please please please help!!!!!

[billster989]

my dragon is close to 8 months old. he has not been eating alot he is very cold but will not stay on his heat pad and tries to move away from where the light is. when he walks he like stumbles he almost looks drunk i have no clue what is wrong with him. please help i am very worried about him.

 

[Goonie]

In order for us to help you and your baby, please answer the following questions:

1. Where is the heat pad placed? Inside or outside the viv?
2. What are you feeding him?
3. Are you supplementing his food and live feeders with both calcium and multi-vitamins? If so, how often?
4. What type of UV light source are you using? How close can he get to it?
5. What are the temps in his viv?
6. When was the last time he had a bowel movement?
7. Have you noticed any involuntary leg movements (twitches, spasms)? Or had he been dragging his hind legs while walking?
8. Had he been tilting his head to one side?

Any other info you could offer would be great.

 

[billster989]

1. heat pad is outside its one of the ones that you stick under the tank
2. mealworms and ive tried greens like romaine lettuce and he eats but very little not like he normaly does
3.i dust the worms with calcium about everyother day
4. his uv light is right above the lid of the tank so he can get within a foot to it. the bulb is uvb 10 reptisun
5. temps in the tank are 75 in the cool side and around 90-95 on the side with the heat pad
6. he had a bm today but that is the first time in the last week week and a half it was a big clump
7. i have not seen his legs twitch or spasm his rear legs are fine he is almost triping over his left wront leg and he is almost always layin on it he is somewhat dragin his front left leg
8. yes he has been titling his head alot to one side

i called the place where i got him. the guy is a breader ive had him close to 6 months and he has been fine then out of no where this all come up. he said he doesnt know so i thought i would try here before i tried the vet
thank you soo much for your help!

 

[Goonie]

For starters, you do not need the under tank heat mat. All heat sources should be from above, where the beardies sense and absorb heat.
Had you been feeding him mealworms and romaine lettuce all this time? Was that what the breeder advised you to do? Being only 8 months old, he should be fed softer bodied worms in order to properly digest/pass the hard exoskeleton, and higher in calcium content (if not supplementing with calcium powder) (refer to Beautiful Dragons Reptile Rescue Nutrition Content chart).
When you said "lid", did you mean the screen top?? If so, then he's not receiving the full UV being emitted from the bulb.
Is the head tilt constant? That could be a neurological issue, which could be a result of malnutrition.

Would you be able to post a pic of your beardie?

 

[Grogshla]

dont feed mealworms or lettuce.
Feed small - medium crickets, woodies or dubia roaches and reptiworms.
Move your uvb light closer to your dragon or vice versa but the dragons hould be within 7-10 inches of this tube.
Get your basking spot up to 110 degress f.
Take out the heat mat. It is no good as dragons get heat sensor on top of them not on belly. If you put a tile on the basking spot then the tile will get warm this is enough for him to warm his stomache on.
Feed him chopped up green beans and peas.

 

[wizbee]

A regular household lightbulb (I am using 60w right now) shining down on top of your beardie will give sufficient heat. No need to use the heat pad. Adjust the wattage til you reach the correct temps. I use a fixture that clamps on (cheap at home depot and such). The uvb and light bulb for heat should both be on the same side and over the beardie.
Could you post a pic of your setup?

 

[AHBD]

As was mentioned...get a white [ not red or blue] basking bulb, even a household bulb, I would say at least 75 watt. It sounds like he has a severe calcium deficiency...this can be caused by the lack of proper basking temp. that is crucial for the dragon to metabolize the calcium, so even if you are using the calcium powder, he would not benefit from it. That's why his leg is folding under his body...bones are already severely affected and he needs the heat bulb ASAP, also the repti-worms that were mentioned. What size is he ?

 

[billster989]

yes i ment screen top. Yes the breeder fed them mealworms and lettuce and said they could eat that or crickets. his head isnt titled 24 7 but it is alot. would this problem start out of no where after he has been fine for all this time?

 

[lauraj1055]

you should stop using the Romaine lettuce and get him a better mixture of greens such as:
Collard greens
Dandelion greens
Mustard Greens
Endive
Escarole
also butternut and summer squash is good

Romaine lettuce does not have a high nutritional value Look at this website, it's the best website on what to and not to feed your dragon:

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Also, stop the meal worms... Get some butterworms (they are high in fat, but better digesting), Phoenix worms are high in calcium, and a treat of hornworms will keep him hydrated. You should also bathe him 3 x a week in a warm bath which will keep him hydrated.. Trust me I have done ALL the research and have an awesome breeder..

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What type of UVB are you using, is it a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
Can you post a picture of the tank setup so we can see it please, if possible?
It does sound like he could have metabolic bone disease since he is not getting adequate UVB lighting. How often do you use calcium for him right now?

Tracie

 

[billster989]

ok i took him to the vet today they said my uvb light was most likely bad. they told me to get a uvb mecury vapor bulb. the vet specializes in reptiles. and i have heard many good thing about her so i trust what she has told me and its what you guys on here have been saying not enough uv. i will post a pic as soon as i can i am unable to right now. again thank you so much everyone with all the help and im gonna try the other types of food that you all are talking about. thanks again

 

[AHBD]

Good for you, I hope all goes well and your little friend will get to feeling better. The mercury vapor will provide UVB and heat.

 

[billster989]

thank you. he is still eating to and the vet said thats a good thing so just watch him and thats what i am doing. once again thnak you all for the help

 

[bobby2090]

Although it might be expensive you might want to consider taking him to the vet. Taking him to the vet can only help him not hurt him so I believe its a good idea

 

[RangeR]

wow... yea the food selection needs A 180 ... you might also want to consider briging his appiteit back up with all natural sugar free sweet potato baby food. get a syringe no needle and dab a bit on his nose... sweet potatoes have a protein content and dragons usually dig em.. this should help him and then once hes more active go all cricket/phonix worms. always keep an offer of greens in the cage, hes young so he probably wont eat them often just yet but they are curious and eventually will. I offer mine greens before their feeder crickets. Its already been said but just stick to everything that has the name greens in it and youll be ok.