Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Two questions from a newbie here. I have three baby
Ornates and I noticed they all seem to twitch a bit when they are laying down.

1. Do they suffer from calcium deficiencies like beardies? Is this something I can fix on my own or is this a vet thing?

2. The male does an interesting thing when he doesn't want us to pick him up. He kinda squirms like a snake - is this normal Uro behavior? I hate to see him upset but the dance is quite funny to watch.

any help would be apprecieted - thanks

Yes, babies can easily run into calcium deficiencies if UVB irradiation, D3 supplementation and Ca/P ratios in the food are not balanced.
But twitching normally is due to a vitamien B1 deficiency which is mostly stress related.
Frequent handling, inappropriate housing conditions or permanent presence of dominatn cagemates can cause this. Whilest one B1 shot often already helps, the true reasons for the deficiency have to be foudn out and removed for longitme recvovery.
The snake dance is a normal defense and dislay behaviour of these Uros.

Hope that helps

Ingo

I'm hoping the stress is related to the past few days of being at a show and coming home to a new enviroment. I can't see an open displays of domination (as compared to my beardies make it very clear)- everyone seems to be eating well. Is a B1 shot a vet thing or this something I can read about and do myself?

thanks

When my uros come down with the muscle tremors, usually a calcium shot will clear it up within a day, and get them back on track. I'm always looking for more efficient ways to get them their calcium. Lately, I've been doing the "shake and bake" with mealworms in calcium powder.
Jim

I have been dusting their greens with Calcium. I have read one thing that confuses me though. One of the females has a bump on her back that from what I read could be calcium. Does this mean she is getting too much calcium or too little?