Hi all! First off thank you so much for taking time to read though and hopefully help me with my Beardie, Tuukka.
We got Tuukka from a reptile show about 4 months ago (assuming that was the best place to buy a beardie) he has been doing awesome until about 1 week ago. I am a veterinary technician at a small animal practice and have been trouble shooting his issue with doctors at my work but wanted to post here and see if anyone had any good input or could help.
Age: Tuukka is under 1 year (~9 months)
Size: ~12 inches from head to tail
Temps : 75-85 degrees on the cool side(with a hide and hammock) and 100-110 degrees on the hot side with a climbing stick for him to climb up.
Substrate: Repti carpet for the majority , now paper towels
Tank size: 40 gallon breeder (i think that’s the right term)
All lights are correct UVB, and he can receive it from anywhere in his cage
Diet: Dubia roaches, occasional crickets , mealworms, sometimes horn worms as treats. Fresh salad daily ( Collard greens, cucumber, romaine lettuce sometimes, carrots , zucchini , summer squash , very rarely strawberry or blueberry) and he is very good at eating his salads
**Every meal is dusted with calcium powder + D3**
We also give him a soak every 3 days.
Issues with Tuukka started about 1 week ago. We would go in his room and notice that he was on his back. We originally thought it was no big deal and maybe thought he was getting clumsy. When we first noted him on his back it looked like he had pooped in his large corner water bowl and had a hard time getting out and fell. So we removed the corner water bowl and put a new one with low sides so he could very easily enter/exit. He did not show any other abnormal behavior at the time.
When we found him on his back a second time we were very concerned. He was overturned by his hide log. We then removed everything from the bottom of his cage, cut his nails and removed the carpet and replaced it with paper towels. This was a recommendation from a vet at my work, thinking his nails were possibly too long and he was getting stuck in the carpet.
We then started noticing him acting slightly lethargic, but still very alert. After troubleshooting with doctors at my work we assumed that he was getting too much calcium. Immediately stopped dusting everything we fed him , and cut calcium out. The plan was to wait a week, see how he does and possibly take an X-ray and run a fecal.
We had thought Tuukka has gotten better, but found him on his back again in his water(we now removed the bowl for safety) we have been giving him dilute Gatorade for hydration, feeding him as normal(minus powder) and keeping a very close eye on him. He has continued to keep his appetite, and has been very alert (as normal). When he walks it seems like he is very off balance , and cannot correct himself when he’s on his back. I do have a very good video of his behavior but I’m not exactly sure where to post. Poops have been normal.
Any input/help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you- Tuukka and his very worried parents.
We got Tuukka from a reptile show about 4 months ago (assuming that was the best place to buy a beardie) he has been doing awesome until about 1 week ago. I am a veterinary technician at a small animal practice and have been trouble shooting his issue with doctors at my work but wanted to post here and see if anyone had any good input or could help.
Age: Tuukka is under 1 year (~9 months)
Size: ~12 inches from head to tail
Temps : 75-85 degrees on the cool side(with a hide and hammock) and 100-110 degrees on the hot side with a climbing stick for him to climb up.
Substrate: Repti carpet for the majority , now paper towels
Tank size: 40 gallon breeder (i think that’s the right term)
All lights are correct UVB, and he can receive it from anywhere in his cage
Diet: Dubia roaches, occasional crickets , mealworms, sometimes horn worms as treats. Fresh salad daily ( Collard greens, cucumber, romaine lettuce sometimes, carrots , zucchini , summer squash , very rarely strawberry or blueberry) and he is very good at eating his salads
**Every meal is dusted with calcium powder + D3**
We also give him a soak every 3 days.
Issues with Tuukka started about 1 week ago. We would go in his room and notice that he was on his back. We originally thought it was no big deal and maybe thought he was getting clumsy. When we first noted him on his back it looked like he had pooped in his large corner water bowl and had a hard time getting out and fell. So we removed the corner water bowl and put a new one with low sides so he could very easily enter/exit. He did not show any other abnormal behavior at the time.
When we found him on his back a second time we were very concerned. He was overturned by his hide log. We then removed everything from the bottom of his cage, cut his nails and removed the carpet and replaced it with paper towels. This was a recommendation from a vet at my work, thinking his nails were possibly too long and he was getting stuck in the carpet.
We then started noticing him acting slightly lethargic, but still very alert. After troubleshooting with doctors at my work we assumed that he was getting too much calcium. Immediately stopped dusting everything we fed him , and cut calcium out. The plan was to wait a week, see how he does and possibly take an X-ray and run a fecal.
We had thought Tuukka has gotten better, but found him on his back again in his water(we now removed the bowl for safety) we have been giving him dilute Gatorade for hydration, feeding him as normal(minus powder) and keeping a very close eye on him. He has continued to keep his appetite, and has been very alert (as normal). When he walks it seems like he is very off balance , and cannot correct himself when he’s on his back. I do have a very good video of his behavior but I’m not exactly sure where to post. Poops have been normal.
Any input/help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you- Tuukka and his very worried parents.