Vibrating Beardie?

[makubex01]

When i am holding my beardie to my chest with my hand rested on his back, I felt several vibrations or twitching from him. Is this normal? Has anyone experience this before? It's quite weird.

 

[vickson420]

Hello
When you feel the vibrations where do they come from.Does it seem like its from his breathing or is it more a body twitching thing?Do you see any mucous in his mouth or nostrils?What are his temps and how/where are you measuring them?

 

[makubex01]

There are no mucus or anything on his mouth or nose. I felt it when my hand was resting on his back. I'm not if it was due to breathing or not. I also saw twitching a few times today in his tail. I never seen him done this before.

His temp on the warm side is 100 and on the cool side is 84. I told the vet I used the analog and he said that is fine.

 

[vickson420]

Ok well I have two concerns here,the tail twitching(any twitching) is a sign if MBD(metabollic bone disease).The vibrating could be spasm also an MBD related thing however if its in the lung then it could be an RI(repiratory infection).I have to disagree with your vet in regards to the therm.Beardies are fairly temp specific and require accurate temps to digest food,and low temps will cause not only lethargy but RI also.I recommend you get a digital probe therm and verify those temps.What UVB are you using and what type of vitamins/calcium are you using and how often?

 

[makubex01]

Hello, I am using the d3 supplements. I use them 2-3 times a week. I also use the repti-sun 10.0 flourescent tube for his UVB source. Also, I just brought it to the vet a few days ago and said he is perfect fine. How can you diagnose MBD or RI? Do I need to bring him in for a x ray or blood test or whatever?

 

[vickson420]

Hi

The reptisun 10 is the best linear flourescent so as long as its under 6mos old and he can get within 6-8 inches of it he is good with that.How old is he?When you say D3 do you mean only that no calcium?Could you be more specific on this?If he is a baby or a juvie then he needs a calcium supplement with d3 5xper week for 1 feeding per day and a multivitamin 2xper week.I do not recommend using the all in one type supplements as there is always too much of one thing and not enough of another with the doses.The best thing to do is to get him back there for bloodwork and xrays,yes.There are other things that it could be or truthfully it could be nothing but the only way to know is to run a calcium panel and have a vet check his lungs.Is your vet a herp vet?Its not uncommon for non herp vet to misdiagnose so be careful on that.Just for your own referance:signs of MBD can be twitching,seizures,bone deformity or weakness and the signs of RI can be wheezing,clicking,crackling when breathing,excessive gaping,mucous in the nose or mout and lethargy.

-Vicky

 

[makubex01]

The D3 is actually a calcium supplement. And no, my vet is not a herp vet. Sadly to say, there are no herp vet in my local area. THe closest one is 3-4 hours away in the city. I am actually away for college and decided to bring my beardie up so I can take care of him. I am sure that the beardie is within 6-8 inch of the light. The other thing I am worry about is that my beardie is not eating well. In the whole week, he prolli ate only 7 superworms. He did not touch his salad at all! I asked the vet and he said that my beardie is perfectly fine! I am so confused. I am in need of a herp vet but there is none around here.

I also purchase some reptaid in hopes it can get his apetite up. Any suggestions as to make his conditions better? I feel like I have no where to turn to besides this forum since the Vet is of no help.

 

[vickson420]

Have you checked on herpvetconnection.com to see if there is one closer?If not I would sill use the other vet as a resource just dont let him give meds until you come here first and make sure they ar giving the correct thing.We can double check with Tracie to make sure they are correct and whatever you do DO NOT let them give him Ivomec.This is a common mistake they make and it ends up killing the beardie.I would ask him to run a fecal,bloodpanel and xrays to see what they find.In the meantime you can bathe daily,supplement with the repta aid and a babyfood slurry.I am thinking this is most likely an RI and he will need antibiotic for it so if he is your only choice then thats what you must do.

 

[makubex01]

How do a beardie contract RI in the first place? And may I ask what is a slurry? I am feeding him lil slices of apples and mustard greens to keep his apetite going. So far, today he ate like 5+ slices. Also, I order a new basking lamp and finally got a digital thermometer.

- I checked Herpvetconnection and the closest one is in NYC, which is 3-4 hours drive away from VEstal, NY.

 

[vickson420]

Oh thats too bad about the vet.I would go with a good general then just as I said be wary of giving the meds until you double check dosages.As for how you get an RI many times its because the humidity is too high or the temps are too low other times it just happens.Great that you got the basking lamp and thermometers.You want your temps to be perfect right now,100-105F basking surface and 75-80F cool end.What type of substrate are you using btw?Partical sub can be dangerous with impactions and holding bacteria.As for the slurry justy get some chicken or turkey babyfood and a veggie babyfood(squash,greens,etc)mix the two add a pinch of calcium and thin it with water or clear pedialyte(dont use pedilyte if your using repta aid) warm it in the microwave and see if he will lick it off a spoon or the tip of his nose.If not you can administer it with a plastic needless syringe.How are your temps now?

 

[makubex01]

i'm not sure if my temps are accurate or not. I order my thermometer on the internet. It still hasn't arrive yet. As for the substrate, I am using shelf liner so definetly don't have to worry about impaction and such.

Also, my beardie usually sleep on my bed with me. Since he might have RI, should I move him back to sleep in the tank with the heat emitter on? Or should I just allow him to sleep with me? My room isn't cold, the heat is on 72-76 degrees all the time.

 

[vickson420]

Well as long as he stays warm enough I wouldnt worry too much about him sleeping with you but it may be a good idea to wrap him in a rice sock and a "blanket" at night to keep him as warm as possible.

 

[makubex01]

No problem. When he's sleeping next to me, he is always under my blanket with a towel wrap around him to make sure he's warm enough! Thanks for you help! I will update on his conditions whenever I can.

 

[vickson420]

Yes please keep me posted.I really hope he gets well quick for you.

 

[makubex01]

Well, so far right now, I don't see him twitching his tail or stomach anymore. Hopefully he is getting better.