1 year old Beardie with Neurological disorder HELP?

Hey, first post and new to this forum. What's prompted this is for a while now my beardie has been "quirky" in how he moved. Now he is pretty much full on just dragging his back legs and barely using his front legs. The vet took an Xray and ruled out MBD, said it's most likely a neurological disorder. It seems to be getting worse and I'm really really worried about where this all leads. Has anyone else had experience with this or knowledge on the subject? I'll take any help, advice, and knowledge I can get. I'm really scared about my lil guy. Thanks!

Hello,

I am sorry to hear your dragon is having some issues.
The vet said that the x-rays looked good? They can still be developing metabolic bone disease but have a normal looking x-ray. It takes awhile for the bones to become leached.
Which UVB light are you using & what supplementation are you giving him?
If you have a picture of his tank & him as well, try to post them for us.
Here is a link to use to get started with uploading pictures:

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/#list

Is he eating very much right now?

Tracie

Thank you so much for the reply. I purchased him at 3 months old nine months ago and with it a reptisun 5.0 UVB 22". I recently learned that while the box may say 12 months, it's really only good for six. So i could suppose he was without good UVB for 3 months. His appetite suffered and I recently put in a Reptisun 10.0 UVB and his appetite has improved to normal. He gets insects dusted with Zoomed Repti calcium once a week. I'm careful to not feed him anything like spinach that would leach any calcium. His staple green is Collard greens with occasional bok choy.

Thing is, he's been like this for a while, months before the UVB bulb had expired.
According to the vet the bones don't feel "rubbery" and his his X rays show strong bones with no breaks, fractures, or damage to the spine. She think's it's a progressive neurological disorder of some sort. I have no idea how I would treat that or what to expect in terms of treatment or what his quality of life will look like...

The set up is all wrong. I hate to say it. The UVB should cover the whole enclosure so the lizard gets uvb during the day time hours. Also make sure basking temps are between 90 and 110.

Poor little guy, I agree with Tracie that MBD/calcium problems do not always show up on X-rays as fractures or deformities. So I believe that it's calcium related....the lack of ability to absorb calcium ALSO produces neurological problems because calcium is needed for all body functions. A big factor in is problem is that the 5.0 bulb produces way less than the 10.0 , and the 10.0 has even come out in a stronger bulb, the t5. So with the bulb being a weak uvb to begin with, then also being older, possibly producing little or no uvb, he hasn't been absorbing the calcium. If you can get him in the sun a few days a week, [ if possible + the weather is good ] just sitting directly in the grass so he won't heat up too much that can help.

By the way, the heat rocks are dangerous....they can malfunction and burn your beardie severely. Google it to see how common it is. Better to have a nice flat rock from outside, scrub with hot soapy water + rinse and you'll have a nice decorative lounge rock for him.

His basking temp is good, I've had the UVB spanning diagonally like that for a few days rather than straight across where it would cover more, as I read somewhere that mesh tops can actually reduce a lot of the UVB received. Better to put the top on and have it cover more of the enclosure?

I truly truly hope this is a problem with calcium, as if that's the case it sounds like his new and improved 10.0 and some sunlight could help him to recover. I've read the same about heat rocks burning beardies, but when I received this as a gift it didn't seem to get too hot. I didn't know the issue was with malfunction. I'll pick up an under the tank heater instead and go with the flat rock as suggested.

Just so you know, they cannot feel heat on their belly so you really don't need an under tank heater. It really looks and sounds like MBD. Plus the fact he had a 5.0 most of his life he was probably getting very little calcium. The reptisun 10.0 comes in 2 types; the 10.0 T8 should be 6-8" from him and the 10.0 T5 high output, which, with a reflector you could set it on top of a screen or around 12" distance. I'm going to guess you have a T8 so the T5 requires a different fixture since it is a skinnier bulb but more powerful. It's something to think about. If you want to help him though, keep doing calcium 5x week and get him outside as much as possible. I strongly suggest getting serrapeptase to aid in absorption. http://www.beardeddragon.co/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=545

Noted on the under the tank. I actually did get the T5HO and the hood does have a reflector, so it sounds like at least now I'm in good shape as far as lightning. I'll span it all the way across the mesh top to get full coverage. I'll bump up his calcium intake and will be purchasing him the calcium absorption aid you linked me to. Really hoping this will end up doing the trick.

That's good, you got a nice bulb. Keep in mind it took him months to get sick and it could take just as long to get better. It's really hard to say how much can be reversed but they can still live a long healthy, happy life.

I'd honestly be happy if he just stayed how he is. He's in good spirits, very alert, and is still mobile, any improvement is just icing on the cake versus what I was expecting to see with a debilitating progressive neurological condition.

I understand that it could take months to get healthy again, about how long would you recommend the 5X a week calcium dusting? Iv'e heard about calcium toxicity in beardies and I don't want my ignorance of yet another issue cause more health problems than he already has.

I just reread your post. Was he getting calcium 1x week for his whole life? Under the age of 1 they should get 5x week on one meal daily, vitamins the other 2 days on 1 meal. Seeing how he's just a year now I would continue 5x week maybe for a month or 2. If any urates are hard and he's been well hydrated you can start backing off a day or 2. Once he's seeming better you can go to 3x week and eventually maybe 1.5 yr it will be 2x week. You may want to explore that site a little more if you want to get other things like bee pollen which can help the immune system. His tanks looks a little small, have you thought about upgrading? He looks like he's at a healthy weight though.

!!!!!!!!! I had no clue young beardies required so much supplementation in their diet! Once a week is what we always did with my ex-gf's beardie (who as of last week is also mine as she had to move back to Brazil where it seems they aren't legal to own) and I can say that she is healthy, happy, and very large at this moment with no problems. Though the UVB she came with is this dinky little coil light, and in light of recent events I'll definitely be upgrading her as well.

Clearly though my little guy has been needing more. I did see his stool rather crumbly and seemingly mostly calcium one time, despite that he is a very well hydrated lizard (daily baths, it's where he poops). He ate plenty of insects and dusted greens today, just as he did yesterday. I'll keep it going and add vitamin supplement the other two days. He is a healthy weight according to the vet, and he should only put on more pounds now that his appetite is back.

His tank is a little small, and the plan is to build him a large Viv out of wood just as soon as I'm done building everything for the awful low budget horror film which is currently consuming my life :/

Wow, I also missed the part where you wrote that you are only dusting once a week with calcium, I was so concerned with the old 5.0 bulb. So once he gets more calcium + some good uvb in his diet he should probably do better. And don't feel that he needs to gain weight, he is very stout and doesn't need to be heavier at all. Keep him the way he is, a fat dragon will become unhealthy and lethargic as it gets older.

Hello,

Oh wow, so you purchased the Reptisun 10 T5 High output bulb, with a reflective hood for him now?
You are correct though, the screen/mesh does block out a decent percentage of UVB emissions. However, the light you have now, is strong enough to penetrate through the mesh. Or if you are good at building things, you could try to build or buy two pieces of wood that spanned the width of the tank. Then you could screw the hood fixture to the wood end to end. That way he would get full UVB exposure.
He likely was not able to absorb his calcium along with not receiving enough calcium during his growing years & it is just now showing. I would recommend liquid calcium to help out, they tend to absorb it better than powder. Low calcium will cause neurological issues, absolutely. He probably has high phosphorus levels which affect his calcium levels & absorption rates.
Definitely try to take him outside for some extra sun & enjoyment, too.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

I didn't mean literal pounds hehe. He's just supposed to be a "German Giant" and I feel that his reduced appetite may have stunted that growth a little. I'm just happy his appetite is coming back to him and he's back on the right track.

Yes, he's had his 10.0 T5HO with reflective hood for about a week now, and his appetite is getting much better after about a month or so of serious slowing down. That hood/plank apparatus you suggested sounds like a great idea and pretty easy to accomplish. The more UV he can get the better. I'll be taking him out into the garden as often as possible for some sun and will try the liquid calcium. Would that be administered via a dropper? Also, I've heard certain foods are high in phosphorous, and I take measures to avoid those. How would my guy be getting elevated levels of phosphorous and what can I do to prevent it?

I'd also like to thank everyone here for the time you took to set me straight on this issue. It's very clear that I took some improper steps in my lizard's care, but it looks like I may be able to right the course here. His bloodwork from the vet should be coming any day now and maybe that can show a few things too. I'll keep you posted as things progress, and with diligence and a little luck, hopefully I'll have him back on all four of his feet.