help!! beardie rolling!!

[blahblahblah77654]

hello everyone! i have a 15 month old male bearded dragon. ive had him since he was a small baby. he has had a normal active happy dragon life! he is very large (not chubby, just healthy), bright, and active. his is 18" inches. up until about two months ago though, he became lethargic and he started to lose an interest in food. he decided to quit eating live prey except for a superworm here or there. i could get him to eat collard greens though, but not much. also with the loss of appetite, he began to start having these fits. his beard will be solid black and he starts turning around in circles, and sometimes even fell off his rock and would roll. (i took everythng out of his tank now except a towel). it deffinatly is an involuntary movement because it seems to cause him alot of distress, as well as his face locks up with his mouth partially open. he had these fits up to 20 times a day. i took him to the vet immediatly and we tested his stool and his blood. everything came back normal with the blood and fecal tests. his calcium levels included. we decided to rule out an ear infection so we gave him baytril every day for two weeks and there were no results. he still had up to 20 fits a day. (the vet also said ear infection wasnt likely bc he turns in both directions when having his fits) so then we decided to try prednisolone for 2 weeks and it seemed to be working! he now only has like a fit or two a day. however this has been going on for1 1/2 months or so. and i want to know what on earth could be causing this? is it a seziure? i have no idea and im so desperate for answers. i hate to see him like this. i dont think is is the adenovirus because he has never been around another beardie. i have a 40 gallon breeder tank. repti sun 10.0 bulb (that i change before the 6 month mrk) basking temp 104, cool side 78. he ate a healthy diet of crickets, collard greens and a superworm here or there as treats (up until he got sick) i dusted them with calcium 5 days outta the week. also multi vitamin once a week. (he is on liquid clacium now) i soak him everyday in a warm bath 10-15 minutes ( because he has never drank out of a bowl). he pooped everyday of his life up until he got sick. now its every 3 days or so... i wonder if its because hes not eating alot? also he doesnt really like to bask anymore, he just lays in a random spot and sleeps half the day, the other half hes up and moving around. i wonder could this be his was of brumation? (not the fits but the lethargicness) please get bacck to me!! thanks!!

 

[blahblahblah77654]

also- since he quuit eating prey items, i got reptiboost- which has phorphorous and protein! and he eats it willingly! i have spent hours and hours and hours looking up every possible thing. and i just have run out of ideas

 

[Esther19]

Hi! I'm sorry to hear your beardie is unwell. The only thing I can think of to try is lowering the basking temp a bit. They need a minimum of 95 to digest. 104 is a little high for an adult. Try to give him some water with a dropper or needleless syringe. Drop it on his nose to see if he will drink. You can also try a splash of unsweetened juice if he won't take the plain water. Continue bathing as you are. Maybe if he will bask, he will eat. Best of luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[andre1982]

Sorry to hear. I hope he gets better in no time.