new baby with neurological issues

I know someone who had a clutch of beardies. He had one that he didn't want to keep as the baby was acting weird and he was worried it was attracting the other babies to pick on it. Apparently this baby was mentaly messed up straight out of the egg. I agreed to take this little 2 week old baby before it got chewed on or worse. I've only had the little fella for all of two days and this poor baby is more than a little weird. I think there is some serious neurological issues. His head tilts to the left all of the time although I have seen him straighten it out once or twice. He spins around in circles and seems disoriented most of the time. I ploped some crickets into his enclosure and he seemed very excited about them but he just madly dashed around, doing circles and the occasional barrel roll. I don't really know what to do with this little guy. I don't think he can eat, at least I haven't seen him eat yet. Offered him crickets and diced greens. He won't eat from tongs or my fingers. Is there any hope for this little guy? Has anyone had a baby beardie that survived some serious neurological issue like this?

Hello,

That does sound pretty serious. I wonder if he had trouble getting out of his egg possibly.
If he can't catch his food, to be sure he gets some nutrition, you can feed him some baby food such as chicken or turkey along with squash or sweet potato baby food. You could also try to hand feed him a cricket or two, just to see if that helps out.
Also, which UVB light are you using? It could be a birth defect or a severe calcium deficiency too. I would recommend giving some liquid calcium also, in case it could be calcium related.
Could you upload a video if possible so we could see the movements?

Tracie

With it only being two weeks old I was doubting its a calcium thing. The uvb bulb is a brand new 10.0 reptisun. I have tried to hand feed him and he wouldn't take anything. I managed for force feed him two cricket legs and dibbled water at his mouth and he seemed to drink it. I'll take a video tomorrow and see if I can figure out how to upload it so you can see the behavior. I feel really bad for the little guy. I'll try to get some baby food. I do have a lot of left over beardie formula food type stuff that I got from the vet for a previous very sick beardie foster that I had. I'll mix some of that up two and see if I can get him to eat it.

So I'm not sure how to load a video. I'll start a YouTube thing tomorrow or unless there is a way to share videos on here or in a better place that someone knows of.

Uploading to youtube or vimeo and then posting the link here would probably work best for video.

Sakti's first feeding test: http://youtu.be/1sfM-VniixU
Here is Sakti's first feeding test. I just wanted to see if he could even catch crickets. The breeder said that he had no trouble eating but after seeing how sevier his neurological issue was I was have doubts. Sorry about the super shaky camera. I was paying more attention to Sakti than I was yo what I was filming.

Hello,

Wow that is very sad.
I agree, it may not be calcium issues, but they can be born with a calcium issue if the mother was deficient while she was gravid. Were there any other babies with any problems?
I do recommend using a liquid calcium though, just in case it is calcium related. Also, some B vitamins could help too if it is a thiamin deficiency.
To help on catching crickets possibly, try putting some in the fridge for a few minutes to slow them down & put him in a small plastic bin with just a few of the crickets so it doesn't overwhelm him.
I am so sorry, this has to be very difficult. We will try to help as much as we can.
The Reptisun 10 UVB, is it the tube, correct?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

He was the only one with any issues out of the whole clutch. The breeder thinks he may have had issues hatching or broke some part of his spine maI'll be feeding him in a smaller feeding tube. I just plopped them in the tank in the video to watch and see if he could even get them.
I am dusting his food with some special beardie vitamins. I'm worried about putting too much in his system. I know you don't generally want to give any kind of supplements to a puppy because it can lead to health issues and that is my fear with this little guy. I don't want to make things worse.
Yes it's the tube uvb bulb.
Thanks for the support. I feel so bad for this little guy. I used to run an exotic pet rescue so a lot of the animal I got in were special needs but usually only MBD and emaciation cases. I had an adult beardie with some mental issues but I've never had anything like this before.