Beardie falling to the right

[Monstrosity]

Last night I went to take "Squirt" my beardie out. He was asleep and his hammock had fallen but he was still partially on it. I was talking to a friend and the room was fairly dark. When I went to pick him up he freaked out ballooned up spiked the crap out of my hand and started flopping like a fish. He ended up on his back and I quickly picked him up with both hands. His head was twisted looking upward at me and his eyes were wide open. In a panic I took him in my room and set him on my bed. He could barely walk or move right. I put him in the bath for a bit and he started freaking out like he normally does. I held onto him and sat with him for a while. I took him out and he seemed better but not 100% I made him comfy and tried to feed him some applesauce. I debated on taking him to a pet hospital thats open 24/7 I decided to wait till morning and made him comfy in my bed so I could monitor him. This morning he seemed better but when he went to climb up a pillow as he normally does he just fell to the right....

As far as diet and bulbs go my girlfriend takes care of all that. Here's what I do know:

We give him a bath and let him soak for a while at least 1-3 times a week.

When he does go to the bathroom its big and seems like it takes a while. My girlfriend is constantly worried about that.

He is around 14 months or so old. Since day one he's been more athletic and active (till this episode) than my other beardie that is almost 3

Once in a blue moon he will eat veggies but mainly eats horn worms and super worms. The worms are always dusted with the white powder.

We've had issues with lights as of recent. We were waiting a while for a light thats supposed to be the best. It was online and the guy keeps saying the lights are held up in customs. A few days ago we bought lights from the local pet store.

I'm waiting on a reptile breader I know to call me. I want to take him to be looked at but figured while I'm waiting I'd see if anyone else has any ideas? I've trolled around the site for a while and just registered. Thank you in advance!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Do you know if your girlfriend uses a UVB source? If so, do you know what type & brand it is? A long fluorescent tube bulb, or a compact/coil light? How old is the UVB source, if one is being used?
Do you have any pictures of the tank setup & your dragon please?
How often is the calcium powder used?

It could be metabolic bone disease, or some other nutritional deficiency that needs to be addressed.

Tracie

 

[vettegirl584]

It is a MVB bulb that is about 9 months old. His basking temp is around 108 degrees and his cool side is around 75 degrees. We have probe digital thermometers. His worms get dusted with calcium powder everyday. He doesn't like to eat his greens but will eat Squash, Peppers, Carrots and any Fruit that you put in front of him. He is very active and loves to climb into the Christmas tree to take a nap. He still has a good appetite. When he starts to walk he will make a circle and then will take a few steps across the floor. Then it looks like his right arm just falls out from under him but he still keeps going. When I gave him a bath today it seemed like we was flipping out more than usual and kept arching his back up to the right like he was going to do a back flip. He seems like he is as happy as he was before this happened just a little slower.

 

[Monstrosity]

He had been doing a bit better since the initial incident until this afternoon. I went to give him a bath and he flipped out and flipped over. I tried to hold him without hurting him but just took him out after the 3rd atempt. I layed with him on the bed where he kept running and flopping in circles. The whole time he was breathing hard and seemed very stressed. I'm guessing whatever's going on is or is somewhat stress induced. Its very hard and scary to watch your little buddy go through this... Have an apt with a Vet tomorrow, hopefully he can shed some light on it...

 

[Monstrosity]

He had been doing a bit better since the initial incident until this afternoon. I went to give him a bath and he flipped out and flipped over. I tried to hold him without hurting him but just took him out after the 3rd atempt. I layed with him on the bed where he kept running and flopping in circles. The whole time he was breathing hard and seemed very stressed. I'm guessing whatever's going on is or is somewhat stress induced. Its very hard and scary to watch your little buddy go through this... Have an apt with a Vet tomorrow, hopefully he can shed some light on it...

 

[HowlinGaleDragon]

If I may make a suggestion I do a lot of work with rescues and there is a chance he may have MBD it could also be nerve or spinal it is hard to say I would highly recomend buying a Mega Ray UVB it is the only bulb I use with rescues you can also use a Zoo Med Repti sun 10.0 but with the chance of MBD the Mega Ray wouldbe best. Since you are going to see the vet I would ask if they can mix you up some Liquid Calcium that would a be a great help even if it turns out it's not MBD. Good Luck

 

[vettegirl584]

We have had a Mega Ray on order since July. I recieved one in May and it burnt out in just a few weeks. I returned it and still have not recieved a replacement. Everytime I email Jimmy he either doesn't reply or says that it will be here soon...This is getting very frustrating. We are taking him to the vet today to see what is going on.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh, the Reptile UV company is supposed to have everything fixed now & is starting to ship their lights out, from what I understand. Have you tried calling them?
The current Megaray that you are using, did it ever cause any eye problems with your dragon?
How often do you give calcium?

How did things go at the vets office?

Tracie

 

[vettegirl584]

I talked to Jimmy today and he said my bulb was going to ship out today. The vet said that he is very healthy and does not have MBD or an ear infection. He thinks that when the little guy fell he might have hit his head and got a concussion. Sounds weird, I know, but it happens I guess. He have him a anti-inflammatory shot to help ease his nerves cause things seem to be stressing him out. I have to give him an oral anti-inflammatory every 48 hours. He said to call him in a week to see if he get better. We went to see Dr. Riggs at the Barberton Vet Hospital. He is a vet for the Akron Zoo and was really informative with us. He also said that it might take a couple weeks for him to get back to normal.

 

[blondie098]

Dr. Riggs is our vet, too -- he did the surgery on our beloved Xena -- he is the best in this area, I have gone to him for well over 20 years now with aviary as well as herps. I didn't know a beardie could get a concussion -- does he suspect any permanent damage? Please keep us updated! How is he doing now?

Where are you guys located? We're on the far east side of town (by Tallmadge)

Have you guys checked out the beautifuldragons.com website? That is the best list of fruits / greens / veggies that has been put together for beardies. Maybe there are some new greens on that list you could try because the greens help immensely with internal moisture, and that helps keep dragon hydrated, too. Plus it gives them great calcium (like mustard greens / turnip greens), as well as roughage to "help things along".