Crooked spine

Alright, long story short I noticed 3 weeks ago my bearded spine is crooked she’s 6, wasn’t like this before, when I noticed I took her out of her tank and she was walking crooked obviously freaked me out got her into see a vet everything checked out internally the X-ray was fine her tests were all clear no MBD nothing. Doc said his best bet is that she is suffering what us humans call like a kink? He said rest and prescribed some anti inflammatory meds, well 3 weeks later she’s not doing any better she doesn’t eat always has her eyes closed when she moves she’s like shaking, today I came home to find out on her back... not moving ...

I don’t know what to do,

Hi there,

Can you go over your setup with us? Maybe a picture of your tank too?

So you've had her for 6 years? Quite an old girl

What does her daily diet look like and how often is she pooing?

Spine issues like that are usually from calcium being leached from the bones. Has she been laying eggs recently? That could have depleted her stores if her husbandry and diet weren't the blame.

How is she acting? Can she get around ok still?

-Brandon

claudiusx":32pbs6e9 said:

Hi there,

Can you go over your setup with us? Maybe a picture of your tank too?

So you've had her for 6 years? Quite an old girl

What does her daily diet look like and how often is she pooing?

Spine issues like that are usually from calcium being leached from the bones. Has she been laying eggs recently? That could have depleted her stores if her husbandry and diet weren't the blame.

How is she acting? Can she get around ok still?

-Brandon

Click to expand...

Her tank set up is like this,

https://vimeo.com/380851411?ref=em-share

Her basking temp is 95-105 her cool side is like 80 she has multiple hides cool side and warm side

She eats super worms, her veggies not so much picky girl she is, the worms are dusted in calcium. Try to feed her every day, but she doesn’t always eat every day.

She is very lethargic, doesn’t do much when she does move her body is shaking. She hasn’t been eating, but has pooped the last few days except for today.

I'd be taking to another vet , she's critically ill and needs a proper assessment ( bloods ) to determine exactly what's going on.

I wouldn't procrastinate about this.

Hello,

Poor girl. Based on your description, it really appears to be calcium related.
Please review your tank setup with us, such as the type/brand of UVB, the brand of calcium
& other supplementation you are using, etc.
Taking her to another vet who will do some bloodwork on her would be a good idea.
Is she eating very much right now?
I would be sure she can't fall off of anything in her tank so she can't hurt herself, too.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

kingofnobbys":cramogda said:

I'd be taking to another vet , she's critically ill and needs a proper assessment ( bloods ) to determine exactly what's going on.

I wouldn't procrastinate about this.

Click to expand...

They did and X-ray and blood work everything came back normal says the vet... the one I took her too was the most reputable exotic vet within my city he was recommended by a very trustworthy pet store who has taken their exotic pets there. I will post a picture of her X-ray.

I will try to look into other vets and see if I can take her in!

If you could post the blood results too that would be great. You paid for them after all, you are entitled to them

I cant really tell what type of uvb bulb you have from your link. What is it?

-Brandon

Hi there, sorry to read this about your girl ! I agree it's most likely calcium related. The uvb bulb you have may be the critical link. How long + what type of med. is she on [ is it Metacam ? ] best to get her off the meds. ASAP they have bad side effects including seizures, nausea + dizziness and can make things worse.

AHBD":3j9qltq9 said:

Hi there, sorry to read this about your girl ! I agree it's most likely calcium related. The uvb bulb you have may be the critical link. How long + what type of med. is she on [ is it Metacam ? ] best to get her off the meds. ASAP they have bad side effects including seizures, nausea + dizziness and can make things worse.

Click to expand...

It is metacam, she’s been taking it once a day since Dec 3rd

I have a power sun bulb from zoo med four her basking spot it has UVA UVB and heat then I have a UVB bulb going across the entire tank

Which uvb bulb, is it Reptisun 10.0 t8 or t5 by chance ? Can you post a pic of it as well as the entire set up ? And yeah, I'd definitely stop the metacam right away, it's definitely not helping and it can cause some of her worsened symptoms.

Hello,

Sometimes, metabolic bone disease isn't always detected in early stages, if the bones have not
been leached very much yet. It will manifest in physical deformities such as the tail & or spine
as it is now, simply due to not enough calcium in the blood all of the time. It may be starting to
leach from the bones slowly, to maintain blood serum levels of calcium right now.
How is she doing today?
I agree, metacam can have adverse, neurological side effects if given long term.
Pictures of your setup would be great if you can get them.

Tracie