Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently recieved a 3 month old male 9" long from a friend who gave him to me Free because he didnt know IF it would be able to breed as it got older..This dragon has a sort-of kink in his neck meaning he only favors one side of turning to look at somthing also when I tried to give him a bath all he did was spin in the water... He is a VERY aggressive eater, anything I put in front of him its gone! He does seem to chase is food in a clock wise position (Runs to his right) and does catch it..I did have him vet checked yesterday and the vet said it was only temporary maybe he banged into the glass cage or something...but its kinda hard to believe him because hes been like this ( according to my friend) For the past 3 weeks.. He was housed alone before and is alone here...My question is this, Will he be able to breed as an adult? or is it hard to say. Has anyone ever owned a dragon with his current condition. The reason why I took him is because of the color that this guy diplays..IT IS AWESOME!!!and he was free ether way he is a new addition to the family.. Thanks

At 3 months old, even thinking about him as a possible breeder is a long way off. They are so many other factors to consider if a dragon is a potential breeder. Lets deal with the current issue of the ataxia that he seems to be displaying right now and see if we can correct that or help him some.

This can be caused by an injury so your vet is right, but it can also be caused by several other things, some you can maybe correct, some you can not. *IF an injury, you have to wait and see what heals up on him

other possibilities:

1> A virus, you can do nothing about this, in fact, if it is viral, he should never be exposed to another beardie as chances are the main virus that bearded dragons get, they will always be carriers for life if they survive the onset of it. Only a special fecal test that is only available through a vet in Missouri that designed it will tell you if he has a virus and that test runs about $75. Otherwise, you will need to assume that he might have a virus and keep him from other dragons and wash well between handling him and any other dragon.

2. Lack of calcium or proper UVB to make D3 so he can absorb calcium. That you can cure with a good UVB light such as a ZooMed 10.0 or 5.0 ReptiSun or a Exo Terra ReptiGlo 8.0. and make sure the plastic cover is off the fixture as UVB can not pass through plastic (or glass, unless it is the special glass the tube is made from....... you can also use a mercury vapor bulb for UVB such as the MegaRay. AND also make sure he is getting a good Calcium supplement with D3 in it right now, like Rep_Cal Calcium with D3 Ultrafine Ph free, dusted on one meal of insects a day for 5 days of the week. The other 2 days use a good multivitamin like Rep_cal Herptivite.

3. Lack of the B vitamins, you can add some back to him with the multi vitamins, but you can also put some brewers yeast in his food (like a pinch a day for a few weeks) or buy some commercial B complex vitamins and give him those. Veronica of BeautifulDragons.com carries some for sale on her site that works well.

4. Genetic or congenital growth problems. He might have a condition where only one side of the neck muscles are growing properly. You can take warm compressed (use a 2 x 2 gauze piece soaked in warm water) and place it on the side of his neck that curves IN. let it warm him up some and then slowly and gently massage the side on the neck... what you are trying to do is to get the muscle to lengthen over time. Do that at least once a day as long as the condition continues, you will be able to tell within about 2 weeks if it is helping at all

Best to you and him, If it does not correct and he is still eating well on his own, just enjoy him... he does not know he is not perfect
-----
www.reptilerooms.com