Walking on backs of hands

[vrjrww626]

I have an 18" beardie that is probably 8 months old. Almost as long as we've had him (since December), he's walked on the backs of his hands. He will stand in very strange positions, with an entire arm under him. He's a little clumsy, but he climbs and eats well. He is alert and seems normal in every other way. He does have some liquid to his bowel movements. I'm attaching a picture of him and his poop.

He eats dubias daily (5 days dusted with calcium, 2 with multivitamin), along with mustard greens. I've corresponded previously about lighting and think I got that all worked out early on. I am taking him to a reptile vet in a few weeks just to be safe, but thought I'd ask for opinions from you experts

 

[vrjrww626]

BTW, I have a ReptiSun 10.0 uv bulb and a 60 watt crystal clear halogen bulb for his basking light. Here's a picture of the setup from months ago. We have since hung the uv bulb underneath the screen.

 

[kingofnobbys]

NOT AN EXPERT.

But my 4 year old girl Rex does this occasionally too, but not all the time and only one front foot at a time when she does it . She's always done it as far as I can remember (we brought her and Puff home as 6 week olds).

I think with her it's just a habit she falls into when she's in a rush , doesn't seem to hurt her or bother her, just one of her quirks.

Notice her doing it with one front foot most often when she's on the carpet and free ranging, I just think she's lazy.

 

[vrjrww626]

Here's a link to a short video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbS0uKVvFo

 

[AHBD]

Hi Renee, a dragon walking like that has a calcium deficiency/MBD . How long was his light positioned on top of the screen before you changed it ? That may have been enough to affect his calcium absorption at a crucial stage in his growth, and it's possible that his mother was not receiving enough calcium, affecting bone development in some of the babies, making them more prone to having weakness somewhere. In this case it is the wrists. Just take good care of him now as you are .....it sounds like he's happy and healthy other than that.

 

[vrjrww626]

The light was always mounted below the screen for this fellow. The picture I posted of the setup was not this particular dragon. I'm hoping that whatever the cause of the current deficiency, this guy will stay happy and healthy and not get worse.

I'm not sure what happened with the video. It just played for me, but I know they're fickle Thanks for the responses so far. Any concern with the bowel movement liquid?

 

[AHBD]

I got the video to play the 3rd time. And the poo is fine, there's supposed to be some liquid to it.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Here's a link to a short video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbS0uKVvFo

wow .... that looks very awkward , never seen any of mine do that.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I think that is definitely a calcium issue due to weakness in the wrist area.
You are using calcium powder for supplementation? How often do you give that to him?
How far is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb from him?
He should be able to get within a 6 to 8 inch distance for maximum effects.
You could consider a liquid calcium supplementation to help boost his levels to see if that may help out for him right now.
Is he eating pretty well, overall?

Tracie

 

[vrjrww626]

We dust his roaches five days a week with calcium, once a day. We do a multivitamin powder the other two days. When he sits in his basking rock, which he does most of the time, he is about 6 inches from the UV light. Someone has asked if it might be something neurological. Sometimes he jerks his limbs when he's startled. He does eat well and steadily gains weight.