CurlyShark
Member
Hi, I am hoping for some input or advice for my dragon.
Just today around lunch time he suddenly started having seizures (stiffening, arching his back, rolling around) He'd been absolutely fine prior. Husband and I were outside with him; husband had been holding him until he signaled to be let down. He had a poo (normal healthy-looking) and then starting seizing right afterward. One after another, with a brief break in between when he'd seem a bit frightened but definitely aware. 8 seizures in all, with the episodes spacing a little further apart until they stopped.
Meanwhile we rushed him to the emergency exotics hospital. He'd stopped seizing shortly after we left, and hasn't had another seizure (or any other concerning symptoms) since. He's sleepy, as would be expected, but not deeply. He's still easily aroused and alert.
They did an exam, bloodwork, and an xray and could find nothing wrong with him. No sign of MBD and his calcium levels are fine. The vet seemed stumped and said the only other two things he could think would cause this would be parasites or a brain tumor. We're getting the fecal tomorrow (our regular vet can get the results back quicker than the hospital), but he gave us some Panacur to start him on anyway. As for the brain tumor, he said there'd be other symptoms prior to the run of seizures and they wouldn't have stopped as they did with him so well and alert afterward.
I have only had him since March 13 of this year, but he has shown no concerning signs. He eats very well and poops regularly. He is nearly blind due to cataracts, but takes handfeeding no problem and eats a good variety of foods. (Mustard and turnip greens as staples, with butternut squash, sweet potato, pumpkin, etc on rotation. For bugs he eats roaches, BSFL, superworms, hornworms, and waxworms. Calcium-dusted every 2nd feed.)
There is no chance of an injury; I've been aware of his poor vision since the beginning and his enclosure is set up safely. Also no chance of toxicity or eating something poisonous.. He is pretty much blind and he was held by my husband until he was put down for a poo.
He'd been to our regular vet May 17th, who had also given him a clean bill of health besides the cataracts and being a little underweight still (his previous owner wasn't aware he was blind and just assumed the dragon wasn't hungry so he'd gone quite awhile without food before I got him.) The only thing we didn't do, which ironically was going to do tomorrow anyway, was drop off a poo sample for a fecal cos the day of his appointment he'd pooped in the water instead of his usual place.
Needless to say, I am confused and worried. I have googled seizures and it seems to be pretty much just a calcium/MBD thing... Which both vets say he definitely doesn't have. Can parasites cause seizures on their own without any other symptoms? Is there anything else to look for?
I know in mammals sometimes seizures can happen as a freak thing and never happen again, but is that possible with bearded dragons?
Admittedly the emergency vet wasn't the herp specialist, as she wasn't due on until later, but he did say he'd have her look over his file to give her input and if she thought of anything else or other tests then they would call. And they haven't called. In the meantime my vet only has evening hours Mon-Wed-Fri, so I won't be able to get his fecal until tomorrow night.
So I'm wondering if I should go ahead and start him on the Panacur tomorrow, or wait until after the fecal? Also is there any advice to help him if he does start seizing again? He's been okay since, but I am so very worried cos it was so frightening for him (and me). I don't know if I should keep him close to me tonight or if sleeping in a different place would stress him too much.
Sorry for the long post; I just love the little guy so much. He's been through a lot and I wish for at least a couple more years with him to give him a beautiful sunset.
Obligatory info:
Enclosure: 36x18x18 glass front-open enclosure (I know it isn't sufficiently big enough for a normal adult dragon, but he is a senior and nearly blind and prefers to be next to the window for extra brightness so I went with this tank. Plus he gets plenty of exercise outside.) Substrate is vinyl non-adhesive shelf liner.
Temps: Cool side ~80f, basking 97f (temp gun), 35-40% humidity
UVB: 18' Reptisun 10 T8 tube, over screen but I have a UVB meter and levels are sufficient
Also gets about 2 hours natural unfiltered sunlight outside daily with supervised "play" time. I live in Florida so it's been quite warm since he's been here.
(No pesticides/weed killer/ etc have ever been used in or around my house and I have lived here for over a decade, just incase someone mentions it as a possible cause!)
Thanks for reading.
Just today around lunch time he suddenly started having seizures (stiffening, arching his back, rolling around) He'd been absolutely fine prior. Husband and I were outside with him; husband had been holding him until he signaled to be let down. He had a poo (normal healthy-looking) and then starting seizing right afterward. One after another, with a brief break in between when he'd seem a bit frightened but definitely aware. 8 seizures in all, with the episodes spacing a little further apart until they stopped.
Meanwhile we rushed him to the emergency exotics hospital. He'd stopped seizing shortly after we left, and hasn't had another seizure (or any other concerning symptoms) since. He's sleepy, as would be expected, but not deeply. He's still easily aroused and alert.
They did an exam, bloodwork, and an xray and could find nothing wrong with him. No sign of MBD and his calcium levels are fine. The vet seemed stumped and said the only other two things he could think would cause this would be parasites or a brain tumor. We're getting the fecal tomorrow (our regular vet can get the results back quicker than the hospital), but he gave us some Panacur to start him on anyway. As for the brain tumor, he said there'd be other symptoms prior to the run of seizures and they wouldn't have stopped as they did with him so well and alert afterward.
I have only had him since March 13 of this year, but he has shown no concerning signs. He eats very well and poops regularly. He is nearly blind due to cataracts, but takes handfeeding no problem and eats a good variety of foods. (Mustard and turnip greens as staples, with butternut squash, sweet potato, pumpkin, etc on rotation. For bugs he eats roaches, BSFL, superworms, hornworms, and waxworms. Calcium-dusted every 2nd feed.)
There is no chance of an injury; I've been aware of his poor vision since the beginning and his enclosure is set up safely. Also no chance of toxicity or eating something poisonous.. He is pretty much blind and he was held by my husband until he was put down for a poo.
He'd been to our regular vet May 17th, who had also given him a clean bill of health besides the cataracts and being a little underweight still (his previous owner wasn't aware he was blind and just assumed the dragon wasn't hungry so he'd gone quite awhile without food before I got him.) The only thing we didn't do, which ironically was going to do tomorrow anyway, was drop off a poo sample for a fecal cos the day of his appointment he'd pooped in the water instead of his usual place.
Needless to say, I am confused and worried. I have googled seizures and it seems to be pretty much just a calcium/MBD thing... Which both vets say he definitely doesn't have. Can parasites cause seizures on their own without any other symptoms? Is there anything else to look for?
I know in mammals sometimes seizures can happen as a freak thing and never happen again, but is that possible with bearded dragons?
Admittedly the emergency vet wasn't the herp specialist, as she wasn't due on until later, but he did say he'd have her look over his file to give her input and if she thought of anything else or other tests then they would call. And they haven't called. In the meantime my vet only has evening hours Mon-Wed-Fri, so I won't be able to get his fecal until tomorrow night.
So I'm wondering if I should go ahead and start him on the Panacur tomorrow, or wait until after the fecal? Also is there any advice to help him if he does start seizing again? He's been okay since, but I am so very worried cos it was so frightening for him (and me). I don't know if I should keep him close to me tonight or if sleeping in a different place would stress him too much.
Sorry for the long post; I just love the little guy so much. He's been through a lot and I wish for at least a couple more years with him to give him a beautiful sunset.
Obligatory info:
Enclosure: 36x18x18 glass front-open enclosure (I know it isn't sufficiently big enough for a normal adult dragon, but he is a senior and nearly blind and prefers to be next to the window for extra brightness so I went with this tank. Plus he gets plenty of exercise outside.) Substrate is vinyl non-adhesive shelf liner.
Temps: Cool side ~80f, basking 97f (temp gun), 35-40% humidity
UVB: 18' Reptisun 10 T8 tube, over screen but I have a UVB meter and levels are sufficient
Also gets about 2 hours natural unfiltered sunlight outside daily with supervised "play" time. I live in Florida so it's been quite warm since he's been here.
(No pesticides/weed killer/ etc have ever been used in or around my house and I have lived here for over a decade, just incase someone mentions it as a possible cause!)
Thanks for reading.
, the pic on your hubby's neck is a great pic, he looks very happy.
