Egernia cunninghami - strange condition - help needed

[Jesper_Jorgensen]

I bought 0,0,5 Egernia cunninghami two days ago.
They are all well fed and look fine but two of them look very strange on the back.
As the picture shows the back is completely sunken in front of the hind legs.
They use the legs as they should so it should rule out a fracture of the spine.
I know for a fact that they have been cared for as they should so it can not be caused by lack of vitamins and minerals.
The breeder says that they didn't look like this when they left him and they haven't been damaged during transportation.

I think it may be caused by stress but it just doesn't seem logical.

Has anyone a suggestion as to what this might be?

 

[Kristy_07]

Classic signs of Metabolic Bone Disease, mate. Google it, or also known as "rickets".

 

[GeckoJosh]

MBD doesn't happen overnight, the breeder should not have sold animals in this condition without the buyer being fully aware

 

[ihaveherps]

This happens to alot of young skinks.... it isnt specifically MBD, rather a combination of young soft bones and resting on too great an incline, say against the side of the enclosure, their rear legs and tail flat on the floor, and torso against the enclosure walls. This can and has happened rather quickly in my experience, they choose to rest vertically against the enclosure wall, fine for a while, then their spine collapses. Unfortunately it took me a few yrs to figure it out (wasnt much reference material at the time), though I found it to happen more in fishtanks. The animals have always functioned normally, and to an extent the divot does fill out, but wll never totally disappear.

 

[Jesper_Jorgensen]

This happens to alot of young skinks.... it isnt specifically MBD, rather a combination of young soft bones and resting on too great an incline, say against the side of the enclosure, their rear legs and tail flat on the floor, and torso against the enclosure walls. This can and has happened rather quickly in my experience, they choose to rest vertically against the enclosure wall, fine for a while, then their spine collapses. Unfortunately it took me a few yrs to figure it out (wasnt much reference material at the time), though I found it to happen more in fishtanks. The animals have always functioned normally, and to an extent the divot does fill out, but wll never totally disappear.

Very interesting info.

I trust the breeder has delivered healthy animals without signs of damage.

Could this have happened during transportation?


The animals were picked up in person by a friend and can therefore not have been subjected to any harsh treatment.
They were transported in a cloth bag placed in a styrofoam box.

 

[ihaveherps]

anythings possible.....