Reptile & Amphibian Forums

why is my bearded dragons legs twitch? he can barely walk and it looks like he's in pain!! can anyone help me?!?!?

Several things can cause this. We need a little more information.

How old is he? Substrate on? How long have you had him?

Is it front and back or just back legs?

What is he eating and if crickets, how large are they? Too large prey can cause compression on their spine. Soaking in water slighty warm may help him soon

Does he get calcium supplements? Lack of calcium can cause twitching. Increase calcium intake daily for a few weeks.

Is his basking area temperature 95F -110F? Too low temps can cause impactions, certain substrates if they ingest it can also.

Please try to give as much information of his history, eating, pooping that you can, it helps others with ideas that might help.

If you have a vet, you can call and talk to the office or make an appointment and have the vet see him

It could be the onset of MBD or impaction/constipation we need lots more info to be of help. You should consider going to a qualified herp vet for real help. It's extremely hard to diagnose a beardies condition over the internet.

BigT

Dont forget vitamins. The twitching can also be signs of stress and vitamin B depletion. It is best to find a qualified vet that can determine which/what is the problem and then give a booster shot if needed. Meanwhile, I'd increse heat, administer baths, and up the calcium and vitamins.
Dana

he is 1 yr old, he's got allporpose sand in his cage, rocks to climb around, I've had him since he was born...
It's not just his back legs, it's his whole body that tiwitches.
he eats crickets (that might be a little too big for him once in a while) he also eats romaine lettuce... I'm now increasing the vitamins and calcium, he wasn't getting too much of either... the temps are good in the cage... sometimes he won't eat for a day or two he just lays in his little hole that he dug kinda under one of the rocks... todayt he seems to be hungry so i fed him a couple little crickets and he was all over them, ate them right up. thank you guys for your support, I appeciate it very much, if you have any other suggestions or anything to help please do!!!
thanks again.
Craig.

Read up on MBD - Metabolic Bone Disease and Hypothiaminosis. He may need a calcium shot from the vet ASAP. I would get him to the vet anyway. I waited and my beardie died. His legs were twitching once in a while for about a month and I tried to fix the calcium problem but he died of a seizure and kidney failure. Take him to the vet. MBD is serious and life threatening. I don't mean to scare you but I lost a beardie to it.

I took this info off my website for you... sorry it's so long...

Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD)

In general, metabolic bone disease is the weakening of the bone caused by an imbalance in vitamin D3, calcium, and phosphorus. Several foods, which have a high calcium content, such as spinach, carrots, collards, chards and other thick leafy greens, also contain oxalates, which bind calcium. When foods high in oxalates are eaten by a beardie, the oxalates attack the calcium and make it useless in their body.

Vitamin D3, calcium, and phosphorus interact together to perform a number of functions besides bone growth and maintenance, including muscle contractions and blood coagulation. Too much phosphorus can throw this balance off, as can too much or too little vitamin D3 or too little access to UVB light. As the dangers of calcium deficiency become more widely known, there is also the risk of too much calcium (hypercalcemia), which is rare.

Signs of metabolic bone disease include hard knobs in the long bones of the legs, bumps along the vertebral column of the back and tail, and softening or hard swelling of the lower jaw. Regular physical exams are important as these bumps may be felt before they can usually be seen. Visible signs of moderate to severe MBD include jerky movements when walking, repeated tremors, twitches, or spasms in the limbs and muscles of the legs and toes when at rest or after exercise, and shakiness when being held. More advanced cases of MBD include all the above signs plus constipation, anorexia, and fractured bones. Severely deficient Beardies tend to be lethargic and may only be able to drag themselves along the ground.

There are several treatment options available for Beardies suffering from MBD. Moderate to severe cases of MBD require the proper diet, temperatures, and UVB as well as a more powerful calcium supplement than those found in pet stores. Oral administration of calcium glubionate (NeoCalglucon®, 1cc/kg) or injections of calcium lactate (Calphosan, 250 mg/kg) or calcium gluconate (100 mg/kg) are generally prescribed by veterinarians Studies have shown a faster recovery with calcitonin (Calcimar, Miacalcin, 50 IU/kg in the front leg, repeated once a week for two weeks) when it is administered to Beardies who have been a normal serum calcium level. A blood test by your vet will determine your Beardies serum calcium level. The use of calcitonin before normal levels have been established, may cause hypocalcemic tetany and death. In mild cases of MBD, where the signs are felt or just barely visible, can be treated by providing the proper environment and diet.

The proper amount of UVB light is important and necessary in treating and preventing MBD. Vets have prescribed the use of self-balasted mercury vapor UVB/heat bulbs as part of the treatment for MBD. These bulbs have a UVB element and a heat element, all rolled into one. The bulbs are a little pricy, but are supposed to last up to two years. I have these bulbs in all of my Beardie enclosures now and am astonished with the results. After a few weeks of installing the new bulbs, I noticed a major color enhancement in all of my beardies! Check out my Recommended Products page for names and distributors of these bulbs.

Along with proper day and night temperature gradients and a nighttime dark period, proper diet is essential to recovery. During recovery, your beardie should be fed calcium-rich, nutrient dense foods such as squashes, green beans, alfalfa (from alfalfa powder, crushed alfalfa tablets, alfalfa tea, or softened rabbit food pellets or pulverized hay cubes), parsnips, mustard greens, dandelions, escarole, and fruits such as figs, papaya, cantaloupe and berries. The food should be supplemented with additional calcium and a multivitamin formulated for reptiles.

Hypothiaminosis

When freezing green vegetables, especially the leafy greens, the thiamine (vitamin B1) will leach out. When frozen greens are fed over a long period of time and no provision is made for adding the thiamine back into the diet, a deficiency, hypothiaminosis, will occur. This causes tremors and twitches. Unfortunately, MBD also causes twitching and tremors of the toes and muscles of the legs. Many vets are not aware of that a thiamine loss is linked to green vegetables and will assume that the Beardie is suffering from a calcium deficiency. The only problem is that no amount of additional calcium is going to make twitches and tremors related to hypothiaminosis go away...only adding thiamine to the diet will. The best way to replace the lost B1 is by buying a vitamin B1 supplement, which is available in most health food stores, drug stores, and vitamin stores.

I have read that some people add brewer's yeast to replace thiamine. However, a thiamine supplement is healthier than the formerly recommended brewer's yeast for your Beardie, as the yeast is very high in phosphorous. If you buy B1 in tablet form, you can use a pill crusher to crush it and store the left-over extra powder as you only need a small pinch of the vitamin for a serving of salad. If you buy the B1 in a powder-filled capsule, you can dump some capsules out into a small container and take your pinches from there.Follow the directions on the bottle of B1 to make sure you store it properly to maximize its shelf-life.

Good luck!

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons

Hi
youre beardie need uvb/uva light like a reptisun 5.0 r other kind of real uvb light and not a normal spotlight.
you also need to dust his prey items with calsium 3,4,5 time a week and 1 time a week with vitamins.
without the light the calsium wil not get into the beardie body/system well .
how long is he?? seems he is not so big right for a 1 year old beardie??
byeeeeeee