My 4 month old BD started having muscle spasms yesterday. Today he started having them again, and now all 4 legs are stiff and paralyzed. He also seems to have lost control of the muscles in his face. As a result of this he started scooping sand into his mouth. he isnt swallowing it, but i keep taking it out with a q-tip, but then once out he just starts doing it again. his beard and belly are black and his breathing is very fast and heavy. I took him in and was told they had never seen this before, and the only vet in my area certified to do reptiles is in an all day meeting. I am so worried. i dont know what else to do.
Hi there,
This sounds awful. Im so sorry your beardie is going through this. It sounds very scary.
It definatly sounds like he needs the vet.
Untill then id get rid of the sand and replace it with paper towel or newspaper until you can get him seen. You cant sit up with him all night and having sand in his mouth is super dangerous, especially if he is losing muscle control. It'll result in impaction or, much more worryingly, choking.
I hope you can see your vet asap.
Let us know how you get on x
If you could please give us some more information on your setup it would help us.
What type & brand of UVB light are you using, is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?
How old is your UVB light? How old is your dragon?
Also, are you using any calcium supplementation? If so, how often?
The vet called me and said it sounds like a calcium deficiency and to put sugar water on his gums. Since his mouth was open still i was able to actually let him drink it.
Last night i checked on him regularly, even waking up a few times to do so, and his spine was curved and he was thrusting around. I gave him more of the water and mixed some of his food into it. This morning he has some use of his legs, his mouth is not open, and his spine is not all tense looking. He still cant walk, and his toes and legs are still twitching. His beard is not black anymore, but he still needs a lot of improvement.
From what the vet said all I can do now is keep using an eye dropper to feed him and water him, and hope for the best.
I am not sure what uv brand he has, but it is like a month old bulb, its 150 watts, he is usually at about 95 to 105 degrees. He is fed cricket, salad, and these pellets that say they have everything in it that the BD needs. I have another beardie, i have the two separated now because just one day before this one got sick he attacked my other smaller one. the other one is fine, i just hope they don't both get sick.
Based on the description of your dragon, the calcium deficiency sounds very advanced. I do not think that you have a UVB light, if it is a 150 watt. Unless you are using some type of mercury vapor bulb. Can you please find out what type & brand your light is? It is very important.
Sugar water is not going to do anything for muscle spasms such as that if it is caused by calcium deficiency. The best thing you can do is to ensure you have a good UVB light, & start using liquid calcium. The site http://www.beautifuldragons.com has great liquid calcium that you can order.
If you do not have a UVB light, he will not recover. They cannot absorb calcium without UVB exposure.
Is he eating today?
Ok, Piggy is all better now. I gave him sugar water with an eye dropper, and that helped a bunch, then i put calcium powder all over his crickets and he is now better than ever. he is even eating more than he used to. thanks for all your help!
Good that he is doing better.
However, if you do not have a UVB source, he will have some problems that will crop up. Muscle spasms are indicative of hypocalcemia & without UVB to help him absorb calcium, he may get worse.