My Little Rescue Chico

[PicosParent]

Hello Everyone, So many of you were just so awesome as I went thru loosing my darling baby Pico almost 4 weeks ago and again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!! I posted a memorial on here about him and how absolutely wonderful he was, I still cry frequently over his loss and think about him constantly....

The day after he passed, I scoured Craigslist to find another baby to save. I ended up getting my darling Chico from a very nice young lady who had fabulous intentions, but not the knowledge, to properly raise a beardie. She had another one in another cage and we talked extensively about what he needs to be sure he is healthy. She wants to do everything right and has went out and bought all the right stuff for the dragon she kept.
She only had one coil UVB light and used it between the two cages and did not know about temps, calcium etc. Now she does and the dragon she has will do very well because she loves him and has the knowledge and is buying all the right lighting, taking them off sand etc.She will be a great mommy to him!

I already had my Tango who was four and a half months old. He was very upset about Pico dying and I knew he too needed another beardie to love. None of us could stand to look at Pico's empty viv.....below are some pictures of the two together.

Tango is the stocky, sturdy orange guy and Chico is our sweet baby that is slowly gaining weight and walking properly on his feet. You will see in one picture how he walked on his ankles with his feet turned backward. I was so afraid his little feet were going to snap off!!!! He was missing two toes already....the vet said that with lots of natural sun light, proper diet and calcium and the Reptisun 10 I bought for him, he should be doing great in 6-8 weeks. The love is really helping too
Chico is so fragile and light, and I always have to turn his feet right but I am encouraged that he now runs around the house and most of the time his feet are right.
When I got him, the seller told me that he didn't like to be picked up. I picked him up and he cuddled right to me and absolutely loves his mama to hold him. He is half the weight of Tango at twice the age (about 11 months old) but I feel blessed to have gotten him young enough that I can still make a difference....
Have any of you ever seen them with feet twisted like this before????

 

[nycmedic]

My female does that with her paws too, didn't think anything was wrong with it. Wonder if it should be a concern .

 

[PicosParent]

Does yours walk on her ankles? How old is she? I have never seen it before....maybe I am worried about nothing????? His back legs bow out very differently then Tango's do, or Pico's or Chica's did ( his name is a combo of theirs in memory to them). I had not meant to post thumbnails...I will post this large so folks can see if this is normal without having to get a magnifying glass

Here's a cute bath time pic too I just love these babies to pieces!!!

 

[nycmedic]

My female doesn't walk on her ankles just sometimes sits like yours does. Other than that she walks and runs just fine.

 

[blue11]

hi

i have seen it ... my rescue beardie's arms and hands do it now, they curve inwards just like your Chico's ... he back feet dont do it as much as her front feet, they have straightened out immensly! but the front, yes, she crawls on her elbows almost.
it is probably the result of MBD, lack of calcium and lack of Vitamin B, also not getting the right kind of lighting.
if you can, get him some liquid calcium ASAP. you can get it from your vet or you can get it from Tracie at
http://www.bug-de-lite.com

i know you ahve expirience with rescues so you may have some extra liquid calcium on hand, which is super convinient if you do.
if he is "twitchy" too, like my Lexi is from MBD, then i also reccomend Vitamin B complex (i bought mine SO cheap at beautifuldragons.com

and, i also got a reccomendation for the silk worm enzyme Serrapeptase ... which i am SO glad i got.
its REALLY has helped Lexi get around, it is an ant-inflammatory (just one of the awesome things that silkworms give us )
it seems to have helped her joints and inflammed areas, ive noticed a big difference in her movements.
she is 3 yrs old (i think she is 4) ... so alot of what has been done to her is permanent, BUT, some has been reversed too!
she can hold her tail up now, and she is much stronger in being able to hold herself up on her legs and arms for a longer period of time that she never used to be able to do!!!

Chico looks like he has some big time MBD kicking in on his legs and arms. i cant see where it would be the result of anything else, although it could be. but from the conditions you described, it probably is.
i would get the liquid calcium, vitamin B, and serrapeptase for him! you mightb e REALLY surprised at how well it will work on him, and how it can greatly improve his walking/twisted legs and arms

his face, jaw, and eyes looks to be in great condition, he doesnt seem to have any MBD jaw mis-alighments which is a VERY GOOD THING.
but the legs, yes.
looks like he has a belly on him yay for that!!!!!
if you want to look over my thread and see how much Lexi has improved here is the link ...

http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=172688

her front legs will probably also be twisted and turned in, when she walks we call it the army crawl
did the vet give you any supplements or calcium? let me know ... if not then then the two sites i mentioned you can purchase it.
smart of you not to de-worm for a while!!! do you have him on any pro-biotics? when you do start the panacur (or whatever he gave you for the parasites) the pro-biotics will help soooooooooooo much and make it easier on his system and it SOUNDS like he is not doing the turning of the limbs as much now? thats REALLY awesome!
congratulations on CHICO!!!
he is a LUCKY beardie!!!!!

 

[PicosParent]

Thank you Blue 11!! I will look into those products. I do use the Calcium with D3 on their food 5 days a week and I just bought some spray vitamins for their food (I will use that the two days I don't use the calcium) and another one you spray on them to help condition their skin. He seems to be doing better everyday and he seems to be growing. He has had a little bit of shedding this past week!!!! Finally!!!! Tango sheds weekly!!! LOL He is my fat and sassy boy!!! There are days he actually looks like his skin explodes!!! I hope Chico starts to do that soon too!!! Maybe after I order the products you recommended
I will check out your link to see Lexi's progress. Thanks for sharing it!!! Have a fantastic day and thanks again for sharing the products that worked for you!!!

 

[blue11]

omg my pleasure!!!

i REALLY do recommend that liquid calcium, i mean it has done SOOOOOOOOO much for Lexi.
i think its pretty cheap on Tracies site too ...
i got mine from the vet she went to when i rescued her, but yeah, take a look at those things, and let me know what you think.
Chico is a doll

 

[PicosParent]

Thank you! I think he is pretty darling too!!!! I love my two "bitty boys"!!! They are so fun I will certainly order from Tracy!!! She was so kind when Pico was dying. The people on this site are so awesome!!!!

 

[PicosParent]

Thank you!!! He is such a sweetie!!!! He and Tango have such different personalities and it's fun to watch them interact. They each have their own viv of course but the share the outdoor enclosure and the beardie swimming pool. They enjoy both marvelously and seem to really care about each other. They were the same size when I got them though Tango is 4.5 months and Chico is 11 months but, Tango is huge compared to Chico now!!! I can't wait to try the liquid calcium to see if it helps with a growth spurt!!!! I would love to see Chico catch up to what size he should be!!!