Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need a little help with a female bearded dragon... A few days ago, we noticed that she was dragging her rear legs behind her. Since then, she has not recovered function of her legs and now is starting to twitch in her forearms and bobble her her head. It looks like something neurological, but I just don't know...

We checked her enclosure to see if their was anything that she could hurt herself on, but there really isn't anything in there for her to jump off from, or throw herself from. We have no clue what the onset of this paralysis is.

This is one of my very first bearded dragons and I am very attached to her. I fear there is nothing I can do for her and my vet thinks there is nothing to do for her either. Before I make the decision to euthanize her, I wanted to see if there was anything that anyone might suggest that could fix her.

Sorry to hear...

What are your temps?
What are you feeding? Calcium? Vitamins?
What kind of substrate are you using?
Lighting? UV lights?
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Anna

1.0.0 Ball Python {Shane}
1.0.0 Afican Bullfrog {Bungy}
2.2.8 Crested Geckos {Mel, Harley, Sally, Momma, unnamed}
0.0.1 Giant Black African Millipede {Milly}
2.0.0 Parakeets {Storm, Cloud}
2.0.2 Button Quails {Bob, unnamed}
1.0.0 Short Tail Possum {Eddie}
3.0.0 Pet Rats {Carlos, Ibin, Meany}
1.1.0 Dogs Lab/Pionter mix,German Shepherd {Vegas,Nevada}
2.1.0 Kitties {Kenny, Sebation, Phoebe}
1.0.0 Betta {George}
1.0.0 Boyfriend {Brian}
1 fish tanks with lots of fish
2 Crested Gecko eggs layed 5/18
And the bugs

Thats it for now.....

All adult dragons are kept on sifted playsand. The enclosure has a flat basking rock at each temperature gradient. On the high side, the temps reach 105 and in the cool section never are in the 80s. UVB Bulbs run 16 hours a day along with the heat bulbs.

Dragons all eat 2x dialy. The first feeding is dusted with Repcal Monday through Friday. Saturday they get Reptivite and Sunday they get Parazap. Greens are offered daily and left in until second feeding. First feeding is at 7am (lights come on at 5AM) and is always dusted crix. Second feeding is at 5PM and they get wax worms or meal worms along with crix. Light go out at 9PM. Temps at night never frop below 78.

Dragons are misted 2x daily, once at each feeding. Every Saturday, everyone gets to soak in the tub for 5-10 minutes. It depends on whether they get fussy or not... Water never changes, but their attitudes sure do.

They are all on a pretty strict "regiment" but if there is anything else I need to do, I'm always willing.

I am thinking either calcium deficency, inpaction or maybe the Parazap. Stop the parazap, I know some of the ingredients can be toxic in certen doses. Maybe ask the vet for a calcium injection. If she just layed eggs then she used alot of it up. Good luck.
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Anna

1.0.0 Ball Python {Shane}
1.0.0 Afican Bullfrog {Bungy}
2.2.8 Crested Geckos {Mel, Harley, Sally, Momma, unnamed}
0.0.1 Giant Black African Millipede {Milly}
2.0.0 Parakeets {Storm, Cloud}
2.0.2 Button Quails {Bob, unnamed}
1.0.0 Short Tail Possum {Eddie}
3.0.0 Pet Rats {Carlos, Ibin, Meany}
1.1.0 Dogs Lab/Pionter mix,German Shepherd {Vegas,Nevada}
2.1.0 Kitties {Kenny, Sebation, Phoebe}
1.0.0 Betta {George}
1.0.0 Boyfriend {Brian}
1 fish tanks with lots of fish
2 Crested Gecko eggs layed 5/18
And the bugs

Thats it for now.....

She did lay 21 eggs a little less than 4 weeks before the paralysis started. I'm thinking she might have injured herself while laying, but would it take a month for symptoms to show up? I'm just stumped...

I was looking for the ingerdents for the parazap and the only 2 I could find are wormwood and black walnut. I am pretty sure the bw is toxic in large doses, but I cant find that info right now but I did find something on the wormwood.

Contains a toxin........ causes delirium... lessions of the brain.... possibly leading to convulsions, brain damage and death...
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Anna

1.0.0 Ball Python {Shane}
1.0.0 Afican Bullfrog {Bungy}
2.2.8 Crested Geckos {Mel, Harley, Sally, Momma, unnamed}
0.0.1 Giant Black African Millipede {Milly}
2.0.0 Parakeets {Storm, Cloud}
2.0.2 Button Quails {Bob, unnamed}
1.0.0 Short Tail Possum {Eddie}
3.0.0 Pet Rats {Carlos, Ibin, Meany}
1.1.0 Dogs Lab/Pionter mix,German Shepherd {Vegas,Nevada}
2.1.0 Kitties {Kenny, Sebation, Phoebe}
1.0.0 Betta {George}
1.0.0 Boyfriend {Brian}
1 fish tanks with lots of fish
2 Crested Gecko eggs layed 5/18
And the bugs

Thats it for now.....

Anna,

Thanks for the info on the Parazap. I don't think it is the cause, though. We don't give the dragons doses large enough to do any damage. I might reduce the frequency of use just in case, though.

She definitely did not have calcium deficiency. The symptoms did not start until 24 days after she laid her eggs. Since that time she had properly gained weight back and had been running around like her normal crazy self.

As for impaction, it's highly unlikely. None of our dragons ever eat anything large enough to impact them. Crickets are always smaller than head width and veggies are very finely chopped. In there substrate, there are no rocks or pebbles that are large than what can pass through a sifter.

It's just a mystery. The vet is also not so sure. Right now, though, I'm just really saddened about our loss. Red was our very first girl and a beauty. It's horrible to have to make such a decision...

I really thank you for your support and the suggestions.

I am sorry for your loss. Can you have a neocropsy(sp?) done?
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Anna

1.0.0 Ball Python {Shane}
1.0.0 Afican Bullfrog {Bungy}
2.2.8 Crested Geckos {Mel, Harley, Sally, Momma, unnamed}
0.0.1 Giant Black African Millipede {Milly}
2.0.0 Parakeets {Storm, Cloud}
2.0.2 Button Quails {Bob, unnamed}
1.0.0 Short Tail Possum {Eddie}
3.0.0 Pet Rats {Carlos, Ibin, Meany}
1.1.0 Dogs Lab/Pionter mix,German Shepherd {Vegas,Nevada}
2.1.0 Kitties {Kenny, Sebation, Phoebe}
1.0.0 Betta {George}
1.0.0 Boyfriend {Brian}
1 fish tanks with lots of fish
2 Crested Gecko eggs layed 5/18
And the bugs

Thats it for now.....