Malibu is flipping onto her back.

[MALIBUSMOM]

Malibu has vertigo and is flipping onto her back...x-rays show good bone density,no bruises or fractures..they are doing blood work..Any one know why this would be happening?

 

[AHBD]

Can you list her complete set up and what she eats and how she's hydrated regularly as well as supplements ? There could be nutritional deficincy, other causes are over heating, trauma, viruses, toxins or inner ear infection.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

10.0 reptisun fluorescent tube bulb 48inch.....70 gallon viv floor raised to get closer to uvb abot a foot to fourteen inches away...reg.household 40watt bulb..she is 7..tile.soft shelf liner floor. .annies organig greens..supers,wax,orcrickets dailey...soaks and poos in bath Dailey. ..temps 99_100...does not like it hotter

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Calcim with d3 spplement...repti vit dust 2 or 3 times a week...x ray shows no bone loss or fractures also shows no eggs calcified...she is due to lay next week?she laid. infertiles last year this time and once a month till august. .Iup calcium to 3times a week during egg season. She has never. Been mated

 

[AHBD]

Hopefully someone can figure out what's wrong with your sweet girl. So you say her UVB bulb is 10 - 14 " away ? Does she bask within that range ? It may not be close enough for her to benefit from the UVB rays. Calcium deficiency can cause neurological trouble even if bone density looks good because she may have developed a deficiency after her bones were properly developed already, and calcium affects just about all body functions. Be sure she can get within about 8" of it, and maybe try some liquid calcium. Another thing is possible ear infection...can the vet check for that ? And is the kitchen role the same you've always used, and does it have the sticky backing ? There could possibly be a reaction to that, although I don't think it's likely, but it's best to leave no stone unturned when trying to figure out what could be wrong. Hopefully the blood tests will reveal an unseen problem that can be fixed, or of it's calcium related she can be nursed back to health. As for egg laying, they do not necessarily lay the same every year, she may not lay this year the same as previous years. You might p.m. Tracie [ Drache613 ] for more thoughts on this. She's one of the mods. I hope the best for your girl !

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

yes she is getting liquid calicium..tomorow i will move her viv floor up higher to get 10 inches from basking and move light bulb closer to mid viv or switch to a 25wattt...her tempps are measured w/ temp gun and digitial probe on basking spot.her bulb is under 2 months old this problem started before new repti sun ..old one was six months old....they did look in her ears and saw no fluid or anything but it could be middle ear..which i have lots of experience with since I had a tumor removed from there.saying prayers...I pmd drach and Diane and Gina..should have some insight soon.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Bump!

 

[snazzyglasses]

Aw, poor girl (and poor you!)
My thoughts would be an inner ear infection as well (But I have no idea how they find those in beardies :?)
I think a deficiency in one of the B vitamins, Thiamin, can cause nervous-system and muscle issues like twitching/swaying and odd posture but I don't think vertigo is one of them? (Article here- http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/vitamins/). Plus it sounds like she's getting her multivitamins so I don't know how a Thiamin deficiency could happen. But I guess it's something else to consider! A B-vitamin complex would help if it is a Thiamin issue. All of the B-vitamins are water soluble, so the body just excretes the excess and they won't build up and cause toxicity or anything.

Good luck with your little lady! Human and beardie fingers & toes are crossed that someone has answers soon <3 <3

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Shelf liner is the same soft stuff..Its covered with towels right now so she can walk on it..i just tweeked her viv and raised her floor a little closer to UVb also to mesh screen off so it will no be filtered out..put her old ledge back in sitting on the towels ..she had her bath earlyer and ate some greens w/ repti vite dist..then I gave her 2 drops of liquid calcium.She has been basking on her ledge happily.probly just glad not to be at the vet.

 

[AHBD]

That's good, she may improve now that she can get closer to the UVB bulb. It may be that since it was a bit too high and also partly blocked by the screen that she was not able to benefit from the UVB that is needed to enable her body to absorb the calcium. Hopefully these changes will help .

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Cindy Edgell I have moved her to the 15 gallon viv,with 10.0 on top ..no screen..put heating pad under viv with a towel on top..monitoring temps...she had a bath and poohed and now shes on her fleece in the 15 gallon viv.her wight is fine..620 grams,her tail is paralized and dead wieght but looks fine..she can still lift it to pooh...today i had her walk a little and held her tail up and she walked fine..I am thinking her tail is why she can not balance.Blood work should be in Tuesday..I am e-mailing it to Tracey in Bearded Dragon.Org..she is an expert.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Just checking in with your thread. How is Malibu doing today?
The bloodwork will be in tomorrow right?
You do have my email correct? That is very interesting when you lifted her tail she could walk around a little better. It sounds like she is lacking some strength. Many times with calcium issues or other vitamin/mineral issues, the strength in the tail goes first, before the back legs do.
How is her appetite doing today?

Tracie

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

She ate on piece of green..yesterday a couple pieces..and some supers...she is 620grams.I just sent you some pics.let me know if you got them..sent to e-mail.

 

[diamc]

Cindy, I had mentioned that they balance themselves with their tail, that was a good idea holding it up to see if she walked better that way. Hopefully it's just that her body isn't able to absorb the vitamins efficiently and once you find out the results of the blood work, you will have some answers as to what will help her. I know when Sabrina was having walking issues with her back legs, Tracie and I discussed that as they get older, they need to have some B vitamins supplemented to help them out. It did make a difference with Sabrina for a while.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Where do I get B Vitamins?