Stiff and paralytic

[ihasasquish]

My beardie, Squish, has recently started losing mobility of her appendages, also, she becomes stiff as a board, and is unable to turn herself over if put on her back (I know, not a good position for a dragon, but a good test to see if theres something wrong with them). I have taken her to a few vets, gotten xrays checking for bone density and impactions, both were clear. I had blood work done, and levels of calcium and everything were all good. I replace her UV bulb about every 6 months and her enclosure stays 90-100 degrees. The docs didnt think it was MBD (the most obvious choice for paralysis) and im just wondering if anyone has any ideas, she is only 5 yrs old and i feel useless not being able to help her.
Her diet has always been less than satisfactory seeing as once she discovered how delicious meal worms were, she stopped eating vegetables. She eats mainly blueberries and meal worms (with vitamin powder coating i put on them to supplement her picky diet), i can sometimes get her to eat some green bean or carrot, but not often. Recently she wont eat anything, i have been dropper feeding her some herpavore vitamin rich sauce they gave me at the vet, and she barely eats any of that..
Any thoughts on what could be going on that wouldnt show up in xrays, blood work and that i can do something about? she seems to get worse when she stays warm which is totally counterintuitive, but whenever I take her out and she cools off, she shows a bit of improved mobility. she also has been opening and closing her mouth and swallowing a lot, and not in a basking sense, just repetative swallowing and such like she's trying to cough up a hairball or something.

Any bright ideas would be greatly appreciated for little Squish.
Thanks,
Will

 

[AndyT]

I'm sorry to hear about all this. I'm not sure if I can help all that much. What kind of UV bulb are you using? More people will be on throughout the day to help you. Keep us posted.

Andy

 

[megabear]

is she pooping ok?

 

[ihasasquish]

I believe she's on a reptiglo bulb right now, 16". I was thinking of going and getting a totally new uv setup for her, as often times the "generic pet store" set up, is way off the mark as to what these critters need; also its the only thing i can think of to change that might have a positive affect. She has been on sand her whole life with me, but recently i put a towel over the sand so as to avoid any impaction (though thats not been an issue the past 4 years, I keep getting told that its a bad idea)
She is pooping ok, same as usual, timing and consistency. I am surpried, however, that she isnt really skinny, as she has barely been eating, though maybe she is sneaking some salad when im not looking so as to keep up appearances regarding her boycott of anything leafy, green and not mealworm-esque.

 

[AndyT]

Reptiglos can cause problems in beardies. I recommend getting a ReptiSUN 10.0, as they are the only ones that are guaranteed safe at the moment. This website has the best prices.http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html I would say to replace the reptiglo with that and see if her condition improves. Good luck and keep us posted!

Andy

 

[fresnowitte]

I agree with Andy it's probably due to the time she's been under the Reptiglo. Reptiglo's do not put out high enough levels of UVB for basking reptiles.

 

[ihasasquish]

Cheers, ill give it a shot!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Any updates on your dragon for us?

Tracie

 

[mark83]

Maybe squish isn't more active when cool but more active when away from that reptiglo? I don't know if they have that intense of an effect but it would explain increased mobility when out of the cage. Easy way to test would be turning off the UVB for a day and seeing what effect it has..

Also you didn't mention having the vet check her poo for parasites, maybe theres a type of infection that is more active when warm vs cool.. I don't know just grasping at straws here :?

Good Luck!

 

[ihasasquish]

Thanks, yeah I let her just roam around my room for a day and a half (which she loves), and its super hot in my room right now so I know she was at the right temperature, and only indirect sunlight, and she seemed to be doing a bit better from that, but then back to usual by the following day. I ordered the new UV light last week and expedited the shipping and have still yet to see it.. so hopefully that shows up soon for me to test it out...
I had a stool sample ready for the docs but they did not seem interested in testing it, only blood work.
She ate a few blueberries this weekend and even looked at some salad; ive been soaking her a few times a week in a bath (which she drank most of today). Ultimately though, not much change.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, I hope you get that light soon~! I feel that she will really improve for you as soon as she gets under some good UVB exposure.
Is she eating anything right now?
They didn't want to do a fecal? That is odd, they should have done one. Did they do blood work then? Would you happen to have a copy of that, if they did a test?

Keep us posted on her.

Tracie

 

[ihasasquish]

For some reason they didnt give me a copy of the bloodwork, i'll see if I can get a copy for my records though. I did get a copy of her xrays (which look really cool! yay dinosaurs!)
The light arrived yesterday afternoon and she did seem a bit perkier this morning from being under it for half a day. I cooked up some acorn and butternut squash for her and she seemed rather perplexed by it, but hopefull she gets into it, but at least she ate a few more blueberries, I know its not a varied diet, but its better than nothing i suppose.