A couple of days ago I was taking my bearded dragon who’s about a month old out of the bath when he jumped off my hand onto the carpet. He landed on his head, so I was concerned but at that moment he didn’t seem to have any issues so I dismissed it as lucky. This morning however, when I woke up I noticed he was walking a little wobbly and kept missing his crickets (He usually gets them first or second try.) Is this a concussion, or nothing to worry about? Please let me know.
Hi there, it's possible but it's much more likely to be related to calcium deficiency which can be caused by improper lighting. Can you post pics of his entire set up including the lights and give the name and type of lights you have as well as how you take the temps ? We;ll see if we can help your little guy. Here's how to post pics :
I have a basking side with a decently large log in it so he can choose what height he wants to bask at. The bulb I use is a 100 watt Powersun UVB + UVA mercury vapor bulb in a ZooMed Deep Dome Lamp Fixture. I take him outside from time to time because I’ve heard that the mesh top on the cage may absorb some of the UVB. On the cooler side I have a Reptisun 10.0 UVB T5 HO 24w bulb. I was only using this for UVB at first, but then I realized that not much of the UVB can get to him when he’s basking so I also added the UVB basking lamp for security. Any tips on things I should change or do differently? Thanks.
Well you did a good job on the lighting so maybe it was the fall, a freak accident causing some neurological problems. That would actually make sense if he just started this the day after the fall, is that when the problem started?
Well you did a good job on the lighting so maybe it was the fall, a freak accident causing some neurological problems. That would actually make sense if he just started this the day after the fall, is that when the problem started?
Yes he only started acting unusual a day after he fell. So that’s why I assumed it was the problem. I also try to feed him crickets dusted in calcium from time to time.
He seems to be ok. The only problem is some balance issues and missing crickets during feeding. Since he’s so young, he usually refuses any greens I try to feed him, so crickets are the only thing he really eats. The log is about 10 inches away from the bulb, although there is the mesh top in the way.
If it was caused by the fall you may just have to wait + see how he does. As for calcium, how often were you using it ? Growing babies need it every day lightly on one meal.
He needs calcium 5 x per week once per day and vitamins w/ beta corotene 2 x per week once per day - insects are their main diet till approx a year old along w/ salads every morning -
Karrie
If it was caused by the fall you may just have to wait + see how he does. As for calcium, how often were you using it ? Growing babies need it every day lightly on one meal.
I use it every other day, and what I’ve read is to feed him only how much he’ll eat in a 15 minute period and offer food twice a day, but he’s usually still full from the previous meal when I try to feed him again so he only eats once per day. Should I start feeding him less each meal so he’ll eat twice per day and use the calcium on 1 of 2 meals or just keep doing what I’m doing?