7-8 Month Bearded Dragon impaction Need help

[ACEJ]

So my Dragon was fine today as of 5PM i came back to let him out of the cage for a little while and noticed what looked to be a knot in his back, almost like his back was broken and he couldn't use his back legs at all. After doing a little research online it looks like he has a impaction. Iv tryed soaking him in warm water and rubbing his stomach, we also tryed giving him a small amount of vegi oil mixed with water. Its now 12AM and i just wanted to know is there anything else i can do. With the economy the way it is, money is tight and the Vet IS a option BUT i want to explore other possibility's before i take him tomorrow evening if i can.....I'M NOT HERE TO GET BASHED AND IM NOT LOOKING FOR PERSONAL OPINIONS ANY HELP WOULD BE NICE

 

[Freeie]

How is he/she doing? Unsweetened applesause helps with impaction too. May I ask what you have been feeding him/her. Might help with whats going on with him/her. Also if you could go over his/her set up it might help if its not impaction. Lights, temps, what you use on the floor of the viv. If you give him/her calcium and if they are under a UVB light. Could you post a picture of your bearded dragon.

I just wanted to add something. I found this site when our beardie was impacted and they helped me with her. No ones here to flame you. Were here to help.

 

[ACEJ]

well my wife brought home these big mealworms a week ago, for him which we have never given him before and now this...from reading online seems they are to good for his diet let alone their pretty big. he does have sand in his cage which after all this will be removed anyways since im hoping to move him into a bigger cage in the next month or so. his cage temp reaches around 100F on the warm side. umm sorry its like 2 am lol

 

[Freeie]

Oh its ok . Yep mealworms is what almost killed our girl. It was awful. Never will buy those again. I went to crickets. Your doing pretty much everything you can if you could get the basking temps up to 105 or so it will help. Took our girl 2 days before she was back on track. If its the calcium sand remove it and just use papertowls or newspaper intill you can upgrade. Calicium sand is like cement in their tummys witch they are lucky to survive. They injest it when eating. I sure hope she/he gets better soon.

 

[ACEJ]

thanks for the help, talked with the vet and he said pretty much soaking him in warm water and rubbing his stomach is the best thing and only thing we can do at this point and hope for the best............

 

[Freeie]

Please let me know how everything goes. *crosses fingers*

 

[ACEJ]

Please let me know how everything goes. *crosses fingers*

UPDATE we ended up taking him to vet...followed all instructions given by vet............. he IS pooping again and eating some BUT he still has a lump on his lower back and cant move his back legs. his legs and tail will twitch and it seems like he has feeling in them since if we pinch his leg he trys to move it BUT he has no other use of his back legs were lost with what to do i kinda feel like if he doesnt get better soon i may just put him down i dont want him to suffer if that is the case

 

[tank4102]

Also to get the extra junk out, you can buy Gerber apple sauce, and get a tinny little bit of it, but a drop of olive oil on the applesauce and drop a little itty bitty bit on the tip of your bd's nose err mouth,and he should lick it off and hopefully the other junk gets out.

 

[carmdac]

he might still be impacted and have multiple blockage so continue as vet directed a bit more.

 

[demiblood]

Your problem sounds like Metabolic Bone Disease (not impaction)

"Breaks may cause twisted and crooked backs, toes, and limbs.
Paralysis can be a symptom, as well. Damage along the spinal cord can cause paralysis of the front or back legs. "

"Trembling and weakness in the limbs, due to damage to nerves. Lameness, Tremors and jerky movements in the toes and legs of the reptile."

http://hubpages.com/hub/Metabolic_Bone_Disease

Causes:
Improper lighting,
BD needs UVB light, which needs to be changed aprox every 6 months or when he starts trying to get closer and closer to it, neglecting his basking spot
-OR-
Improper calcium in diet, you're not dusting his food once a day with a calcium supplement (be careful not to give him to much, either)
-OR-
He's got some kind of condition, or environment problem (not enough heat or basking time) causing him not to take in enough calcium through his diet (as would usually happen)
... or a combination of these things


The only thing you can do at this point, is give him lots of attention,

hand feeding helps, add calcium supplements to his diet (rep-cal is a good one, phosphorus free with Vit D3)
Take him out to get some sunlight for 30 minutes a day at LEAST once a week,
and... make sure his UVB bulb is changed once every 6 months

Be very careful with his spine... its probably not broken, it is most likely just curled/twisted/bent because his bones have become soft/weak/thin, it probably does have fractures however,
He might recover without many problems, but...
there's a chance he could permanently be fully or partially paralyzed in his rear end
and if his spine actually breaks it very likely will bring him shortly to his grave

You need these things: (usually can be found in your local pet shop, if not, order them online)

REP-CAL (try to get the pink label - its phosphorus free -and- has D3, which helps him absorb more calcium)

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...ultrafine-powder-calcium-with-vitamin-d3.html

Zoo-Med Repti-Sun 10.0 (make sure its a florescent tube bulb, and not a compact, also make sure its the 10.0 as this has proper UVB for a desert dwelling reptile)

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...bs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html

 

[schuljm4]

I agree with demiblood... I have a juvi beardie, 6 mos. old, and was building him a large cage so I didnt put any UVB lighting on him (thought I could hold out till the cage was done). But he started showing similar symptoms as what you discribe, not quite as severe, but his hinde legs were stiff and pointing straight back along his tail and limited movement in his front legs and also his toes were twitching and shaking... very scary stuff. I moved his small cage ( 10 gal aquarium), to a table next to a window so he gets direct sunlight all day and he made a full recovery within a week. If there is anyway you can get him in direct natural sunlight I would strongly recomend it. Also upped the amount of calcium i was giving him to coating everything I fed him for a few days. He is going to stay in the sun till I get the cage done and I plan to put two 48" flourscents w/ 10.0 bulbs. Anyway, hope all is well with yours.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having problems with your beardie. I think before we all jump to conclusions here that your beardie has metabolic bone disease, you should go over your set up and care for your beardie. It could very well still be some impaction that you are seeing. If you wouldn't mind answering some questions... maybe we can help you figure this out.



How old is your dragon?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?


I know it seems like alot of questions, but the more we know the better.