Neurological Disorder?

[ShelbyLu]

I put this in a separate post so that each thread has a specific topic.

Aphrodite has something very wrong with her. I only got her tonight, so I haven't had her very long to observe, but the previous owner warned me about it as well. Here are the things she does that are out of character.

1. She shakes her head randomly in a funny way. I'm not sure if it's a tremor or seizure or what.

2. Her vision is off. If you hold food up in front of her and she looks at it, she holds her head in a funny way that would make you think she's not looking at it, but it's clear that she is.

3. Her aim is off. She tries to get food and misses. Almost like her depth perception is off. She stops short of reaching the target. Tonight she bit my finger on accident trying to get food.

Previous owners told me she basically only ate veggies because she just couldn't get the crickets. She's approximately 1.5 years old.

Would all of this be a sign of a neuro issue? Are there common beardie neuro issues? What will the vet want to do. Has anyone here ever had any experience with this before?

Thanks in advance!

~Shelby

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That sounds like it is some type of neurological issue or nutritional problem as well.
Did she have UVB previously or not? She could have beginnings of metabolic bone disease.
Also thiamin deficiency can mimic metabolic bone disease also which is from improper nutrition.

Are you planning on using liquid calcium for her?
How is her appetite?
That is great you rescued a couple of dragons in need, poor dears.

Tracie

 

[ShelbyLu]

Okay, I haven't taken her to the vet yet because the other two dragons needed to go right away and I couldn't afford to take a third. (Already over 300.00 into the other two with no payment plan option.)

But I plan to take her within the next couple of weeks and I think it will be more beneficial if I can observe her for a bit.

Her appetite is not good. She refuses to eat any bugs. She seems to be a chosen vegetarian. lol The previous owners said she seemed interested in crickets but her aim made it so she couldn't really get them.

She likes veggies, but she's not eating enough, but this could also be part of her transition stress. She is not a fan of baths, but I give them to her anyway. I can't wait for her to shed her crusty, dirty skin!

I'm using liquid calcium and liquid vitamins for her. I got her to eat a bit of reptiboost today as well.

~Shelby

 

[greathouseFarm]

Can you tell us more about her? Is she a translucent morph and do you have any history on when and by who she was bred? This could help us to narrow down if this is a possible genetic neurological disorder that is not from her diet. Usually diet/husbandry is the culprit though...

 

[parodyofagirl]

I looked through your facebook photo album of Poseidon and Aphrodite. Aphrodite's vision is off because her eyes are really swollen.

Quincy has swollen eyes that look a lot like Aphrodite's. He does a twitchy back and forth head shake sometimes after I mist him, or when he is shedding his eyes or some of the skin near his eyes. Does Aphrodite shake her head in response to something touching her head/eyes...or is it random? Can you find out how long her eyes have been swollen? If it happened recently and quickly, she needs to see a vet asap.

How do her teeth and mouth look?

 

[ShelbyLu]

Okay, I have no way to know anything about her history.

She was a rescue and the people that had her before me rescued her from a bad situation. The owners I got her from were really sweet and did their best, but her husbandry was incorrect. She was housed with Poseidon and they were on sand and had the basking bulb but not the other UV bulb.

Poseidon had an X Ray and blood work and so we know for sure that he does not have MBD or any signs of MBD. So it *might* be safe to assume the same about her. I don't have any idea on her breeding history and the people before me didn't know anything about her history either. The referred to her as a "sunburst". She is shedding and her scales beneath are a pretty light yellow color. But her outside skin is so stained that I can't tell much about her just by sight.

Regarding the eyes. Yes, she does that head shake thing just as you mentioned. And when you hold food up to her, she shakes her head and backs up a bit and tilts her head in a funny way so that she can see it. I do not know when her eyes got swollen or how long they have been that way.

What are the swollen eyes a sign of? What did the vet do for your dragon? Both of my male dragons are currently on antibiotics and I do have more than they need. It is the same antibiotics that they put Hermes on when he had a severe eye infection. So I could give her a round of antibiotics if it's something that the vet would give her.

Unfortunately, I can't afford to take her to the vet for at least a week because the other two dragons just cost me over 300.00 this week and we had a minor emergency in our house that cost a lot of money this week as well, so I'm in an unusual bind.

I'd love to hear what your vet said about your dragon's swollen eyes.

~Shelby

 

[ShelbyLu]

I found this article on eye problems:

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Eyeproblems.html

I wonder if Vitamin A could be the issue? The previous owners were supplementing them with calcium and vitamins, but not sure before them.

What is the safest thing I should do for her for the next week or so to help her?

~Shelby

 

[parodyofagirl]

Because money has been tight and Quincy needed surgery, we still haven't had his bloodwork done.

From the research I've done, swollen eyes can be a sign of a vitamin or mineral deficiency, wrong type of UV bulb, kidney disease, hypertension,  vascular disease/aneurism, or infection.

Quincy's eyes have been swollen for the past four years.  For him, it was a gradual process.  I think his swollen eyes might be related to a chronic infection in his mouth, but I have no proof.  It just seems like his on/off mouth inflammation problems started around the time that his eyes started to protrude.

Quincy is on Baytril right now, but it isn't helping his mouth as much as it should.

Quincy's vet (who is a 2nd year resident) suspects an aneurism is causing Quincy's eyes to swell up...but he seemed less sure of himself when I showed him pictures of Quincy from four years ago when it started.

Most likely, Quincy's swollen eyes were caused by our husbandry (we had the wrong brand of tube UVB bulb for a long time and didn't realize it), and the chronic infection in his mouth (it would cause problems, then disappear so he was never treated for it until now.)

 

[greathouseFarm]

Is there anyway you can post a photo of her? Sorry maybe you already did

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Swollen eyes can be the cause of all things you mentioned. Usually it ends up being organ related, but not always.
Nutritional deficiencies play a huge role in it as well. Improper lighting can damage the eyes to the point which causes such irritation of the eyes that they don't' recover.
Are you using any eye drops for the eyes or saline solution?
You can try that, it usually helps to soothe them a little bit.

Did she eat well for you today?

Tracie