help/advice please

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satilite925

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This morning i got my beardie out to give him some insects to eat,(i do this in separate container) i noticed when he went to grab a Woodie he fell forward he is not using his front legs, he seems normal in himself he ate and is attempting to move around, i gave him a bath and he pooped, not sure what is going on? anyone had anything like this happen before? ( and before everyone on the site tells me to take him to the vet i am, just wondering if anyone knows whats going on) any help appreciated i am really worried
 
The problem is for every clinical sign eg. paralysis or weakness in this case, there are a number of differential diagnoses which makes it difficult to pinpoint a cause and is why a vet is definitely your safest option and is the typical recommendation.

I think people will need a bit more info to give you any feedback that isnt just a shot in the dark like is he actually able to have any use of his forelimbs? eg. can he support himself, or any voluntary movement from them at all? is his general body condition good? has he had any traumatic injuries recently? can you see any swelling? does he get UV and/or calcium supplements in his food?
 
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ok more info... his tank, basking spot 39-40 degrees celcius,cool end between22-24 degrees he has uv lights, plus calcium and vitamins are a regular part of his diet,he also gets time out in the natural sunshine as much as i can usually twice a week for an hour or so. he can support himself on his front legs but is having issues stepping forward or placing them down correctly (if his foot is pointing backwards he doesn't seen to notice) he is placing his legs backwards along his body and will push himself forward using his back legs. to me it seems as though he has lost feeling in the legs particularly one more than the other. he was perfectly fine yesterday, there has been no accidents/trauma hope this info helps...

oh and his body con is good he is normally a happy healthy lizard

have just got him to have water with an eye dropper also
 
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Sorry if I'm stating the obvious but what your describing sounds like ataxia - which is a wobblyness or difficulty with balance and unfortunately there can be a lot of causes, but it does sound a bit odd so it could be weakness. I would assume the most common cause of ataxia would be metabolic diseases and trauma but there are many other causes like an infection of the central nervous system, vestibular disease, medication toxicity, other toxicity - of course there are more than this, so I still think a vet is your best bet.

In this case I wouldnt expect it to be a metabolic disease like calcium deficiency or even hypoglycaemia because his body condition is good and those 2 diseases usually have a slow onset - particularly if they are receiving some supplementation. I assume that he's not on any medication at the moment since he's normally healthy
Could he have come into contact with any insectides or other toxins recently?
Have you tested the pain response in his forelimbs? that's the best way to tell if they've lost feeling or not

He doesn't have a head tilt does he?

Edit: sorry on re-reading that it sounds like he doesnt seem to be aware of where he is placing his feet?, in mammals it can be assessed by placing the animals foot so that it is actually standing on the top surface, the animal should quickly flip it back so that the bottom of its paws are on the ground. I'm not sure if its assessed the same way in reptiles.

I must admit that I don't have any experience with ataxia in dragons so I am speaking from a general point of view of what I do know about it, hopefully someone whose experienced it in dragons or has picked up on something I might have missed can chime in soon.
 
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ok thanks will do some research,no head tilt not on meds sometimes i feed him dandelions from our garden but they haven't been sprayed... whats the best way to test his pain response without actually harming him? if this is the case what is normally the treatment??

i have just got him out and placed him on the floor in a standing position he seemed to manage a few almost normal steps but then seemed to lose the ability to place his legs forward and just moved his body like he thinks he is walking but his body wont cooperate, (i hope that makes sense) one leg is definitely worse than the other as well
 
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Pinching the toe or tail should cause his to withdraw the limb or move the tail, but as I said before it can be difficult to assess the pain response in reptiles. Treatment would depend on why there is no pain response, so I cant really say.

Good luck and if you do go to the vet (which would be highly recommended if you dont see an improvement soon) please let me know what the diagnosis is - it sucks for your beardie but it's definitely an intriguing situation.
 
OK thank you for your input hope he improves by tomorrow

update for those who gave advice yesterday, my beardie is amazingly much better today, seems to be walking normally again i cant understand what was going on but im glad he seems fine! will be keeping a close eye on him though. thanks for the help yesterday
 
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