Paralyzed back legs

Status
Not open for further replies.
Last night I came home to her acting a bit off.. She had muscle twitching in her stomach and was getting rather annoyed with me.. (beard turning black and jerking at me)
Soon after I noticed her dragging her legs.. She was doing an army crawl..
I asked my bf if he noticed anything and he told me he fed her Turkish roaches and soon after started acting off..
Mind you the day before she was very happy running around chasing her food..
The vet ruled out MBD as she is a very healthy dragon and her bone density was fine.. I asked about impaction and he stated that he doubted that was the problem..
He told me that he believes she has some type of spinal trauma due to an odd spacing he found from x-rays.. Which is leaving me stumped because I handle her with care and there's nothing in her cage that she could jump/fall from.. When telling him this, he was also very puzzled and said he honestly didn't know what could cause this sudden paralysis in her back legs.. He said the twitching was a pain response..
He gave her an anti-inflammatory shot to hopefully ease her pain and sent me home with meds as well as liquid calcium as to cover bases.. He also stated that if no improvement was seen in the next 48 hours that I would have to consider putting her down..has anyone experience something similar? Can she still live a happy life? I love this dragon more than anything and got her after I experienced a traumatic event myself.. I really don't want to loose her..
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please go over your UVB what are you using brand and bulb coil or tube and where in the tank is it?
Karrie
 

Loongtomorrow

Member
Original Poster
Of course sorry for leaving this out! She has a zilla T8 Reptile Strip Desert Light Fixture, 24-in and the uvb bulb was included -- but I just bought her a Zoo Med T8 ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Fluorescent Lamp, 24-in so I'm waiting for that to be shipped in.
It is attached to the screen top by zip ties..
If this is the improper setup please lmk as I'm open to learning and fixing my mistakes asap! I don't want to harm my beardie..
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Is your uvb directly above her basking spot 6-8 inches w/ NO clear plastic cover over the bulb?
Karrie
 

Loongtomorrow

Member
Original Poster
It's about 12 inches from her basking area and its more toward the center of her tank rather then it being directly above the basking area.
And correct. There isnt a clear plastic cover over the bulb.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so 12 inches is too far for a T 8 you need to drop it to 6-8 and she needs to be able to sit directly under it
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
When your 24" fixture comes put that in the tank as well w/ basking decor directly underneath distance 12-15 inches
Karrie
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Sorry your dragon is having some trouble!
How large were the dubias, do you know? That sounds highly suspect of the dubias being
too large or causing some issues since you mentioned that it was relatively quick to happen.
For the vet to tell you to automatically put her down or consider putting her down within a 48
hour time frame is not justified. Only if there is great pain or suffering. The twitching is a common
response when they are impacted since an object will most likely press against a nerve on their
long spinal column.
Are you giving soft foods right now?

Tracie
 

Loongtomorrow

Member
Original Poster
That's what I thought!
My bf fed her Turkish roaches and when I inspected them, they seemed rather large to me..
Ever since the ER visit I've been feeding her baby food -butternut squash, no solid foods and giving her warm baths! All of which the vet never told me to do..
I suspected impaction as asked the vet if this could be a possibility.. Red flag 1 went up when he said that he's never heard of a bearded dragon becoming paralyze from impaction.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Great to hear you have been giving soft foods, that will hopefully help out. You can add in
canned pumpkin & sugar free apple sauce with a drop or two of coconut or olive oil, too.
Impaction will most definitely cause rear leg paralysis, many times almost immediately as the
items get lodged & cannot pass through properly.
Any improvements yet?
I am thinking that the roaches were probably too large, poor girl. Let us know how things
are going!

Tracie
 

Loongtomorrow

Member
Original Poster
No poop yet :( which is really scaring me.. I mean she did poop the day she became paralyzed -- like right before my bf fed her he said
But she does seem to be regaining slight movement in her legs when I pick her up but she still army crawls and twitches a bit :/
I'll definitely go out today to get her more food and I'll include the olive oil as well as massaging her tummy to see if that helps :(
If you guys have anymore recommendations I would love to hear them as well!
I just really hope she's gonna be okay..
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,684
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom