Beardeddragon stroke???

You can skip to my short and dry version if you want.

I came home today from school and ran upstairs to give hunter his bath. I noticed when I walked in the room that his head was positioned crooked (one eye to the sky, the other to the floor) and one eye was open and the other was closed. I really did not think of it as anything bad because I thought he was just looking at the top of his cage. Well I put him in the bathtub and start the water to a nice warm temp. His head was still crooked and while he was in the tub I noticed that he could only move in circles and could not turn his position. After draining the tub He started flipping on to his pack. I quickly grabbed him and restricted him from being able to turn on his back since I know beardeddragons can't really breathe on their backs. I had to fight with him, I was gentle though. Putting him back into his viv he kept trying to flip over or something. I turned his lights off, shut the blinds, and closed the door so he will go to sleep and not hurt himself while I am not watching him.

tl;dr
Hunter can't move basically. He flips on his back when he tries to walk.


I know this can sometimes be a calcium deficiency but the thing is that I feed him a balanced Ca Diet and he has a nice 100watt Megaray which is only a few months old. I really don't see this being calcium related.

Hello,

Which calcium supplementation do you use & how often do you use it? How old is Hunter?
I doubt it is calcium deficiency.
How far away is the Megaray?
What are the temps in the tank?
This could be a viral or bacterial infection, or something as simple as a deficiency of some sort. Dehydration can also cause problems such as this.
What types of food do you feed him? Does he get enough hydration?
Has he been exposed to any toxins that you know of?

Tracie

I'm using Jarassi-cal.
The megaray is about 10-12" away but it is on top of a screen.
The temp on his log is 105 tooken by a digital thermometer with a probe.
I feed him a mixture of a whole bunch of different foods such as squash, mustard greens, endive, etc. He also gets about 30 crickets a week.
I think he gets enough hyderation. He does not have that loose skin that shows dehydration.
I have been keeping my sisters dog who is in Peru right now in my room. She has urninated a few times in my room. I open up a bottle of Spike-It in my room which is strong powerful stuff that has toxic fumes. I'm not sure though if it is strong enough to effect the whole room though. An other possible toxin that I know of in my room is a powderd paint that I use to paint my lead jigheads. I don't paint them in my room, I just keep it in my room.

Hello,

Well, those strong fumes from Spike-It may have affected him possibly. Did you air out the room well afterwards? Is this the first time this has happened? Could any fumes leak out of the paint can perhaps? If so, I would remove that from the room.
Can you post a picture of him, what is his weight?
Also, he could have low bloodsugar possibly. I have seen this in some cases. You can try adding some fruit or fruitjuice to his diet for a few days to see if that helps level his system out. You could safely feed him a little more feeders up to 50 per week for adults.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Spike-It's fumes are not that strong. They are toxic but you have to like smell the open bottle directly to have any negative effects from far away it just smells like garlic that is going bad. I am not sure of hunter's weight. I would not say he is underweight but skinnier them most dragons on this site. I do I have a gram scale, Just no box that I can put him in while I weigh him. I will try giving him some more fruit in his diet for the next week. What are your views on using that Repti-aid stuff? Issent that mostly made up of molasses? Should be good if he does have low blood sugar.

Hello,

Ok, if you feel it is not very strong, then that probably is not it. Maybe he is just not getting enough to eat.
The Reptaid I don't think is molasses based but the Jumpstart is. The Reptaid is a new product so I do not know exactly how effective it is though some have given really good reviews on it.
I would give him a boost & get him some extra food for a little bit & some extra oral fluids to see if that helps. Has he had the same behavior today?

Tracie

I was at PetSmart today but they don't carry Jumpstart. Only Repta-aid. The lady said it's because when they try to feed them jumpstart it was to stressful on them and they all died or something like that... $20 says it was the mealworms, 60 degree basking temps, and no UVB that killed them. I think I might just order it online as it is cheaper then what I would find in stores anyways.

Today hunter was surprisingly better. He was not falling onto his back and having his head tilted or anything He is not moving much though but I think this has to do something with Brumation though he is no longer brumating. I still want to get some Jumpstart down him though for the extra calories.

I'll keep yall updated

Hello,

Well, that is great that Hunter is doing better today. Perhaps it was a combination of several things. That is good he is not falling over or acting weird anymore though. He might have been really dehydrated or just needed some food.
Yeah I hardly doubt that it was the jumpstart that killed all of those baby dragons.
Keep me posted on him! I hope he is doing better. Did he eat anything today?

Tracie

Hunter has been doing a lot better. He won't take the Jumpstart so I have been putting it on his Superworms. It is messy but it works. He is no longer acting weird.

Hi Grixx- I've been following your thread, but couldn't offer and help. Just want to say I'm glad to hear Hunter is doing better. He had us worried.

Sandy H

Hello,

That is GREAT Hunter is doing much better now. It must have been a combination of dehydration & low blood sugar making him feel out of whack. So he is eating & basking normally now? Good news, thanks for the update on him.


Tracie

I personally use Repti-Aid and Jumpstart, depending on what condition my animal is in. Repti-Aid is just a powder, and is mixed with water. You can water it down more, which is easier for certain animals. When I dealt with MBD I used Repti-Aid before going to the vet. The Jumpstart is thicker, and more like gel/paste.

One of the better things to get would be Carnivore Care. I got this from a local vet after I took in a gecko for MBD. I tend to use it for more serious cases, as it is a bit more money.

I hope things are getting better by now.

I know it wasn't a calcium deficiency, but to give Zinger a little extra calcium I mix it with babyfood,you could use this with the repta-aid or Jumpstart. You might need to confirm this with Tracie though.