German giant walking funny

[Draycebaby2014]

hey all so i work at a pet store and a customer recently brought us their germain giant baby and i've noticed that he/ she is walking funny... like instead of walking up on its feet it drags its self across the floor i'm worried that this might be a sign of MBD ?? or is that just a trait that german giants have

please help he little guy might be going home with my boss soon and he's a first time beardie owner and i'm worried that there's something seriously wrong that we're missing

thanks so much in advance

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....no, that is not a trait of German giant or any beardie or lizard. Does your boss have info about the previous owner + how the sibling dragons are ? By the way, I'm very doubtful the parent dragons are G.Giants. Anyway, it is probably MBD and/or impaction from eating insects that are too large. What happens is the beardie can swallow the large insects, but can't digest them so they press on the spine, causing paralysis of the hind legs. But this also can be MBD. Y have to be sure to set him up with proper lighting [ can you please list that info here, your exact type + brand of lights ] Be sure to offer plenty of calcium on his food, and if he doesn't eat well then get some liquid calcium or mix the powdered calcium with D3 with some water and chicken or squash baby food. If you have an experienced reptile vet [ be sure they have experience with beardies ] you can take him in if you'd like their opinion. I hope you can get the poor little guy some help. !

 

[Draycebaby2014]

Thanks me too !! I have squash baby food I'll bring him to work today he hasn't been eating his veggies but I haven't seen him eat crickets ( I've only been there mornings ) I'm there in the evening today so I'll give him some and see if he's eating I'll take a look at the lighting too

I really hope he's gonna be okay

 

[Draycebaby2014]

So they had an iguana light >< so I switched it for the reptisun 5.0 Cuz he's in a small tank atm and his basking light is a 100w and his infrared light is 75 I believe .... I also took away his hiding spot so that he can stop hiding and get the uvb he needs .... I also had a co worker say to give him reptaid 3 times a day to help him out as well but he still isn't eating I'll check his temps when I go tomarrow I forgot my temp gun at home ..... Anything else I should be doing to help him out ?? Im tempted to buy the little boy/ girl and just take him to a vet to get him checked out ( I jut don't know where I'd put him ( Cuz I already have a big boy at home )

 

[Draycebaby2014]

Up date without his hide he's deffinately getting some good uvb he's started moving around more still not walking 100% but I did get him to eat though had to hand feed him his crickets only got 5 in him though and two meal worms ... Any one else have any more advice for me ?? And I've been giving him reptivite three times a day two drops at a time

 

[Pasakaina]

What size tank do you have, and does it have a screen lid? It would be better if you replaced your 5.0 reptisun with a reptisun 10.0 TUBE bulb--it will probably perk him up. Speaking of that, is your 5.0 a tube or compact/coil? There is a big difference.

Also, DO NOT give the reptaid three times a day. The dosage for reptaid xl is 0.1ml per 100 grams of weight, meaning that 0.05ml per 50 grams, given once a day. But if the beardie is a baby, and is under 250 grams, I believe, get the normal reptaid--not the xl. I'm not sure what the dosage is for the normal reptaid as I've only used reptaid [xl] on larger reptiles.

If he's a baby he really should be getting more protien than 5 crickets a day. Instead of attempting giving him crickets, buy some chicken or turkey baby food for 0-3 months. It's OK if in the ingredients list "chicken broth" or "turkey broth" is listed. The squash baby food is good, too, just as long as you give it with the chicken or turkey baby food. Are you giving him calcium? If he does indeed have mbd, he not only needs a good UV bulb, he also needs good calcium. You can buy liquid calcium or powdered calcium. Both are OK, but the liquid calcium is best. Until you have an adequate UV bulb, do not give the calcium very often. Once you have one, though, give calcium every day to every other day.

 

[Draycebaby2014]

It's got a screen top and the 5.0 is a tube our setup doesn't have room for a cool bulb ... He's in a bout a ten Hallam tank wich I know is too small for him but for now it's all we have for him in the store Ive been dusting his crickets with both a multi vitamin and calcium powder I think it's the zoo med ... I'll cut back on the reptaid and ask one of the other stores if they have a 10.0 they can send me ... I got about 20 crickets into him today he's finally starting to take food again .... Good sign ?? We also have him on repti carpet he's just so stressed out right now and it seems to more I bug him into eating the more uncomfortable he is ... He did start taking the crickets from me today instead of me putting them in his open mouth thanks so much you guys I really want this little boy to get big and strong

 

[Pasakaina]

Yes, it's a good sign that your beardie's appetite is improving. It means that he's feeling a bit better.

Good that you have the tube 5.0. I think that it should be sufficient for your ten gallon tank, as long as the beardie can get 6 inches from the bulb. It would be better though, if you tried to get a 10.0. reptisun. They are expensive though, so if you'd like, you can order it from petmountain.com for much less than in stores. If you are in America, and you cannot do that, I believe that the petsmarts and petcos carry reptisun 10.0 tube bulbs (they did when I lived there, though they were really expensive).

Oh, and by the way, what are the temperatures in your tank? The wattages of your basking bulbs sound sufficient to provide the correct temps, but it really depends on many factors.

 

[Draycebaby2014]

He has a 75 watt and a log that he's now able to climb to te too and get close to te light when he choses ( he's actually moving around now ) his temps last time I checked were between 96 and 110 he swelling in one of his arms has gone down too and he's able to move faster now but he still shuffles and both his back legs have no swelling in them anymore either he had like Pop eye limbs that's how Id describe them anyways I really hope he gets better so my boss can take him home for his son His color is commig back too it doesn't help either that durringg all of this he's been trying to shed poor thing but he's on his way to being better I got him to eat at least 30 crickets the other day and about 20 today he's also pooping again too still won't take veggies though I gave him some kale today and he spit it out lol

 

[AHBD]

It's good to hear that he's eating so well, that's at least one good sign. Is there any way you can post pics of him ? His legs may have been fractured at some point due to the MBD....I hope not though. Some dragons end up doing the " army crawl", describing what they walk like with deformed front legs. As for the temps., you mention that it's between 96 and 110....is 96 the coolest ? If so you need to get that way down. One side of the tank should be no hotter than 82. Hopefully he'll continue to eat and get some mobility in his legs. I'm rooting for the little guy.

 

[Draycebaby2014]

Thanks I'll double check them I could have been wrong and checking too close to the heat lamp ... I think I have one I'll upload it tonight

 

[Draycebaby2014]

That's the best one I have of him if u look closely at his arms their swollen I think his tummy a little too

 

[Pasakaina]

He looks pretty good.
He does look a little stressed, as his colors are a bit dark and I see some black on his beard, but his eyes are clear, he seems to have sufficient fat stores, and though he does look a bit skinny he's not too skinny. His joints look good too, though I cant see all of his joints in the picture. He doesn't seem to have any major signs of MBD visible, apart from the limping.

 

[Draycebaby2014]

That's really good it means that he'll have a speedy recovery thanks so much

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He does look very nice! He has a sweet face, too.
Is he walking any better now also? How is his appetite doing?

It sounds like he should make a good recovery also. I don't see any swelling but could he possibly be going to shed in some areas? At least the previous swelling has receded!

Tracie