Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We've had our beardie for 5 months, and he is not much older than that. Yesterday he was not eating, not moving his back legs (just dragging them behind) and he seems to have a slight bump on his spine. He only eats crickets. I belive this is an impaction and have read many different remedies for it. I'm wondering if there is anyone that has a "tried and true" remedy that will help my little guy?? Thanks!

Depends on the degree of impaction. Try warm soaks, a little fruit babyfood with a few drops of mineral oil mixed in sometimes helps also, some prune juice maybe. If all else fails then you'll need a good reptile vet that knows what they are doing to give an enema. Now the big question, WHY is he impacted? Beardies just don't get impacted on their own, something is wrong with his setup, food or both, these are things you control.
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Heart Mountain Herps

impaction can also be caused by feeding crickets that are too large, not enough water, either via misting or having available drinking water, or ingesting substrate.

for minor cases of impaction, warm soaks in water at about 70-75F for about 10-20 minutes can aid in passing of stool, mineral oil as heartmountain already mentioned, or pureed carrots or squash can also help things flow. a teaspoon of puree a meal for a couple days is more than enough. if none of this works, y our only option is taking the dragon to a qualified herp vet experienced in working with dragons and other mid sized lizards.

as he is already showing signs of rear leg paralysis, i am more inclined to suggest getting him to a vet right away, especialy if he doesn't go to the bathroom today after using above mentioned methods. too large prey items certainly can put pressure on the lower spine in young dragons, cau sing the back legs not being able to work properly and that little hump. also, lack of calcium or vitamine d3 can also cause problems like this.

in fact, as this being friday and the fact many vets are not open on weekends, i suggest getting him in today anyway, as in the worse cases, a wait till monday may be too late to referse damage to the spine, especially if t his has already been happening for several days before you posted here for help. if you need help in finding a good herp vet, try this link.

www.herpvetconnection.com/
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PHLdyPayne

take him to a vet.

If he's showing paralysis, then I would schedule an appointment with a GOOD herp vet and try to make it ASAP. Most likely the soonest they would be able to get him in would be a day or two anyways, so that would give you time to try some of the other methods mentioned that can help aid in constipation, but if he starts to decline and doesn't pass the obstruction by tomorrow, you really need to find a qualified vet that will have a look at him.

What are his conditions like? We need to know what kind of substrate you're using, accurate measurements of his temperatures, the food he's eating, etc. etc. etc.