Worried About My Beardie

Question
QUESTION: I recently purchased a baby beardie. I have had her for only two weeks and am starting to see changes. About two days ago she started to shake uncontrollably when I removed her from her tank. Now I've noticed she seems tired and has a dark color to her. From the research I've done, I think it may be lack of calcium. However, I am not sure and am trying to find more answers.

She is kept in a 40Gal tank. I clean water and food dishes daily as well as all discharges. Crickets and meal worms are always available and a dish of salad. I mist her and the tank daily and keep temperature above 105 on one side during the day. No lights at night. I only have a sun bulb for the tank. From my research I plan to get a UVB light right away. She is kept on either paper towels or a terrium liner, no sand or loose bedding.

I would just like to know what might be causing her symptoms and what I should do. Also, I would love any advise on care and living set up.

Thank you.

ANSWER: Hello Camren,

Oh that isn't good!
How old is your baby?
It could be hypocalcemia, or impaction or a combination of both.
What type of substrate was she kept on before you purchased her, do you know?  GREAT that you are not keeping her on any loose substrate right now.
What type & brand of UVB are you using, a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
Are you using calcium supplementation for her regularly?
How large are the crickets that you are feeding her?  They need to be smaller than the space between her eyes to avoid impaction.  I would avoid mealworms for her right now, because for babies, they are too fatty & are hard to digest.  They can cause impaction, as well.
What are the temperatures in her tank, & what type of thermometer do you use?  Do you use a round stick on type, or a digital probe or a temp gun?
Can she support her bodyweight on all fours right now?
It does mostly sound like calcium deficiency.  You may want to consider liquid calcium, if she is already showing those types of symptoms, her body is very low most likely.  She probably was not kept underneath a good UVB light previously or supplemented properly.  They grow rapidly so those 2 elements are crucial.
I do have an online reptile supply store & have liquid calcium.  If you decide to purchase some liquid calcium, & want to look around, here is my site:
http://www.bug-de-lite.com/

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So if it is a lack of calcium, which I belive it is, and I supply calcium dust and a uvb light, will she get past the shaking and be okay? Is there any permanent damage?

Answer
Hello Camren,

If you get the proper UVB & begin supplementing with calcium 5 times per week she should progress relatively quickly since she is young.
You will need to act on it very fast though, as her body is growing rapidly & will use her calcium stores faster than she is getting the calcium right now.

Let me know how she is doing.
Tracie