Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I got this young beardie for Christmas from my brother and the poor little guy has seizures (sorry for the spelling) I didn't think he would last this long. After a while they seemed to stop but lately they have gotten really bad. Is this something that happens, like a genedic problem? and do you think he can live a long time? He has dubbled in size.

Are you dusting his foods with supplements if so what kinds,and brands are being used? are you providing uvb producing bulbs for him to bask under. if so which brands, and types, and how far away from his basking spot are they placed?

Seizures can happen for many reasons. one of the main causes is calcium deficiency. We need to know lots more about your set-up, and the care you provide for your dragon to make an educated guess as to why he's seizing. In any event seizures are not normal by any means, and if this has been happening for a while he should have been brought to the vet when it was first noticed.
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Mystical-Dragons Web Site
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I actually got on here to start a thread to ask for help, but this looked like it might be something I should look into. My male bearded, Petri (about 6 months old) recently started acting weird and I'm a little concerned. He's been flailing about and running into the side of his cage for the last week or so, and it seems to be getting worse. He also seems to be having trouble when chasing after crickets; he runs after them but when he gets close he seems to miss a lot or get spooked by something and jump away. Anybody have any advice? I thought about taking him to a vet but the closest one that deals with reptiles is over an hour away so I thought I'd get some other opinions first. I'm really worried so any help would be appreciated.

A vet check is always good, even if an hour drive. Describe your setup. What is your basking temp,do you have a UVB light, what do you feed besides crickets, what size crickets, how often, do you dush crickets with suppliments? Approximately how old is the dragon? How long has he been flaying around? Is he still growing, eating, defecating?

Flaying around could be loss of co-ordination due to calcium deficiency, toxins, etc, just as seizures can be. Could be an inner ear imbalance or infection, lose or problem with eyesight etc.
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PHLdyPayne

There are about three primary causes of seizures in bearded dragons, calcium deficiency (or lack of vitamine D3 either due to improper lighting or insufficient supplimentation or a combination of both) either from not dusting crickets or offering greens that lack calcium or are very low in calcium, or greens with high levels of calcium binding agents, such as spinach.

Lack or not enough of other nutrients, besides calcium can also cause seizures.

Too much heat in the cage can cause seizures, especially if there is no where for the dragon to go to escape the heat. (ie basking spot way to high, above 125F with no cooler area to go, no cool end of the tank at all and ambient temps are way over 100F)

Toxins also can cause seizures. Toxins could be in the food being offered, (ie wild caught insects who have been in contact with insecticides,chemical fertilizers etc), fumes from toxic substances in or around the cage or consumption of poisonous plants or insects.

Neurological disorders or genetic defects are also known to cause seizures.

Pretty much the only thing you can do yourself, is make sure the cage setup is perfect for bearded dragons, make sure no toxic substances are in or near the cage (paint fumes, poisons used to kill household insects, etc) and you are using only captive bred insects and wash all greens well before feeding to your dragon or crickets. Check to make sure your basking, ambient and cool end temps are within acceptable ranges with a digital thernometer or temp gun.

To truly diagnose what is causing the seizures, a vet inspection will be required. There is only so much guess work we can do with a description of the cage setup and feeding regime on what could be causing the seisures, as so many different things could be the cause. As you indicated your dragon is growing normally, it is not likely to be a fault in diet or cage setup, but it can easily be any of the other reasons and these can only be determiend by a qualified reptile vet.
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PHLdyPayne