Beardie had a SEIZURE!

Hello Everyone,

Looking for a little help. My beardie had a seizure today. Lasted about 30 seconds. He had full convulsions while he was out of his habitat with my husband. My husband yelled for me and when I came in the room my beardie was laying on his back.... it was terrifying! He was on the ground originally before the seizure happened. Here is some info on his set up:
* He is approximately 4 months old, I have had him for 2 months.
* He is in a 40 gallon tank
* Lighting - 100 watt repti-sun basking bulb and a 24 watt repti-sun 10.0 T5 UVB bulb in an under hood mount.
* He eats large crickets - approximately 4-6 crickets 2-3 times daily. The crickets are dusted with calcium twice daily and with a multivitamin every other day. He also has fresh kale available daily and eats small amounts of it. I also offer the bearded dragon pellets but he isn't very interested in those. He will also occasionally get fresh grapes or blueberries. Meal worms on occasion.
* His temps are steady. Basking spot at 105F, Hot side at 95F and cool side at 85F.
* His substrate is a porcelain tile.

He has been healthy, active and growing like crazy over the last two months. Normal bowel movements. He is going through a shed right now. I am concerned because I originally read that kale was ok to give, but after a little bit more digging some people say it can block calcium absorption... but he doesn't eat that much. I am just very worried. I want to be sure I am doing everything right. I am a licensed vet tech and work with animals every day. But I have yet to experience a beardie seizure Any thoughts?! Here is a pic of his setup and of Jack himself (Please excuse the dirty habitat - today is cleaning day)View media item 8881View media item 8880

He looks pretty good for a 4 month old and so cute. I can't imagine what would cause him to have a seizure. Setup looks pretty good. I'm assuming you are probably using something else to take temps other than the stick on thermometer? I would ditch it as they are not really accurate. I would get a digital with probe for the basking area. He only eats up to 6 crickets at a time? Would he eat more? I don't think kale would cause it since he eats little of it. The best greens to give is dandelion, turnip, mustard and collard greens. I usually rotate them when it's time to buy more greens. Did this happen while he was eating? Maybe something got stuck in his throat and he freaked out? Is the calcium you are using with D3? Though I don't think you can give him enough to cause issues anyways, just looking at possibilities. The only other thing I can think of would be Adenovirus (ADV). Though he is growing well and made it past the 2 month age and he's never done this before. It is still possible to have it but again it may not be the cause. Hopefully it's a one time thing but it will always be something to worry about now that it's happened.

Forgot to add this link
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

Hello,

The tank looks good, it's nice & bright. I would however, consider moving the basking log
more directly underneath of the UVB light so he can benefit from it more. He is off to the
side somewhat so he might not be getting quite enough, so maybe try that. It is possible
the seizure is an early warning of hypocalcemia.
Are the crickets larger than the space between his eyes? If so, it is possible he might have
a slight impaction. How are his stools?

Tracie

If he has been skygazing and flipped over …. this can be an indication of ADV …. if he is seen stargazing and flips again …. I suggest you have him tested for ADV.

although my beardie has never done anything like that before, my geckos have started shaking before, but they do it when cricket legs are stuck in their throat and try to get it down. yet, that was with my geckos and they didn't end up lying on their back. his setup looks okay, I hope you can find out what's causing this

kyleena29":3vxyahww said:

He looks pretty good for a 4 month old and so cute. I can't imagine what would cause him to have a seizure. Setup looks pretty good. I'm assuming you are probably using something else to take temps other than the stick on thermometer? I would ditch it as they are not really accurate. I would get a digital with probe for the basking area. He only eats up to 6 crickets at a time? Would he eat more? I don't think kale would cause it since he eats little of it. The best greens to give is dandelion, turnip, mustard and collard greens. I usually rotate them when it's time to buy more greens. Did this happen while he was eating? Maybe something got stuck in his throat and he freaked out? Is the calcium you are using with D3? Though I don't think you can give him enough to cause issues anyways, just looking at possibilities. The only other thing I can think of would be Adenovirus (ADV). Though he is growing well and made it past the 2 month age and he's never done this before. It is still possible to have it but again it may not be the cause. Hopefully it's a one time thing but it will always be something to worry about now that it's happened.

Forgot to add this link
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply! Yes, I am using an infrared temp gun to get his temp readings. He will typically only eat 6 or so crickets at one time. He has been that way since day one. I do my best to feed him 3 times daily, but that isn't possible every day. He seems to be growing rapidly in the two months I have had him. I appreciate your recommendations on greens, I will certainely start rotating in a variety. He was not eating when he had the seizure. I didn't realize it but the calcium I was using did not have vitamin D3 I have remedied that and bought a new calcium with vitamin D3. Thank you again for your help! He has his vet appointment this evening. Fingers crossed nothing too serious is going on. I just want him to be okay.

Drache613":21pgy8rp said:

Hello,

The tank looks good, it's nice & bright. I would however, consider moving the basking log
more directly underneath of the UVB light so he can benefit from it more. He is off to the
side somewhat so he might not be getting quite enough, so maybe try that. It is possible
the seizure is an early warning of hypocalcemia.
Are the crickets larger than the space between his eyes? If so, it is possible he might have
a slight impaction. How are his stools?

Tracie

Click to expand...

This was a great recommendation! Thank you. I moved his logs so that he is more directly under the UVB light. Nope, crickets are just as big as the space between his eyes and he is having very normal stools I am definitely thinking he wasn't getting enough direct UVB, that could have certainly contributed to his seizure His vet appt is this evening, so we shall see. Thanks again!

jennyandpika":zx9vw6cn said:

although my beardie has never done anything like that before, my geckos have started shaking before, but they do it when cricket legs are stuck in their throat and try to get it down. yet, that was with my geckos and they didn't end up lying on their back. his setup looks okay, I hope you can find out what's causing this

Click to expand...

Thanks! yeah he wasn't eating at the time of the seizure. But we have his appointment this evening so hopefully we can get some answers and guidance to getting him well! He is much more bright and alert today. No more seizure activity as of now.

kingofnobbys":3vkyqorb said:

If he has been skygazing and flipped over …. this can be an indication of ADV …. if he is seen stargazing and flips again …. I suggest you have him tested for ADV.

Click to expand...

He hasn't really been stargazing. At the time of the incident he had convulsions for about 30 seconds and then flipped over He has an appointment with the vet this evening, I will definitely be asking about ADV to rule it out. Thank you!

There is some controversy over added vit D3. I would alternate between regular calcium and the D3 added. I would also let him get some real sunshine when you can, especially while they are still growing. Real sunshine is more beneficial than artificial. About 30 min-1 hr of sun is actually better than a full day with a uvb. I let my beardies sit in the window with the screen to get some sun and they really enjoy watching what goes on outside.

Hello,

Let us know how the vet visit goes!
I am thinking he likely has the early beginnings of low calcium. Hopefully moving him more
directly under the UVB light will definitely help him out.
I agree, synthetic D3 can become toxic if given in too large of doses. Since you are using a
T5, he shouldn't need supplemented D3, but, he would benefit from some extra calcium for
awhile though if that is the issue.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Drache613":3s7iwzvv said:

Hello,

Let us know how the vet visit goes!
I am thinking he likely has the early beginnings of low calcium. Hopefully moving him more
directly under the UVB light will definitely help him out.
I agree, synthetic D3 can become toxic if given in too large of doses. Since you are using a
T5, he shouldn't need supplemented D3, but, he would benefit from some extra calcium for
awhile though if that is the issue.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Click to expand...

Good Morning!

The visit yesterday went well. The doctor was knowledgeable and helpful. We ran a fecal test and it came back negative for any parasites. They were also able to draw blood on my little 50 gram guy so that was great! We will have results for the blood work in 3-5 days. They also gave him an infusion of calcium. So said overall his physical appearance was great and he appeared healthy. She did note slight tremors when he walked and when she picked him up. But I am happy to report that this morning those tremors have greatly decreased and he ate 10 medium/large crickets for me this morning He seems to be improving. The vet recommended alternating days between the calcium with D3 and the one without to avoid overdosing. So that is our plan and hopefully his blood work comes back okay. He is happily sitting on his log nicely situated under his UVB currently. Thank you for your concern and your response.

kyleena29":2csnkq20 said:

There is some controversy over added vit D3. I would alternate between regular calcium and the D3 added. I would also let him get some real sunshine when you can, especially while they are still growing. Real sunshine is more beneficial than artificial. About 30 min-1 hr of sun is actually better than a full day with a uvb. I let my beardies sit in the window with the screen to get some sun and they really enjoy watching what goes on outside.

Click to expand...

Thank you! Yeah the vet recommended alternating days between the calcium with D3 and the one without. I live in Washington state so unfortunately a lot of times the sunny days are limited. But I will certainly do that when we get some good sun Thanks!

Hmm 50 grams does sound very small for a 4 month old. I did kind of question the uvb placement but it looked like he was still able to get some of it from the picture. But now that I think about it, near the end of the bulb is a lower uv output. Even one of my beardies at 4 months that wasn't thriving well was 71 grams while the other one was 193 grams and my adv beardie was 123grams when they were 4 months old. It seems the uvb might of been the culprit after all. Which explains the seizure and the low appetite. Once he gets better he will probably go from those 6 crickets to 40ish. Definitely get him some outdoor sun whenever you can. Whereabouts are you in Washington? I live there too and we just went through a week of 90 degree weather :shock:

kyleena29":1j7zxke0 said:

Hmm 50 grams does sound very small for a 4 month old. I did kind of question the uvb placement but it looked like he was still able to get some of it from the picture. But now that I think about it, near the end of the bulb is a lower uv output. Even one of my beardies at 4 months that wasn't thriving well was 71 grams while the other one was 193 grams and my adv beardie was 123grams when they were 4 months old. It seems the uvb might of been the culprit after all. Which explains the seizure and the low appetite. Once he gets better he will probably go from those 6 crickets to 40ish. Definitely get him some outdoor sun whenever you can. Whereabouts are you in Washington? I live there too and we just went through a week of 90 degree weather :shock:

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Vet said he was a good weight. And his age is only a guess. But thanks