Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, Ive had my dragon for 'bout 2 years now and lately ive noticed that when he walks he walks on the 'back'of his hands..(just his front hands) .he walks just fine that way but im wondering if there may be something wrong...has anyone seen dragons do this ?.....

i feed him 'silk worms,'repcal pellets'.greens...i use calcium and herptivite...and i have 'reptisun 5.0 bulb' all his temps are right.....

need some thoughts...
thanks for the time
Brad

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might just be the way he walks, have seen B deficient leo geckos walk on their ankles or elbows....but if he has done this for 2 years and only on his fronts im doubtful thats the problem. Does he eat well and get around well?

you mean the back as in the back of the hand or the heel of his hand.. just clarifying.. has he done this for the whole 2 years you have had him? did he do this when you got him? did you get him as a baby?

I'm assuming you mean the top side of his hands, not the palms? I would be concerned if he continues to do this and hasn't done it before. Occasionally, I will catch one of my beardies in a weird pose and they are standing on the top part of their hands. It looks weird and uncomfortable. But it usually doesn't last long and I've never seen them walk that way. I'd be concerned about a muscle problem or even a calcium and bone deficiency problem. Have you noticed any twitching or muscle spasms? You said you have a Reptisun 5.0, do you replace it every 6 months and is it less than 12 inches from your beardie?

Veronica
Beautiful Dragons

well walking on the back of his hands could be a vit B deficiency, it could be MBD but it sounds as tho it would be later stages of that, have you noticed any other changes in him? like asked do you have the proper UVB lighting and change the tubes every regularily? i would see about getting to a herp vet and have your dragon looked at. If he is B deficient the vet will be able to give him a shot and it should help him along and then there will be other thigns that you will be able to give him like brewers yeast to help him. If it is MBD a vet will also be able to help with that, either way even if its not one of those two things he shoudl see a vet, walking on the back of his hands is not a favorable change in a dragon and needs to be diagnose and treated as soon as possible. Where is Cheri, she would be able to give you a heck of a lot of info im sure and a good opinion, but even then nothing can replace getting your dragon to a good herpvet, nothing can be diagnosed or treated over a forum........

"Wrist walkers" and other neurological,(and musculo-skeletal)problems seem to be cropping up much more often these days than in recent years. Young dragons grow and often do quite well for awhile; then, all of the sudden - they "weird out on you."
If this is the case, it's certinly not your fault... and unfortunately there's not a whole lot you can do about it.
As long as he can get around, he'll be fine, though he might need some help from you as he gets older. More often than not - in my expierence, it seems like the "white" dragons have the most problems.
Best of luck,
Liz

Yeah some of these white dragons are actually falsely advertised red flames.

My female dragon (age 4 years-I bought her when she was 2) does that. My vet said she had MBD when she was younger and it wasn't caught in time, therefore permanent joint damage occurred. She gets around great, but the damage is already done. If your beardie is just starting to walk like that I would take him to the vet and see what he says.

If it is MBD, (as opposed to 'something else') an easy way to tell is by looking at the joints. If their elbows or knees appear to be a little, (or more than a little) larger or 'knobbier' than usual, that's a tell-tale sign.
In milder cases, you may not notice much of a difference in the joints - but if it affects them enough to where they're not walking properly, you should be able to notice a difference.