Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all...this post is the result of some unfortuante news. I just lost my Tokay gecko to the "shake and cramp" disease. Seemingly compltely healthy for the 5 years that I've owned him (purchased as an adult), he suffered from what appeared to be an epileptic stroke out of the blue last night. He convulsed and contorted, so I immediately took him out of his cage...he clamped down on his tongue and would not release. I was lucky enough to force his jaws open without breaking anything and proceeded to flush his mouth with water. Lots of clear, viscous liquid came out and he slowly seemed to be making a recovery. At the end of the night, he actually licked water drops, so I knew his jaw wasn't locked, but he still wasn't up to form. Today, I went to volunteer at the local zoo and the herp specialist there gave me a medication (sorry, I forget what it's called) in pill form that kills off any internal parasites. I took him out when I got home to medicate him with a quarter of the pill and had to force open his mouth again. At this point, he proceeded to repeat his performance from last night and contorted and locked up. I'm very sad to say that he didn't recover from this. I proceeded to do some research and found this "shake and cramp" disease, beleived to be the result of lack of bone density/calcium. Sick to my stomach in believing I failed to provide adequate UV light to promote calcium nourishment, I want this to serve as a warning to all who think they can get away with normal light bulbs or feel they can neglect supplements. There is nothing worse than this feeling...knowing that you were the cause for the death of a pet due to your own ignorance. I know I'm going to get flamed for this post, but it's a small price to pay if my lesson helps others. On another note, I have a mature plumiform basilisk and a young adult inland bearded dragon. I have them on normal light bulbs but will go out and get the correct UV bulbs..but I'm not sure which ones to get. So far, I'm leaning to ZooMed UVB 100 watt bulbs for each. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
-angus1973

For my igs I use 3 reptisun 5.0 within 10 inches of the body. ITS THE BEST!!! Replace them every 6 to 8 months.
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Heather, Vern, Andy, Router, April And OODLES of fish

lose a pet ! Each one we own ( lizard )usually has a better life because of something we have learned along the way.

I don't think anyone wants to flame you, you seem like a very caring person, and feel bad enough as is.

I am truely sorry about your tokay, and hope you feel better soon.

Take Care!
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Eve

For your tokay a lack in UV light is definitely not the cause of its problem.
As well as parasites are unlikely.
Tokays do very well without any UV- as most nocturnal lizards.
The symptomes you describe are also not typical for MBD , but they are very, VERY typical for vitamine B (mostly B1) deficiency.
This deficiency in most cases is not attributed to inproper supplements but due to strong and repeated or permanent stress.
Such can be caused by frequent handling, inadequate housing or dominant cagemates.
In most caes one of these is the true reason behind the symptomes.

Hope that helps

Ingo

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2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0 Western Hognose
0.1 Cornsnake
0.2 Bearded dragons
1.1 leos
0.1 Rosehair T.
2.0 dogs
1.0 cat
0.1 ferret
1.3.? rats

Thanks for the possible diagnosis, but I don't think that any of the possibilities you mentioned are "possibile." He spent his life alone in a cage, was never handled, kept on a separate shelf for isolation, and was kept "in the dark," without any bulb assistance. The vitamin deficiency theory seems appropriate, but I never changed his diet, which counteracts the suddenness of his symptoms. I did feed him mealworms on the night of his first attack, but I fed my beardy and basilisk from the same batch. Outside of the "shake and cramp" theory, I'm baffled. Thanks for all your help...at least my beardy will get a larger cage from all of this!
-angus1973

I agree that tokays dont need UVB lighting, but they do need an artificial source of D3. If your calcium supplement lacked D3, or possibly had too much phosporous, MBD is very possible. Sesiures and tremors are also very clear signs of the problem. If you werent supplementing enough, not at all, or not giving D3, your mystery has been solved. I am sorry for your loss, but unfortunately much learning comes from mistakes. I know, i lost my very first beardie the same way years ago.
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"i wasn't born with enough middle fingers"

1.0 ball python- Azazel
1.0 columbian boa- Brooklyn
1.0 JCP-Milton
1.0 red blood python-Hiss
1.0 peach phase thayeri-Sancho
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
1.1 hognose- Pricilla and Odd
0.1 russian tortoise- Manja
0.1.1 leos- Boji and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.0 BTS- Griffon
0.1 Iggy- Sunny
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
1.4 ratties Rizzo, Bree, Blitzkreig, Raisin, and the Runt (R.I.P. Willard. )