Baby born with kinked tail, shows strange behavior

[Nim]

Hello!

My clutch hatched about two weeks back. One of the babies was born with a kink in their tail. It's noticeable at first glance, but not what I would call extreme.

What worries me is that this particular baby has some odd behavior - s/he is just as active as the rest of them, but seems to have difficulty with motor skills. For example, this morning s/he attempted to jump on one of the climbing logs in the enclosure, landed, then promptly jumped/fell backwards and landed on their back on the ground (they weren't hurt, it wasn't high). It would have been comical if there wasn't obviously something wrong.

Other than that, the baby will sometimes crane his/her head at a 90 degree angle from its spine/the rest of its body when it's trying to look around instead of turning its head normally, or turning around. They lose their balance easily.

Is this a question of them just learning how to balance with an abnormal tail? Or is there something more serious? Thanks guys!

 

[Gail]

It sounds more like neurological issue. I've never seen a dragon have balance issue from a kinked tail, even when dragons have the tail amputated, they don't have issues like that.

As long as your baby is eating and growing ok, it will probably be able to live a fairly normal life. It might need a tank with lower lights and furniture to lower the risks of falls. You'll need to find a owner to adopt a special needs dragon or keep it yourself.

Are you going to breed more? You need to decide how you will deal with any abnormal babies in the future. Some like this baby are adoptable but you may eventual hatch worse, culling is part of breeding as unpleasant as it is.

 

[Nim]

Yeah, I don't think s/he is to the point of needing to be culled. But I understand what you're saying, and it's a mentality that all responsible breeders should have. But no, I have no plans to breed going forward. My husband and I did it once for the experience. Because of this, we only kept 8 of the eggs our female originally laid. We'll likely keep one of the babies (likely the kinked tail), and rehome the others. Money isn't a concern.

The neurological thing you mention seems likely. Wish it was only balance, but yeah, it seems you're probably right. Will take the baby in for a checkup at our herp vet to see whats up.

 

[Gail]

I don't think it sounds like it needs to be culled either, as long as it can get around without being injured it will make a fine pet. It could always be a inner ear issue too, a vet check is always a good idea.