Drunk/unsteady Beardies

[cruester]

It's unshed skin over the ear drum that causes an imbalance.It will usually happen in the first six weeks of life and can be overcome by misting and soaking.It has nothing to do with calcium imbalances,brain damage ,overheating,or anything else but dry skin.On another note they cannot get a middle ear infection due to the structure of the ear.As for studies being done , i do them all day everyday and deal with this problem of " drunk baby beardeds " on a daily basis.They all "straighten out " within a few days and go on to be sober in habits for the rest of there lives cheers Troy

 

[JasonL]

Calcium is used for neural messaging within the brain. During Peter Harlow's work on Agamid TDS he found that agamid eggs incubated above the normal temperature range resulted in hatchlings having neurological problems, I believe this to be the same for young hatchlings especially as their body temperatures are knocked around far easier than adults . I have also seen these neurological issues in snakes that were both over and under heated. These problems will sometimes rectify themselves, sometimes the dragons will never quite be the same though and fail to thrive, kind of like stroke victims.

 

[lizardjasper]

Just turn the lights and heat off an hour earlier every night for a week and see if that helps. also, keep misting them. Have they shed yet?

 

[lizardjasper]

It's unshed skin over the ear drum that causes an imbalance.It will usually happen in the first six weeks of life and can be overcome by misting and soaking.It has nothing to do with calcium imbalances,brain damage ,overheating,or anything else but dry skin.On another note they cannot get a middle ear infection due to the structure of the ear.As for studies being done , i do them all day everyday and deal with this problem of " drunk baby beardeds " on a daily basis.They all "straighten out " within a few days and go on to be sober in habits for the rest of there lives cheers Troy

he he just read this, made me laugh. It's so true though, about the shedding.

 

[Darren86]

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your advice, it was much appreciated. the bubs are now getting better and have no more wobbles. Turns out it was most likely caused by a mild impaction due to me trying them on a few larger crickets than normal. I wont be making that mistake again.

Thanks again,
Darren

 

[Lollypop]

Calcium is used for neural messaging within the brain. During Peter Harlow's work on Agamid TDS he found that agamid eggs incubated above the normal temperature range resulted in hatchlings having neurological problems, I believe this to be the same for young hatchlings especially as their body temperatures are knocked around far easier than adults . I have also seen these neurological issues in snakes that were both over and under heated. These problems will sometimes rectify themselves, sometimes the dragons will never quite be the same though and fail to thrive, kind of like stroke victims.

Jason, you've bred a lot of beardies over the years, & I've read where they've fluctuated in incubating temps for u - have u seen this then with the ones you've bred? Also, how much calcium is in the egg yolk for them to be disturbed by this? Interested to know as my incubator fluctuates a bit with the weather (which has been extremely hot this yr), & haven't noticed any adverse signs - oldest hatchies still with me are over 3mths. Also, once again with 'out in their natural habitat' (lol), wouldn't each yr vary in temperature grade? I almost thought it was the difference in them hatching after 8wks or 12........?
PS - I'm not a great believer in the dry ear, unless no water is made available for them to bathe in, as most will naturally head for water if they need? (sorry Cruester?!)

 

[JasonL]

Jason, you've bred a lot of beardies over the years, & I've read where they've fluctuated in incubating temps for u - have u seen this then with the ones you've bred? Also, how much calcium is in the egg yolk for them to be disturbed by this? Interested to know as my incubator fluctuates a bit with the weather (which has been extremely hot this yr), & haven't noticed any adverse signs - oldest hatchies still with me are over 3mths. Also, once again with 'out in their natural habitat' (lol), wouldn't each yr vary in temperature grade? I almost thought it was the difference in them hatching after 8wks or 12........?
PS - I'm not a great believer in the dry ear, unless no water is made available for them to bathe in, as most will naturally head for water if they need? (sorry Cruester?!)

It's not so much fluctuations, but steady high temps over the whole or large part of the incubation period, of say high 30's - 40's that can cause this problem. I have only ever had an issue with "drunken beardies", it wasn't from fresh hatched ones, but from hatchies that were about 3-4 weeks old, I over heated a small batch of them over a period of time (about 2 weeks) and 3/4 of them went weird, I kept them till they were about 1 year old, some I euthed as they failed to fully "come back" 100%.

 

[Lollypop]

Jason - Wow! And in your opinion, none of the females were slightly calcium deficient to start with? - it happens unbeknownst sometimes. It's fascinating isn't it. Thanks for the info - anyone else with similar experiences?
Sorry Darren86, have I hijacked your thread - thought it was relevant to ask the questions:??

 

[Darren86]

Haha, no probs lollypop, i'm not that protective and i've finished with it. I'm always keen to learn new things if someone has a good Q