Draggin his body!

[caoimh]

Hey guys,

My beardie was fine this morning but i have just noticed now that when he walks he can barely keep himself up, he seems to be dragging his body along the ground? He was perfect this morning when i put him into his outside enclosure for some sun. When i took him in he was quite cold so i put him on his basking spot and he is warm again but this behaviour is worrying me?

11 months old
8' head to vent
has been eating fruit veg and crickets/locusts
has been eating well

any help please would be great.

 

[haleygirl272]

When is the last time he pooe'd? Sometimes, an impaction can cause back leg failure.

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
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?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
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?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

 

[caoimh]

How old is your dragon? 11months
How long have you had your dragon? 10 months
How long is your dragon? 15'/ 8' head to vent
What is the sex of your dragon? male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 45gallom
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? reptile carpet
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? its 24'(reptisun 10.0)
How old is your UVB bulb? 1 month
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 8 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? 100watt household halogen bulb
What are the basking temps? 107 F
What is the cool side temp? 86 F
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? infra red gun
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? center of basking spot
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? no
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. recently he has been having veg once every 2 days(kale, lettuce, carrot, brocolli, cauliflower greens) fruit twice a week (strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, grapes with skin removed) and live food most days (crickets, locusts)
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? veg and fruit in morning and live food in the evening
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? no
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? calciViRep with vitamin D3, dust 3 every 2-3 days
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? not today but has been, he didnt eat yesterday so i dont think he has anything in him to move
Do you bath your dragon? How often? yes, recently every day as he has a sore tail and it needs soaking.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? mist in the morning, afternoon
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no

 

[LJean]

Hmm... Do you think he may have gotten a bit dehydrated when outside? I would try to give him a bath. Other than maybe a fall or something I just don't know.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Your setup looks pretty good.
I have a few comments though. Your greens should be mustard or collard greens & limited kale. Kale has oxalates which can bind calcium absorption. Brocolli has high oxalates too & should not be fed on a regular basis, either.
They should not have any citrus fruits such as pinneapple, as it can upset their GI tract & throw their gut flora out of whack.
A great feeding chart is at http://www.beautifuldragons.com go to the nutritional area.
He still needs pure calcium 5 times per week, since he still has some growing to do. Your UVB is fine but he does need more calcium so he can finish growing.
It is a possibility that he is not getting quite enough calcium, or the combination of a few foods that could be binding some of the calcium is causing low calcium & too high of phosphorus levels in the system.
Is he well hydrated? As suggested, impaction can cause back leg paralysis.
How is he doing?

Tracie

 

[caoimh]

he has deteriorated today, he semms to be unable to lift his head or have the use of both front legs. if i support him under his belly he tries to walk god bless him but his head drops to the ground and he gets frustrated then.

yes he has been kept well hydrated, bathed 1-2 times a day in the last week or so.
i dont think he cud be suffering from impaction as he hasnt eaten in 3 days and this began to happen 2 days ago.


cud he be starting to brumate and be so tired he doesnt want to walk? unlikey i know but im just hoping for a healthy answer to this

extremely worried.

 

[LJean]

Awe... poor guy! I really have nothing to offer you help wise. I just wanted you to know I was thinking of you today. I sure was hoping for good news.

 

[BEARDIEJACOBY]

It may be worth bringing him to your local herp vet...sorry to hear about the poor guy...

 

[caoimh]

update

poor lil guy seems to be the same if not worse. he has stopped eating and is just confining himself to his hide all day long, he is still unable to hold up his body. I think its more his upper body that the problem is with. he can move the legs but is ust unable to get his head or belly off the ground.

only local herp vet is on holidays and im just worried that he could pass. he doesnt seem like he is dying, he just seems in discomfort and as a result is refusing to do anything? i am currently bathing him every day to keep him hydrated but i dont want to force him to eat.

im pretty sure its not impaction due to his lack of eating. i dont think he could have fallen as his outside tank isnt all that high, he isnt dehydrated as he has been bathed every day since and he was also misted when he was outside. I just dont know what it could be. im so worried.

EDIT
he just ate 3 dusted crickets but im all out of live food now and store is closed, would this be sufficient to hold him over till the morning

 

[LJean]

If he seems to want more food, can you try hand feeding him some greens?

 

[caoimh]

he just turns his nose up at grrens, he is after going back into his hide. i have been searching everywhere on the net for an answer but no luck

 

[LJean]

I wonder what can be wrong with him. Sorry that I cannot help.

So he doesn't like his veggies? Mine aren't fond of them either.