Hope yous can help... When my young water dragon walks, his rear legs dont seem to support his rear end its as if his belly just slides along the ground, hes got good colour eats very well he always gets supplements and has a good source of uv lighting. It was brought to my attention from some one who knows a wee bit about them but hes not to sure what it is, any help would be great ,and as I think about it more he never was the one for climbing as well

Sometimes when dragons become impacted, it causes some paralyses in their legs. Does S/he go poo regularly? Can you give us some information about your set up.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

The viv is 3ft h/ 3ft w/ 2ft d heating is ok humidity fine, its when ever he walks are runs I thought it was just him having probs gripping the wooden flooring in the bedroom, but he he has plenty of branches in his viv but he never uses them just prefers to stay on the bottom ,some -one suggested it was a genetic thing and it wasent looking good for him but I would like to give him every chance, his legs go a dinger when hes trying to run and he gets where hes going eventualy theres no other forms of lumps and bumps about him other than him losing a toe when he was young .He poos ever day

Sorry but that doesn't really tell us much. The more information you give us the more likely that some one can help. Often what people think is "ok" turns out to be not even close.
What sort of UV lighting are you using.
How long have you had the dragon and is this a recent development or has it always been this way?
There is the possibilty that there was a birth defect or even a subsequent injury. Metabolic Bone Disease is also a possibilty.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Hello,

My first reaction was an injured limb or Metabolic Bone Disease. Lighting is crucial in the development and maintenance of bone. You could be using the right light, but at an improper height deeming the UV inadequate for the species.

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The lack of calcium in the food source, Uv rays both A @ B are known reasons for soft, prone to breaking bones and cramping in the muscles. My question for u is how far from your lighting is your dragon. Your dragon needs to be able to reach with-in a foot of the lighting to get the important uva/uvb rays he needs to help his bones grow and stay strong. The uvb plays a very important role due to giving off Vitamin D3. Lacking these can and will cause M. B. D. ( Metabolic Bone Disease ) which may be the reason for your dragon having a hard time walking/climbing. If he/she is unable to climb towards the lighting, ull have to take the lighting to him / her. One thing I would highly reccomend u do asap is get your dragon to a vet where they can give him/her an injection of calcium-gluconate which will help boost the calcium levels of your dragon and should put him/her on the right track to recovery. As far as calcium in the food source. Feeding crickets to him/her wont help. U'll have to gut load the crickets with fruits and vegies like apples, grapes, lettuce ( romain ) greenbeans. I cannot stress this enough people. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING CONTAINING CITRUS. Nothing acidic. Oranges, limes, pineapples, lemons. ect all of these will kill your dragon. The citrus is like carbonation in soda it bubbles and boils like hot water and will eat the stomach liners of the dragon.

U can also dust your crickets with a calcium dust called Cricket dust. Very good stuff man... check it out. If you would like I have links u can have to help with your dragon. If you need help locating a herp vet within your area u can check out ARAV. Good luck man If you have any other questions let us know.

Where did you hear this? I have never heard anything like that. Citrus should not be a regular part of their diet due to the acidity of the fruits but I have never heard of them to be toxic. I give both my bearded dragons as well as my iguana both oranges and pineapple from time to time as treats with no ill effects.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Hello to all.
We would like to hear more on this subject of citric acid in a diet for water dragons.

It's a toss-up, at this point.
r

I've never heard that about citrus. My iguana and my Bearded Dragon both LOVE mandarin oranges (as a treat of course) and the occasional bit of pineapple.

Do you have a site you can link us to about citrus fruits and reptiles, i'd be interested in checking out out!

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"What is now proven was once only imagined." - William Blake

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

I have tried to locate some information this with no luck. I am very interested in finding out the answer,

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!