Really worried about new dragon please help!

[Pward]

Hi there. We have had our new beardie for a week now and it has been eating great, pooping 1-2 times a day. Still a bit skittish, but overall has seemed pretty healthy. Today however when I went to feed him/her it did this really weird thing with its head twitching side to side and was having a tough time striking the bugs. Also he jumped onto the back of the enclosure and sort of fell off, kind of off balance. He has now started shaking his head, almost looks like a seizure or tremor, and he’s stumbling around, seems disoriented and has fallen over a few times.
We dust with calcium/D3 5 times and per week and multivitamin 2 times per week., but I was putting one little scoop into a tub and dusting the bugs 3 times a day (10-20 bugs a day) he is not eating greens at this time, but we are offering collard greens and kale prior to that (which he hasn’t eaten either of them)
Tank is 40 gallon, reptisun 10.0 HO with reflector hood, 150w basking bulb. Hot side is 100-115, cool is 78-80. Check temps with infrared digital thermometer gun. We had the uvb on top of the tank but have since moved it inside. From videos I’ve watched it looks like he’s experiencing calcium deficiency. Is this fixable? If so what should I do?
I have been misting him a few times a day, and gave him about a 5-10 minute bath today (as I thought maybe he was dehydrated)
There is so much information on the internet and it’s scary. I’m worried either he has had too much or not enough calcium or d3. I am hoping it’s not neurological and it’s something fixable. We have only had him for a week and this is the first time he’s shown any of these symptoms.
Please help! Thanks so much, any advice is appreciated!

 

[Pward]

He 4-5 months old by the way

 

[KarrieRee]

Hi there. We have had our new beardie for a week now and it has been eating great, pooping 1-2 times a day. Still a bit skittish, but overall has seemed pretty healthy. Today however when I went to feed him/her it did this really weird thing with its head twitching side to side and was having a tough time striking the bugs. Also he jumped onto the back of the enclosure and sort of fell off, kind of off balance. He has now started shaking his head, almost looks like a seizure or tremor, and he’s stumbling around, seems disoriented and has fallen over a few times.
We dust with calcium/D3 5 times and per week and multivitamin 2 times per week., but I was putting one little scoop into a tub and dusting the bugs 3 times a day (10-20 bugs a day) he is not eating greens at this time, but we are offering collard greens and kale prior to that (which he hasn’t eaten either of them)
Tank is 40 gallon, reptisun 10.0 HO with reflector hood, 150w basking bulb. Hot side is 100-115, cool is 78-80. Check temps with infrared digital thermometer gun. We had the uvb on top of the tank but have since moved it inside. From videos I’ve watched it looks like he’s experiencing calcium deficiency. Is this fixable? If so what should I do?
I have been misting him a few times a day, and gave him about a 5-10 minute bath today (as I thought maybe he was dehydrated)
There is so much information on the internet and it’s scary. I’m worried either he has had too much or not enough calcium or d3. I am hoping it’s not neurological and it’s something fixable. We have only had him for a week and this is the first time he’s shown any of these symptoms.
Please help! Thanks so much, any advice is appreciated!

Record on you tube post the link here

 

[Pward]

Record on you tube post the link here

 

[Pward]

Record on you tube post the link here

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor boy, he wasn't exhibiting this behavior initially, correct?
It is probably going to be too much D3. Since you are using the Reptisun 10 T5 HO tube he wont need any D3
supplementation, really, since his body should be producing adequate amounts with UVB exposure. For now,
go ahead & cease giving all calcium & D3 for a week or so to allow his body to try & detoxify. You can try giving
some parsley, mint & cilantro to help with detoxification.
I don't think it is calcium deficiency but this should definitely let you know. Based on your information, the UVB is
a HO & he should have been getting ample UVB through the screen. How close to him was it before you moved
it to underneath of the screen? What is the distance of it now?
If he is having that much trouble eating you will definitely need to help him out so he get some nutrition. You can
try handfeeding the bugs, if you can to see how that goes.


Tracie

 

[Pward]

Hello,

Poor boy, he wasn't exhibiting this behavior initially, correct?
It is probably going to be too much D3. Since you are using the Reptisun 10 T5 HO tube he wont need any D3
supplementation, really, since his body should be producing adequate amounts with UVB exposure. For now,
go ahead & cease giving all calcium & D3 for a week or so to allow his body to try & detoxify. You can try giving
some parsley, mint & cilantro to help with detoxification.
I don't think it is calcium deficiency but this should definitely let you know. Based on your information, the UVB is
a HO & he should have been getting ample UVB through the screen. How close to him was it before you moved
it to underneath of the screen? What is the distance of it now?
If he is having that much trouble eating you will definitely need to help him out so he get some nutrition. You can
try handfeeding the bugs, if you can to see how that goes.


Tracie

Hello,

Poor boy, he wasn't exhibiting this behavior initially, correct?
It is probably going to be too much D3. Since you are using the Reptisun 10 T5 HO tube he wont need any D3
supplementation, really, since his body should be producing adequate amounts with UVB exposure. For now,
go ahead & cease giving all calcium & D3 for a week or so to allow his body to try & detoxify. You can try giving
some parsley, mint & cilantro to help with detoxification.
I don't think it is calcium deficiency but this should definitely let you know. Based on your information, the UVB is
a HO & he should have been getting ample UVB through the screen. How close to him was it before you moved
it to underneath of the screen? What is the distance of it now?
If he is having that much trouble eating you will definitely need to help him out so he get some nutrition. You can
try handfeeding the bugs, if you can to see how that goes.


Tracie

Hi Tracie,

Hello,

Poor boy, he wasn't exhibiting this behavior initially, correct?
It is probably going to be too much D3. Since you are using the Reptisun 10 T5 HO tube he wont need any D3
supplementation, really, since his body should be producing adequate amounts with UVB exposure. For now,
go ahead & cease giving all calcium & D3 for a week or so to allow his body to try & detoxify. You can try giving
some parsley, mint & cilantro to help with detoxification.
I don't think it is calcium deficiency but this should definitely let you know. Based on your information, the UVB is
a HO & he should have been getting ample UVB through the screen. How close to him was it before you moved
it to underneath of the screen? What is the distance of it now?
If he is having that much trouble eating you will definitely need to help him out so he get some nutrition. You can
try handfeeding the bugs, if you can to see how that goes.


Tracie

Hi Tracie,

Thank you so much for your reply!
No he wasn’t exhibiting this behavior initially. We first had the reptisun 5.0 but he wasn’t eating much, changed it to 10.0 then his appetite was great for a day, then yesterday he started this behavior. He is also very disoriented and his head shakes when he walks. Could that be caused by the D3 as well?
With the uvb on top of the tank it was about 10-12 inches from him. (If he was in the floor, which is where he generally hangs out) We only moved it inside the tank last night when he started exhibiting this behavior because initially thought he wasn’t getting enough uvb through the screen on top of the tank. Should we put outside the tank again? Inside now it’s about 8-10 inches from the floor. We have a short tank.
I will get some of the greens you suggested and try hand feeding.
I feel absolutely awful, I cried last night cause I just want him to be ok. He won’t die from this right? We can fix it?
When we start giving him calcium again should we get a plain powder or liquid without D3? How often should we give it?
I appreciate everyone on this site, I don’t know wheee I’d be without this community!
Thank you!
Pam

 

[Pward]

Hi Tracie,

Hi Tracie,

Thank you so much for your reply!
No he wasn’t exhibiting this behavior initially. We first had the reptisun 5.0 but he wasn’t eating much, changed it to 10.0 then his appetite was great for a day, then yesterday he started this behavior. He is also very disoriented and his head shakes when he walks. Could that be caused by the D3 as well?
With the uvb on top of the tank it was about 10-12 inches from him. (If he was in the floor, which is where he generally hangs out) We only moved it inside the tank last night when he started exhibiting this behavior because initially thought he wasn’t getting enough uvb through the screen on top of the tank. Should we put outside the tank again? Inside now it’s about 8-10 inches from the floor. We have a short tank.
I will get some of the greens you suggested and try hand feeding.
I feel absolutely awful, I cried last night cause I just want him to be ok. He won’t die from this right? We can fix it?
When we start giving him calcium again should we get a plain powder or liquid without D3? How often should we give it?
I appreciate everyone on this site, I don’t know wheee I’d be without this community!
Thank you!
Pam

Also, with him being overloaded on D3, should I even turn the UVB on?

 

[CooperDragon]

The T5 UVB should be adequate, even through the screen I have the same type of enclosure and have done testing with the fixture you have with and without the same screen. It intercepts quite a bit, but even at 12'' through the screen you should be getting about 3UVI which is within the recommended range. As mentioned, I would hold off on the supplements for now and see if that makes a difference. It could be coincidence and something else is at play here. His coordination is concerning. I'd think a blood test by the vet would let us know a bit more, but he may be too small for that to be a safe/viable option. As far as lighting goes though, you should be just fine with the way you have it.

 

[Pward]

The T5 UVB should be adequate, even through the screen I have the same type of enclosure and have done testing with the fixture you have with and without the same screen. It intercepts quite a bit, but even at 12'' through the screen you should be getting about 3UVI which is within the recommended range. As mentioned, I would hold off on the supplements for now and see if that makes a difference. It could be coincidence and something else is at play here. His coordination is concerning. I'd think a blood test by the vet would let us know a bit more, but he may be too small for that to be a safe/viable option. As far as lighting goes though, you should be just fine with the way you have it.

Thank you so much for your reply!
I did end up taking him to the vet yesterday - he did a blood test and fecal, gave me Baytril to administer whilst we wait for results. They said it could be 2-3 days. Hopefully everything comes back ok. I did give plain calcium on some dubias yesterday and his coordination has gotten better, he was running around and playing in his enclosure last night. He ate some collard greens and strawberry as well. Vet also said he was dehydrated so we are doing our best to give baths and offer him water.
Thanks again for your reply!

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad the vet was able to get a blood sample. Hopefully the tests will turn up some useful info leading to effective treatment. I'd probably be careful administering baytril without confirmation of a bacterial infection. That can be harmful to their kidneys and wind up not being beneficial if not needed. It's a good sign that he is eating and running around his enclosure. Try offering him some cut up pieces of zucchini or other squash and see if he likes it. I usually cut them into small worm shapes and hand feed them. Squash is nutritious and hydrating. You can also offer water by dripping it on his nose and see if he licks it up. Baths are OK if he seems to enjoy them and doesn't panic. If he doesn't seem to like baths, then I would avoid them since they aren't worth the stress.

 

[Pward]

Thank you!
Yeah I have held off on giving the Baytril because his behavior drastically changed yesterday after he had some calcium and I agree - I would like to see confirmation of a bacterial infection before I give it. (Must be the nurse in me )
I will try zucchini and squash today! Thanks for the tip!
He seems to enjoy baths, they are calming for about 5-6 minutes then he seems uncomfortable so I take him it.
I really appreciate all the great advice!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That sounds great, he is improving some then! I am glad you are holding off a bit on the Baytril until an infection can be
confirmed, or not.
I hope he likes the squash, most of them tend to. At least he is eating & has become more active also. How are his colors?
A lot of them like baths but only for a short period of time. Some just don't like them, so you can limit them so he doesn't get
stressed.
Let us know when the blood tests come back & we can take a look at them.
I hope he continues to improve on his balance & his ability to eat as well!

Tracie