HELP! Beardie is stiff and found on floor of tank

[BeardedBeardieLover]

I just got back from a meeting around 15 minutes ago and I found my bearded dragon laying on the floor of my tank, arms and legs at his side and his eyes open looking up at me. His breathing is regular, but he's stiff as a board and only reacts to stimulus when I flip him over on his back in my hand. Since this is my first bearded dragon, this scared me half to death when I saw him laying on the tank floor because this is extremely unusual for him. I hope this is brumation, however I do not know what it looks like! He hasn't been eating as much as he usually does for about a week - maybe once or twice a day. I got him in November (2012) and I believe he was 3 - 4 months old which puts him at 7 months old. He's roughly 9 - 10 inches long and was basking in his heat lamp with a white creamy belly before I left. Please advise!!!

 

[sweetiepie9]

So first, please do not flip him over on his back, they can't breathe on their backs at all, they have no diaphram and I know this from experience. So keep him on his front. Is he still stiff? I would make a nest of soft towels and put him under his basking light so he's kept warm, then do you have a good vet that you can call in an emergency? I don't know what could be causing the stiffness, I'll forward this to another moderator that has more expeirence than me.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Exactly how stiff is he? Is he just cold?
Were his arms & legs completely back with his palms facing inward towards his body?
If his breathing is regular & not erratic it sounds like he was very relaxed. I don't think he was brumating but just very lethargic.
The best thing you can do is get him in a bath to determine what his reactions are. As Deb suggested though please don't turn him on his back as it can cause a lung collapse.
Please keep us posted on him.

Tracie

 

[BeardedBeardieLover]

His arms and legs were completely back with his palms facing up. My girlfriend has a picture of him that I'll try to get posted here later today. I gave him a bath less than 15 minutes ago and he didn't react much to it. He just sipped some water from the bath. I offered him crickets, which he didn't respond to and I refreshed his collared greens, which he licked, but didn't eat any. He's still not nearly as active as he usually is. Whenever I hold him in my hand, the only thing he does is he keeps his arms and legs in towards his body. He moved around in his cave last night, but he's been staying there the entire time so far.

He's not stiff like last night though, but I'm still worried. He was stiff to the point that, when I tried to put him on my bed, instead of spreading his arms out per usual he almost acted like a board or a pen being placed down chest first.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Thanks for the information.
A picture or video would be extremely helpful if possible.
It sounds like brumation, but not totally sure. If he did drink a little bit of water, then that is a good sign. Is his beard black at all, or just normal colored?
Could he have eaten anything poisonous that you know of?

Tracie

 

[BeardedBeardieLover]

When I put him under his basking lamp, his beard turned half black, like he was only agitated, but when I put him in his cave, his beard turns white/cream colored. I keep his tank fairly clean and any chemicals in the room are in a locked cabinet so there's a slim chance that he could have been exposed to anything poisonous. The only thing that I don't keep in the locked cabinet is a hand sanitizer pump for after handling him. I wash my hands before interacting with him and I use the hand sanitizer afterwards.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....poor little guy, hopefully it will be something that can be resolved quickly. One thing to clear up though, are you sure of his length ? If he's 7 months and 9-10" it would be very small + it would not be brumation , although some young ones slow down a bit, he should have been more alert when you picked him up. He may have a tummy problem, calcium problem, etc. Can you list your entire set up, what type + brand of lights specifically, what his flooring is, etc ? Also, what has he been eating, and what size insects and what type of supplements [ calcium + vitamin ] your'e using ? If they were too large they could cause stomach upset and/or impaction. These are just a few things to try to narrow down the possibilities. Some stomach problems resolve themselves in a day or two.

 

[BeardedBeardieLover]

I'm sad to report that Captain Jack passed away this afternoon... I thought I had done everything right..

Setup:
18" Repti-sun 10.0 bulb
2x Heat lamp with 50w bulbs (Day lamps, Fluker's lamp enclosures)
1x C.H.E. (Fluker's lamp enclosures, always on)
1x Night lamp with 55w Night Bulb
20L Tank with plenty of room to run around
1x Branch to climb on
1x Basking rock with cave
1x Dish for collared Greens
Terrarium Liner
2x Digital Thermometer with Probe (1 for each side)

I had timers linked to the lights so they'd automatically turn off and on. The room stayed in between 68 - 72 and the tank never dipped below 78 on the cool side and stayed at a constant 85 - 95 with a basking spot of 95 - 105. I had him since late November and he grew to in between 7 - 9 inches. I'm not sure of his age. Crickets were his staple - he preferred the small-medium sized ones - supplemented with a daily serving of collared greens with the occasional serving of one or two waxworms. I bathed him once a week or as frequently as I could and misted him every now and then. I treated the water with zoo-med's Reptisafe and dusted the crickets with Fluker's calcium supplement. I gut loaded the crickets with Fluker's dry and moist cricket feed. I baked the branch and basking rock in the oven for 15 minutes at 250F to kill anything on there. I cleaned his tank and washed his dish regularly.

There was one occasion where the local pet stores did not have medium or small crickets so I opted for a small bag of the larger crickets. Do you think that this may have caused it? I'm thinking it was impaction, but I don't know for sure. At first, it seemed like he was brumating because he was spending a lot of time in his cave and away from the lights. He rejected any food that I gave him, including the collared greens - which I read that some beardies stop eating altogether because if he or she were to fall into deep sleep without digesting/processing the food, it would rot and become poisonous. I don't know where I went wrong

When I left to go to the gym for an hour, he was still moving around a little bit and basking under the heat lamps, but when I got back, he wasn't breathing at all.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'm so sorry to hear about Captain Jack, sometimes they have internal problems that aren't apparent, even to a vet. RIP Captain Jack, you're over the Rainbow Bridge now, with my Sweetie, Issy and Angel to take care of you.

 

[Esther19]

I'm so sorry for your loss. You did the best you could for him.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am so sorry for your loss, that is too bad. It is so devastating when you lose one, I am sorry.

Tracie

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

So sorry..I am sure its nothing you did wrong.He must have had some kind of ailment when you got him.Hugs.