skyfishcafe
Member
Yesterday Alduîn (appx. 3 months old) was as spunky and rambunctious as ever -- and had a HUGE appetite, eating about 25 BSFL and 15 little dubias over the course of the day! Then this morning, I heard him shuffling around the tank after the lights came on. I walked over to say good morning and noticed he was down at the base of the artificial tree stump he typically basks on. I figured he was still warming up, so didn't think anything of it.
About twenty minutes later I heard some noise again and saw him on top of the stump, but he was dragging his rear right leg -- he wasn't moving it at all. A quick search made me think he might have an impaction, so I prepped a bath. In the meantime he passed a normal-looking stool but didn't move away from it, and instead simply lay in the liquid. I hoped that maybe passing the stool would alleviate his apparent paralysis, so I gently put him in the bath just to tidy his underside. He barely moved for about 10 minutes. Finally he came to me to get out of the bath, then flopped on his basking site and looked super limp and pitiful. No stress marks at all, oddly.
At this point I was beyond alarmed, so I quickly went to see our vet. She said Alduîn didn't show signs of an impaction, but that his right limbs were definitely weaker than his right and she suspected either calcium deficiency or, if that weren't the case, possibly some rare neurological impact from parasites. X-rays confirmed that although his skull and core are still strong, his limbs and particularly his toes are calcium-deficient in a manner consistent with MBD (and possible partial dislocation of his rear right leg -- but no apparent fracture). The vet said that our husbandry seemed fine: good UVB source, nutrition, supplements, etc. She suspects that Alduîn's mother may have been a "repeat breeder" and was herself deficient in calcium when she laid this clutch.
For now, we'll be giving him daily doses of painkiller and calcium gluconate. Re-check a week from today. Prognosis is guarded. It's so sad and frustrating to see him go from a bundle of energy to being so limited in less than 12 hours.
My partner and I are upset with the place where we bought Alduîn... because when we first visited them in January, they seemed so knowledgeable and friendly and helpful, but ever since we finally decided to get our BD in September, we feel like we've been misled again and again and again. This was Alduîn's third visit to the vet in the past month -- initial checkup, questions about appetite, and now this -- and this is the first sign that anything's been wrong with his body. It's so frustrating.
Anyway, I don't think I'm looking for any particular advice or whatever. Just wanted to shout into the void and vent a little.
About twenty minutes later I heard some noise again and saw him on top of the stump, but he was dragging his rear right leg -- he wasn't moving it at all. A quick search made me think he might have an impaction, so I prepped a bath. In the meantime he passed a normal-looking stool but didn't move away from it, and instead simply lay in the liquid. I hoped that maybe passing the stool would alleviate his apparent paralysis, so I gently put him in the bath just to tidy his underside. He barely moved for about 10 minutes. Finally he came to me to get out of the bath, then flopped on his basking site and looked super limp and pitiful. No stress marks at all, oddly.
At this point I was beyond alarmed, so I quickly went to see our vet. She said Alduîn didn't show signs of an impaction, but that his right limbs were definitely weaker than his right and she suspected either calcium deficiency or, if that weren't the case, possibly some rare neurological impact from parasites. X-rays confirmed that although his skull and core are still strong, his limbs and particularly his toes are calcium-deficient in a manner consistent with MBD (and possible partial dislocation of his rear right leg -- but no apparent fracture). The vet said that our husbandry seemed fine: good UVB source, nutrition, supplements, etc. She suspects that Alduîn's mother may have been a "repeat breeder" and was herself deficient in calcium when she laid this clutch.
For now, we'll be giving him daily doses of painkiller and calcium gluconate. Re-check a week from today. Prognosis is guarded. It's so sad and frustrating to see him go from a bundle of energy to being so limited in less than 12 hours.
My partner and I are upset with the place where we bought Alduîn... because when we first visited them in January, they seemed so knowledgeable and friendly and helpful, but ever since we finally decided to get our BD in September, we feel like we've been misled again and again and again. This was Alduîn's third visit to the vet in the past month -- initial checkup, questions about appetite, and now this -- and this is the first sign that anything's been wrong with his body. It's so frustrating.
Anyway, I don't think I'm looking for any particular advice or whatever. Just wanted to shout into the void and vent a little.