Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys, I have a niger uro who is about 4-6 years old (male). Lately, he hasnt be eating as much as he used to (although he is still of healthy size) and is showing some strange behavior when he walks around.

Its almost as if his head wobbles as sometimes does his body. Overall his movement is ok but sometimes it almost seems like he will wiggle his head (tilting it left and right, not side to side) for no apparent reason.

It seems like he is looking around this way but its sort of jerky and almost seems unstable. His body will sometimes also wobble during movement but not so much that he seems lethargic, just twitchy.

What do you guys think it could be?

The setup is:
80 gallon long cage with Trex mercury bulb on hot side (115 deg) and 100w spot on cool side (80-90 deg). Heat pads for night, keeping a 70-85 gradient in the cage. The bulb is only a few months old and should still be producing massive UV. I dust vegies (which are given every day) with calcium and supply mealworms every other day (about 5). He really likes the worms and the peas.

Thanks in advance guys!

Take him to a vet; it’s probably the best thing to do if you don’t know what’s wrong with him. From your description of the symptoms and his diet I would probably guess it has to do with a calcium deficiency, but I'm no vet. On the other hand, I acquired a female Mali a few mo. ago and after treatment for parasites, she began to display similar symptoms. After discussing options with my vet (which were not promising at all) I began her on different viral meds. Luckily she has begun to improve, but it was not cheap nor stress free on me or her. If she does not eat then I will be left facing the possibility of euthanasia. Good luck and I hope this helps. One more thing, I would increase basking temps to 120-130.

-Nathanael

Yeah I have read that calcium deficiency first hits the nervous system before going full on MBD. Although I dust the food regularly, perhaps I should watch how much calcium he actually takes in.

I'll definitely increase the basking temps, and I also plan to take him out into sunlight when its hot to perhaps give him additional UV.

Your basking spot is too cool, should be 130 degrees. If he eats a lot of peas, they can bind calcium, limiting absorption. I would think he is showing signs of calcium deficiency. A visit to the vet might be in order to find out what's going on. Good luck.

Pam
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2.3 varanus acanthurus brachyurus (Dorado, Oro, Dora, Freckles & Amarillo)
1.1 varanus acanthurus acanthurus (Tabasco & Sprite)
1.1 u. macfadyeni (Amani & Abeba)
1.2 u. ornata (Husani, Zari, & Bintu)
1.1 u. ocellata (Zuhri & Ashai)
1.2 xenagama taylori (Asad, Ayana & Ayan)
1.1 hyla chrysoscelis (Pudge & Squirt)
Herps Are Awesome!

My understanding is that that amoung of animal protein could also be negatively impacting his system and calcium absorption. Since the amount of calcium you feed is fairly useless if it is not being absorbed. My guess would also be calcium deficiency, but I echo everyone else with recommending a visit to your local herp vet.

Elizabeth
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes (May he rest in peace)
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine (RIP)
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

Uromastyx knowledge in vets is slim to none around here....especialy on something that looks like a nervous system disorder...I took him out on a leash today and he hates that thing so I took it off and just sat there with him in the sun for a while.

Hes skittish so he kept trying to run but I just let him run in my hands and sun for about 30 minutes. He seems to have plenty of energy, which is good. But he does shake his head left and right sometimes. I still cant tell if its a disease, because sometimes he did it to seemingly get the leash off and sometimes it was because something alerted him (like a plane flew over and he instantly tilted his eyes to the sky).

The fact that he is alert is a good sign to me. I will dust his vegies with more calcium and cut off the peas. I'll cut back on the worms, and really figure out which of the vegies he eats at this point.

Thanks so much guys!
If you have any other input please let me know, its greatly appreciated.