Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When he walks one of his back legs shakes real bad and he has a hard time walking and seems weak. He has never been dropped, any ideas ??

do you supplement with calcium w/d3 and provide UVB lighting? what are you feeding? how big/old is he? does he have any high climbing structures in his enclosure? what substrate is he on?

He is a year old (16 inches), 20 gallon tank, he has 1 log that goes to the top of the tank but he cant fall off of it because he is too big (I have plans on building a bigger cage this month). He has all proper lighting,, he eats great (greens,carrots,meal worms,crix) EXCEPT LATELY WHEN I NOTICED THIS PROBLEM.... the only thing I can think of is that his cage is too small for him or should I worry or take him to the vet ?? Thanks

he does need a bigger set up, in all honesty if he is shaking and having a hard time walking, i would get him to a herp vet and have him looked at, it could be MBD or he could have a fracture in that leg, but if he hasnt fallen i dont know how he would have done that. Does he get out of his 20gal to excercise at all? could it be that he doenst have enough room to move about well and its causing problems? just a suggestion. I would switch him from the mealworms onto superworms a few times a week if thats what you want to feed, the supers have a thinner chitin and are easier to digest for him. A salad with a base of collard greens and then adding turnip tops, endive, escarole, bok choy, mustard greens, kale etc is a good mix. You can add carrots and squash for variety here and there as well as things like rasperries. How often do you supplement? and what kind of UVb lighting are you using>?

What is MBD ? He does jump off the log and hit into the side of the glass but I cant see him hurting himself by doing that because of his size. As for excersise.. He does need to get out more often, I am afraid to leave him out of the cage too long. As for my lightning... Im not sure, you can see my set up in the pictures on my website www.ron-l.com His basking light is 90W but the Flurescent light, Im not sure.. Thanks

click on the "Lex The Lizard" button to see his pictures and my set up.. www.ron-l.com
Link

I forgot to mention...... at the base of his tail,, its a little crooked, is it possible that he broke his tail ? Thanks
Ron

how long has it been like that? it is possible that he has an old injury or was born with a crimped tail. I would get him to a vet, he will be able to properly diagnose and treat your dragon, if it is MBD your vet is your best option to get him going on a path to getting him healthy. Defatinly get the guy a bigger enclosure, if you cant get a bigger glass/wood one even a reptarium will do, they are cheap and you can buy a fairly large one for a good price online, even check e-bay.

not the tip of his tail? is this new? i would get him a vet appointment with a herp vet in your area as soon as possible.

metabolic bone disease, it occurs when your dragon does not get the D3 needed to metabolize calcium in the body. So you can have a great diet high in calcium him but without proper supplementing (calcium w/d3) and proper lighting (UVB lighting or natural sunlight which is best) your dragon will not be able to utilize the calcium in his diet. Dragons can produce the D3 on their own with the lighting and the insects that they eat but it is not enough (unless living outside year round)and must have dietary D3 if living indoors.

Ok thank you very much for your help, I will take him to the vet tommorrow.

Ron

i noticed in your pictures he is on crushed walnut shells? i would also remove that substrate, its known to cause impactions in dragons and can be fatal, playsand would be a safer option, although i bed my dragons on wheat bran as i feel its the safest particulate substrate. he looks good from the pictures, are they recent? he definatly has outgrown that enclosure, where are you located?

Daniel S. Wentz, DVM, Ferguson Animal Hospital, 483 Airport Rd., Ferguson, MO 63135, (314) 524-0707

One of the best..
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TheClassyLizard