Spike is lethargic

[dracospike]

I have posted about Spike before. A week after we got him I thought he had died but discovered he was severly dehydrated. Now less than two weeks later he Is not acting right. He seems very lethargic today. When I picked him up he was barely moving and would not open his eyes. I tried giving him water and he drank some but it seemed like a big effort. He would barely open his eyes and would not eat. I am now worried about his calcium as he is not eating I do have the reptisun light over his basking spot. Spike is still very small and not growing like my other beardie Draco. To make matters worse I can not locate a vet in my area who does beardies. I am worried sick that something is going to happen to Spike. I am not sure my son or I can handle it if he is not ok. Any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[kcarello]

Hello, sorry your dragon is not doing well,,,you can check here to find a reptile vet closest to you. Good luck!
http://www.arav.org/

 

[dracospike]

So after reading some other posts I am thinking calcium deficency. This morning he was jerking around and kept rolling. Out of desparation I mixed some calcium with water and made him drink it. He was not happy. So now what do I do to get him more if he is not eating. How do you force feed them? He is tiny so I have to be gentle with him. I also rearranged his big so that his basking rock is closer to the UV. Any other suggestions?

 

[daner923]

Can you post some pictures of him? If he is rolling/falling, you will want to take out anything that he can climb on, because if it is calcium deficiency, he could get seriously hurt if he falls. Move the basking spot closer to the ground to help him out with that.

 

[dracospike]

I will remove his rock as soon as I get home from work. My only thing is that he won't be able to get close to the UV. Will this be a problem? Still hoping for some help on getting him the calcium he needs.

 

[daner923]

You need to lower the UVB. Is it mounted inside the tank? It should be. It should be 6-8 inches above the basking spot.

 

[Blinksmama]

Hi,
Is the UVB a linear tube or a compact/coil bulb? I think there are also some vitamin deficiencies that can cause neurological effects like you've described, if the calcium is not the issue.
Is it warm enough, above 65f, to take him outside for some time in the sun? It's so much more effective than artificial lighting for provitamin D3 production, so he can metabolize the calcium better.

 

[dracospike]

It is the coil. Unfortunately we bought a kit and that is what it came with. It is way too cold to take him outside here(only high of 40).

As for mounting the light inside how do you do this with the screen cover. I have heard it suggested several times but I have not seen an explanation of how to do it. So frustrated right now

 

[daner923]

You can't mount it inside with the coil, and the coil isn't doing him any good anyways. He desparately needs a ReptiSun 10.0 tube ASAP, otherwise I don't think his outlook is too good...

 

[Blinksmama]

Alternately you can use an MVB, they provide better UVB than any fluorescent-as far as I know. Given that he's not doing so well, that may be a better choice for him. If I'm incorrect about the MVB, I'm sure someone will mention it. However, like Daner said, the ReptiSun 10 tube or an Arcadia 12% tube (I think they're only in Europe) are the only 2 fluorescent bulbs that provide the correct wavelength of UVB for beardies.

 

[kcarello]

Hello,
As far as the MVB lights go..most find they get the tank too hot unless you have a REALLY large viv.
Arcadia's are now available in the U.S.
Here is a link explaining how to mount the tube uvb light inside the enclosure:
http://www.everythingreptile.org/mounting-uvb-inside-glass-enclosure.html

 

[dracospike]

Thank you all for your advice. Sadly Spike did not make it through the day. It has been a very hard day. I have spent the last 3 weeks watching over him very carefully and am heart broken. He was so sweet and gentle.

 

[kcarello]

I am so sorry...sometimes it is just too late by the time they show us any symptoms,,,again, my heart and prayers go out to you.

 

[Blinksmama]

I'm so sorry

 

[Esther19]

I'm so sorry for your loss.