Backstory; I bought 2 dragons that I believed were beardies. However the one they told me was a boy was actually a rankins and laid eggs the night I got her home.
Fast forward a single egg hatched and is now 3 weeks. Hatchling is eating, pooping and shedding but Visually you can see is not right. She(obv I don’t actually know gender) has hunchback and crooked tail. Both have been apparent since birth but becoming more obvious as the days go on.
My questions are, is this something that requires emergency medical treatment? We are having financial difficulties right now so was hoping I could hold off a couple more weeks till we get paid, but if needs be I’ll find the cash.
Secondly, any ideas what could have caused this? Obviously I don’t know the care she received whilst Gravid so wondering if this is a possible reason?
I have no idea but we need to have Tracie our vet tech mod on here look and AHBD --- make sure the dragon has correct UVB and that is a long tube fixture Zoo Med Sunblaster or Arcadia 24" fixture w/ a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 or Arcadia 12% bulb --- that looks to me like a deformity and w/ possible correct UVB can be corrected or at least semi corrected but we need the other two people mentioned to look for sure --- I would get him set up in a hospital tank like this
so he can have a chance of getting better --- but I am going to flag the post - distance for the UVB should be 12-15 inches for the T 5 bulbs I have posted -
Hi there, sorry to see the little one was born deformed. I suspect that the mother was calcium deficient but this could also be caused by other factors, even humans born from healthy parents can be born with spinal + other issues . Please post a pic of the mom, this baby is not a Rankin's so you may have a young female pogona vitticeps that was bred way too early, probably housed with a male that may even be her sibling. Just keep up with the proper lights and calcium supplementation , that's about all you can do. A vet might give her a calcium boost shot but that can also be stressful on her little body so I'd just get some liquid calcium , although the powdered is fine if she's eating.
Hello, sorry I was in a rush when I posted this morning.
To explain better... mum is a rankins(I’ve had her seen by reptile specialist nearby), but was housed with a beardie meaning this baby is a vittikins. Mum was bred way Too soon- she’s only about 9months old now(the people I took her from said she was 2 but although I knew that was a lie I didn’t realise she was gravid so wasn’t concerned about the age at the time.
Hatchling is in a 2ft viv alone at the moment (although will go into my spare 4ft when she gets bigger. Has an Arcadia t5, dimming thermostat... I use a digital probe to check temps. Basking spot sits around 100oF and cool side sits around 82oF.
Eats around 10 bugs about 5 times a day (so around 50bugs daily- although working on getting more into her every day). She has fresh salad in daily too- although as expected she doesn’t eat it on her own but has eaten if I put to her mouth and tease her with it.
Wow, she eats a good amount so it's great that she has such an appetite ! Good for you and her ! The amount you're feeding is enough, no need to increase it. Just be sure you get the proper lights that Karrie ASAP or she'll deteriorate. I'm familiar with the Vittikens but can you still post pics of the parents ?
This was a picture taken of the parents together(the day I got them- they aren’t in the same viv since I got them!)
The bigger one obviously being the dad.
Wooooow, that mom is a Rankin's, poor little girl was mated with the big dragon. It would have been fine if she were mated with a Rankin's that would have been her size but it took a lot out of her to produce her eggs since she was bred to this big guy. So yes, the baby would be a Vittiken's and is already a good size .
And yes, your lighting is good as long as the UVB is within 12".
Oh my, that was not a good pairing, I agree! Plus, as AHBD stated, she was too young to have
been bred also which almost always contributes to problems for both mother & hatchlings.
You may be able to improve some of the deformities but probably not all.
Which T5 tube bulb brand are you using, the Reptisun or the Arcadia? Both lights are great so
she is receiving the best lighting. I highly recommend getting her on some liquid calcium too for
help with calcium absorption right now.
I am glad to hear that she has a great appetite right now so that is good to hear. Is she able to
walk, run & climb very well?