Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMD, TMJ)

[cmh3988]

Has anyone ever had this diagnosed in a beardie? About a month ago we took in an adult male about 4 years old. He had an obvious RI when he came home to us. We took him to the vet and got meds for that and then got a fecal in and he had protozoan parasites. Needless to say, with all the meds he wasn't eating well. He's about 17" long and was 605 grams when he first came to us.

He's lost about 25 grams in a month, but he's interested in food again. So he tries to eat, both greens and superworms and we notice his aim is all of and there's this popping noise occasionally in his jaw. We took him into the vet today and showed him the vid of the unsuccessful aim in eating with the popping noise and he said it was likely TMJ, possibly caused by the RI infecting his jaw. He did x-rays (and nothing was out of place). We got pain meds for him and if those don't help the vet said next step was sedating him to do a deep oral exam with more xrays (which would be impossible if not sedated).

Any advice much appreciated! Below is Spike. He's our 4th beardie. We had two that passed from cancer and even though we've only had him a month we already love him to death and just want him to be ok. Especially after all these initial issues! Just curious if anyone else had experienced this. Didn't see anything on Google or after a quick search in here.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....that's a nice looking boy there. Is Spike over his R.I ? Was he having a lot of trouble breathing , like gaping constantly ? I'm not sure about the diagnosis of tmj....it's possible that there's a slight problem with it but I doubt it's the real condition. If he's missing the aim on his live food he probably has some calcium/vitamin deficiency. If there wasn't enough calcium in his diet and/or the proper UVB bulb then he would not be able to absorb calcium, and calcium affects all the motor skills in the body. Can you list your exact type + brand of lights ? Sometimes there's a vit. B deficiency that can also cause neurological problems.

A weight loss of 25 grams is pretty negligible, they can lose near that with one large poo. Are you positive about his length ? I ask only because 600 would be way on the high side unless he has a tail nip and his actual length would have been in the 19- 20" range for his weight.

 

[cmh3988]

Hi -
Thanks for the response. He IS a good looking fellow . He does seem to be over the RI and yes, he was gaping pretty often when he had it (and huffing). He's obviously feeling better too because his beard was pretty dark for 2 weeks and now it's all light again. We did have bloodwork done when I first took him in, but I'm not sure how detailed it was and if it showed vitamin/calcium levels. Kidney/liver/WBC levels were all normal (even with the infection). I'll call the vet tomorrow and see if I can get a copy. I was actually wondering about a possible neurological problem because he does seem to twitch every once in a while. Curious if the bloodwork shows anything on that.

I'm not sure what he had previously, but right now he's in a 75 or 90 gallon tank (can't remember). We keep his warm side between 99 and 104. Two 18" Reptisun 10.0 uvb bulbs. Liquid calcium and organic multivitamin powder from beardeddragon.co.

He was definitely on the chunky side. First time we took him in vet said he needed to lose at least 25 grams (which he has, but just from not eating). We figured out last night that if you hold the greens or superworms in your hand he has a much better chance at getting them so we've started doing that.

Let me know what you think or if you have any other questions. I'll see what that bloodwork shows. Thanks!!

 

[AHBD]

Your husbandry sounds good....his problems all developed before you got him but he he'll have a good life with you. Liquid calcium is the way to go. If you can, post the blood test here....one of the mods named Tracie [ username Drache613 ] can read them. As for calcium levels, blood tests may not tell you much since they can fluctuate and if his health is impacted from previous low calcium it won't necessarily show up on the test now.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great he has gotten over his respiratory issues then! They can be so hard to clear up sometimes.
I have not heard of that specifically, but jaw issues can be caused by weakened bones so it definitely makes sense to have some type of joint problem if he has metabolic bone problems.
Do you have a copy of the blood test results I could see? I would be happy to look over them.
It sounds like he is feeling much better now too!

Thanks.
Tracie

 

[cmh3988]

Hi Tracie -
Thanks for the response. I've posted them here: http://i.imgur.com/Bu8k3TF.jpg.
Let me know if you have trouble viewing it. I could email them to you.
Thanks!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I could see them pretty well.
How is he doing today?
The calcium appears normal, but could come up just a bit to say a 10-12mg/dl really to be sure the levels are good enough in his blood stream & some stored.
The uric acid is very low, too. Did he comment on that? It is in the low range so he could just have a slight vitamin deficiency that would fix that. Is he eating well?

Tracie