HELP - Sick Baby Beardie

[Graydragon]

My son got a baby beardie two months ago and he is adorable and loves to be held. About 5 days ago we noticed he was not using his left front arm and was being lethargic. I started reading up about calcium deficiency and thought maybe this is the problem, although we have been dusting his crickets every other day. We put him in the natural sunlight and seemed to feel better. He was still eating, but not as much as usual. He eats crickets and rarely some greens A day later we noticed he was not able to use either arm and kind of scooches on his belly. We took him to the Rep Vet and she said he looked okay, but that he was about to shed, which could explain the lack of energy. She said she did not think it was a calcium deficiency, but thought it could be a lighting issue. He is currently about 10 inches long from head to end of tail. He is in a 10 gallon tank with a sunning light and UVB Reptisun 10 light as well. He has a sunning rock which gets him pretty close to the lights. We had not been monitoring the temperature of the terrarium until now. We bought new bulbs in case and now the temp is about 92 on the sunning side. Is this warm enough? He is still lethargic, will only eat about 5 crickets, we have to basically hand feed him, because he can't move very well. The Vet said to give him a soak everyday for 5-10 minutes over the next couple of days and then twice a week after that. If he doesn't perk up, we are to call her. What could this be? If he is paralysis because of lighting is it reversible? I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kyleena29]

The tank is way too small. Get him a minimum 40gal breeder tank. He should be able to get to a cooler side of 78ish and 100-105 on his basking spot. You should have a digital thermometer with a probe right on his basking to see the temp. He could be getting over heated because there's nowhere to cool off at. How old is the UVB bulb and what exactly are you using, tube or coil? Has he had a fecal test? Get him some squash, turkey or chicken baby food and let him lick it off his nose till he eats normally. How often are you giving calcium and vitamins? Not being able to use front arms sounds alarming to me. I would try a different vet.

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree that a proper heat and UVB gradient can't be achieved in such a small enclosure. Ideally you'll want something at least 4'x2'x2' which will wind up being sufficient for an adult but is good for a little guy too. There are places that will build custom enclosures like KMDragons. The most cost effective route is to build your own. This is a walkthrough of a popular model https://beardies.dreamwidth.org/2145.html In a larger enclosure, I would use a T5 tube for UVB. This is what I use and it works really well http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ It's optimal output is about 12'' from the bulb sitting over the basking area. Taterbug has a website that gives further information about lighting and setups that I find to be quite helpful https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides

In the meantime, continue to provide natural sunlight as the weather allows. It's great for them and can't be replaced with artificial lighting.