretty much already had everything hes needed. Thers a few differnt types of calciums in liquid form and maybe looking for a better diet as well as he is really fussy with food and loses intrest quickly and again misses it half the time an just gives up.