anole/prob with legs
Rebecca Duxbury
his container. When we nudged him he jumped up and moved. Now I've
noticed that he is having difficulting moving his back legs - like he is
paralyzed.
We spoke to someone at the vets over the phone and they indicated that
the anole is probably old and this is common in reptiles (paralyzed back
legs). They didn't think we should bring in since they assumed this was
the problem.
Is this typcial or could it be something else (constipation?).
Any help appreciated.
Russel Justice
sounds like a metabolic bone disorder to me. If caught early enough it
can be treated and stopped but if he drags his back legs then it is too
late. If it is not too late (granted it is warm were you live) build
him a wire enclosure and put him outside during the day and give him
calcium supplements (RepCal is the best) dust his crickets with this.
If you dont want to build him an enclosure get him a vita lite
(fluorescent light with special coating that makes it more like
sunlight). But of course this is only if he has metabolic bone disorder
(although I would recomend that light and the calcium as a necessity
with reptiles.)
Hope this helps!
Russel Justice
rus...@ktis.net
red...@my-dejanews.com
Do you keep an ultraviolet-emitting flourescent bulb over your anole's cage?
Anoles are just as subject to calcium deficiency as other lizards, but this
requirement is too often ignored or not considered essential. Many dealers
neglect to tell people this because they assume that folks won't spend the
money to set up a small lizard properly. Warning signs of metabolic bone
disease, brought on by calcium deficiency, include soft bones, swollen
joints, trembling and difficulty moving.
Paralysis has been reported in bearded dragons fed too-large prey items, but I
have not seen a report of this in anoles.
Paralysis is a sign of advanced age, but you'd be surprised at what some
vets' ideas of "old" is for herptiles. The local herp vet my town considers
the life span of leopard geckos and anoles to be two years, when in reality
these animals have the potential to live to be four to five times that age!
You may want to seek a second opinion, or bring your anole in for an
appointment.
-J.
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
Alta Brewer
>
> A few weeks ago I noticed our anole laying on his back on the bottom of
> his container. When we nudged him he jumped up and moved. Now I've
> noticed that he is having difficulting moving his back legs - like he is
> paralyzed.
>
> We spoke to someone at the vets over the phone and they indicated that
> the anole is probably old and this is common in reptiles (paralyzed back
> legs). They didn't think we should bring in since they assumed this was
> the problem.
>
> Is this typcial or could it be something else (constipation?).
Paralysis can be associated with metabolic bone disease. Does the anole have a
UVB-emitting fluorescent tube? Does s/he get calcium supplements?
I'd take him to a herp vet if he were mine...
Alta
Rebecca Duxbury
- I'm sure you did. No matter how small this is a pet my son loves.
And I did take him to the vet and only cost $5.00.
Excerpts from mail: 8-Jul-98 Re: anole/prob with legs by Timothy
Kaus...@visi.ne
> Why would you want to spend a good $20 to $30 dollars taking your $3.99
> anole to the vet? Feed it to a King snake, buy another one, and be on with
> your life.
>
> Rebecca Duxbury wrote:
>
> > A few weeks ago I noticed our anole laying on his back on the bottom of
> > his container. When we nudged him he jumped up and moved. Now I've
> > noticed that he is having difficulting moving his back legs - like he is
> > paralyzed.
> >
> > We spoke to someone at the vets over the phone and they indicated that
> > the anole is probably old and this is common in reptiles (paralyzed back
> > legs). They didn't think we should bring in since they assumed this was
> > the problem.
> >
> > Is this typcial or could it be something else (constipation?).
> >
> > Any help appreciated.
>
>
>
gib...@my-dejanews.com
back traumatized in some way ( broken back?). If the front end is moving ok
and the back end isn't, it might be that something fell on it's back, it
jumped and missed, hurting the vertebra in it's back, or could your son or
another child accidentally squished it's legs or lower back. I have kept
anoles for lengths of up to 6 years with no special lighting (although they
are related to iguanas and the special lighting won't hurt). It's possible
it could also be a calcium deficiency ( iguanas low in calcium often shake or
quiver). These guys rarely constipate and I don't think that would cause the
paralysis. Anoles while inexpensive, are very delicate and need to be handled
carefully. I don't know how old your son is, but you might want to consider
a pet a little tougher than an anole. I'm not sure if this is true, but i
found that whenever my anoles got sick, they developed a dark spot behind
their eyes and generally stayed brown. I'm not sure if you found this with
your anole. Whatever happens, good luck to you and I don't think it is
ridiculous to take your anole to the vet.
Lynda