Pygmy Bearded Dragon shakes and hard to walk

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porkosta

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Hi all, just a concern that I have with one of my pygmy dragons.
He has been off his food and not very active in the last few week but in the last day or so he has gotten to the point where he appears to have trouble walk and isn't moving his back legs much as well and appears to have shake happen to him when he does move his back legs in certain positions.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? I am planning to try get him looked at tomorrow but wanted to see what other people have seen.
Also I am curious on what people have found the lifespan is to be on Pygmy Bearded dragons as this one is around 7 years old or so.

Some other background info:
- He has his own enclosure and the correctly lighting and heat are always running
- He is feed on his own but is not a big eater and is normally fussy - refuses to take veggies most the time.
- Will smash to odd mealworm/superworm
- Have had a couple of pinkies in the last few weeks and he smashed that
 
hmm not too sure mate. Hope he gets past it. As a start though I wouldn't feed him mealworms as they are hard to digest and pinkies (only should be used when fattening up females after a lay)
 
Sounds like impaction. Can you feel a lump towards the bottom of his belly?
 
What about calcium supplements?
Is his UVB light over 8 months old?

has he been pooing regularly?

Im thinking calcium deficiency sounds more likely than impaction, although the symptoms are similar for both, i'd be giving a big dose of calcium and getting it out in the sun tommorrow.
 
I thought impaction because of the shake and back legs moving weird during the shake sounds like hes straining to push. Could be either but if you are taking him to the vet tomorrow thats the best course of action. Its hard to distinguish the cause with symptoms like that without seeing it in person :)
 
I was thinking impaction as well so let him have a soak in a water bath yesterday and he is in a warm water bath at the moment today which he is enjoying.
I had another dragon year ago with a similar issue and the warm bath soak really helped and it must of relaxed and soften the impaction enough to pass and that dragon is still going fine today.

His calcium levels are normally good and he had a dose of directly calcium liquid both yesterday and today to boost them up even more. I have seen calcium deficiency and this doesn't appear to be it.
His lights are less than 6 months old.
 
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Just make sure you aren't using a coil UV cause those often give out the wrong wavelength of the UV which can cause lethargy, eye problems, they can go off thier food. How big is the food you are feeding him? It can't be bigger than the space between his eyes, or it can cause impaction. If you think he might be impacted, add a little olive oil to his food to try and pass any blockages. Also just run your finger down his belly to try and move anything that might be in there.

Also Mealworms really aren't the best thing to feed to a pygmy or even a normal beardie, the chitins on the worms are really hard for them to digest and they can cause impaction quite easily. You can also try some baby food, chicken or turkey would be good (the pureed stuff you get in a jar). Warm it up before you feed it though. I know a lot of places also say pinkies are good which they are on very rare occasion, I would avoid those unless you really need to give him a good amount of calcium and proteins.
 
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Not coil UV lights here. Fluro tube styles and basking lamps.
Olive oil, that's a new one. I can not feel any obvious lumps in his gut.

His food is normally medium crickets, woodies and soaked dragon pellets. Finely grated veggies if he takes them. All dusted every few feeds.
 
Hmm, yeah a few drops of olive oil can really help.
I'm not too sure though, maybe he ate something too big? It can press on his spine if he did in which case it should pass.... I'm not sure though..

When was the last time he went for a crap?
 
This is the reason why I think impaction, last time he ate was like 3 or 4 days ago and he had a few mealworms on that day. He hasn't passed anything since so maybe he had a few too many... stuff up on my behalf there.
He has not taken any food since.
 
Yeah do the olive oil maybe even with a dropper, just to get some into him to lube him up. Don't feed him mealworms, just stick to crickets and vegies.. Try him on the some baby food he might take it, and when hes in the bath, rub his tummy even if you can't feel anything, it will help hopfully
 
Bit of an update, was a case of impaction.
A combination of Warm water baths across a few days and the olive oil did the trick... the PBD had a massive bowel movement in the warm bath - gross.

I am interesting in trying the baby food idea on him, what ones do you all use?
 
id stick to crickets and don't over feed. Provide nice heat and don't have any loose substrate and your dragon will be fine :) No baby food in the wild
 
Just make sure you aren't using a coil UV cause those often give out the wrong wavelength of the UV which can cause lethargy, eye problems, they can go off thier food.

Also Mealworms really aren't the best thing to feed to a pygmy or even a normal beardie, the chitins on the worms are really hard for them to digest and they can cause impaction quite easily

Both of these statements are incorrect and nothing more than herpetology myths perpetuated by the less experienced over the last few years. For starters mealies actually contain less chitin than woodies of the same weight and coil lights are fine, I think you will find one of the biggest advocates against them is also a person who sells tubes and MVBs.....interesting that.
 
I have been feeding my leopard geckos mealworms exclusively for 7 years now without any problems what so ever.
 
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Both of these statements are incorrect and nothing more than herpetology myths perpetuated by the less experienced over the last few years. For starters mealies actually contain less chitin than woodies of the same weight and coil lights are fine, I think you will find one of the biggest advocates against them is also a person who sells tubes and MVBs.....interesting that.

Garbage.
 
id stick to crickets and don't over feed. Provide nice heat and don't have any loose substrate and your dragon will be fine :) No baby food in the wild

No dragon pellets in the wild either and lots of people use them. I've used puréed baby food in the past with a problem feeder to help with weight gain and hydration as it's easily syringed into a small dragons mouth. The beef and veg ones contain more protein than pellets and add a pinch of calcium and vitamins and this can help get them back on track. Said dragon is now a great feeder on both veg and live food. Soaked and mashed pellets can also be used in the same way, I just found the jars of baby food easier. Just my opinion, but worked for me.
 
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