Suey has a new problem-Uncontrollable jerking

Question

Suey eating veggies   QUESTION: Tracie,
Hi! Seems like I get one problem under control and something new develops with my Uro's! I have spoken with you on a few other occasions about my Uromastyx. With Sue Sue (Suey), I have had to ask your opinion one other time before and luckily, that problem was fixed with the anti-fungal medication you recommended.
Now she has a new problem and it is getting worse and worse and I don't know what to do for her. She has uncontrollable jerking all over and it is constant. I don't know if it is her muscles or what! It is in her legs mostly, but you can touch the underside of her belly and literally feel her jerking inside. We had noticed a few months ago that occasionally when she would be basking under the light and get really nice and hot, her feet would jerk some, but I had seen that happen with other Uromastyx when they basked so I didn't think anything of it.  Then it got to be more and more and not just her legs and feet, but all over, so I began to worry.  Now it is getting even worse and she is shaking all the time and like I said above, you can touch her stomach and mash in a little and feel her insides jerking too. Nothing else seems to be wrong with her. She eats well (eats like a pig actually) and moves around normally. Do you have any idea what this could be? Is it neurological? What can I do for my Sue Sue? Attached is an up to date photo of Suey so you know who you are helping~ Thank you in advance for your help.  Camille

ANSWER: Hello Camille,

I am happy to hear Suey's fungal condition improved then that is awesome!
Are you using a UVB light?  If so, what type & brand are you using?  A flourescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?  
How old is she now?
How often do you use calcium supplementation?  Do you use powdered calcium or liquid calcium?  It sounds like metabolic bone disease, unfortunately.  Let me know about the UVB lighting as soon as possible.  

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Hi Tracie, I am using both a UVB Fluorescent bulb and a spot light bulb.  The UVB Fluor. bulb is by Spiralex and it is a 20 watt compact fluorescent bulb.  The UVA heat bulb is a 60 watt bulb by Zoo Med caleed Reptile Basking Spot lamp. She is in a 50 gallon aquarium with a substrate of millet. I use a zoo med under the tank heater underneath one side of the tank and that is where I put her hide-a-cave at night (and sometimes I leave it in there if she is in a hiding mood) for her to sleep in. She has a piece of wood where she basks on the other side of the tank and it gets as high as 120 degrees in the basking spot. She has a spot in the tank where she can go if she doesn't want to be that hot where I keep the temp between 80 and 95 degrees.  Sometimes the temp might get below 80 in that area of the tank but not often.  
I use two different sources of calcium-one is reptocal by Tetrafauna which includes calcium and vitamin D3 (however Suey refuses to eat the vegetables or mealworms when powdered with this) in a powdered form. I sprinkle it on the food approx 3-4 times a week. The other source is T-Rex brand Uromastyx dust which provides 2.7% Max. Calcium and 2.3% min. (she will eat this), also in a powdered form. I use this mixture more frequently (pretty much everyday) than the reptocal because it has a variety of nutrients and the babies love the way it tastes (I guess because it has Dandelion in it). I feed her a variety of greens, herbs (sauch as dill and parsely), squash, carrots, broccoli, and dandelion (when available) and allow her to have live mealworms about 3 times a week in a small quantity (knowing that they are not very good for vegetarian lizards-I make sure that I don't let her have as many as she would like). Out of my 7 Uros, Suey has the best appetite. She chows down as soon as food is offered. We did have to give her a parasite medicine after we brought her home from the pet store-about a month after we got he, we noticed that she ate and ate but didn't ever gain any weight and her feces was very runny. After consulting someone here (I don't think it was you, can't remember),we used an over the counter parasite med for reptiles in pellet and powder form. She didn't have any problem eating the medicine either-she enjoyed it as a matter of fact. After that, she finally gained weight.
I am not sure how old SueSue was when we rescued her from Pet Smart in March of 2008. I am thinking she was probably around 6-8 months old. That would make her about 1 and 1/2 years old now.
If this does turn out to be Metabolic Bone Disease, will I be able to treat her successfully? Will she recover, if we have caught it early enough?
Thank you so much for your quick response last evening.  I appreciate that more than you know!! We have always been able to depend on you when we have a problem with one of our babies and without your help, I am sure that we would have lost a few of our Uros in the past. Thank you again and I will be waiting for your reply!
Camille


ANSWER: Hello Camille,

Unfortunately, the Spiralex is not a good UVB light & puts out essentially no UVB emissions at all.  How old is it?  You are going to have to get another UVB light as soon as you can.  
The best UVB tube light you can get is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb here in the US.  If you are in the UK, you can look for the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb.  
What are you measuring the temperatures with, a temp gun or a digital probe?  
Try to get a cooler area for her on the other side of the tank around 80 or so to where she can cool off when needed.  
Ok, the calcium with D3 is good & sprinkling it on the greens & veggies is fine but if she wont eat enough of that then she most likely is not getting enough calcium.  Also, without adequate UVB exposure she wont be able to absorb her calcium & vitamins.  
She probably did have worms or parasites when you initially got her, but you got that all cleared up for her.  I hope we have caught her metabolic bone disease issues early enough.  
How often do you feed mealies?  I would not feed too many of those as they are strict vegetarians, for the most part.  You can try putting in some beans & peas & lentils but no kidney beans, for some variety.  
I would suggest getting some liquid calcium as that is much stronger than powdered calcium & usually helps pretty quickly.  I have some liquid calcium to sell if you would like to get some.  I have a site, but am still trying to get the buttons to work properly.  
Also, getting a Reptisun 10 would help a lot too.  You can get that light from here:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-rept


Keep me posted on her.

Tracie



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

QUESTION: Suey is much worse.  She is no longer just jerking and shaking incontrollably. I can't believe how fast she has went from being normal to not being able to move-a matter of days.  Luckily, it is not her back end but her front legs that she can't move. She has them out to the side and pointed toward her back  and she can't move them. They were super stiff when I picked her up, but as she cooled down, she isn't as stiff, but stil cannot move them. I have called around to the pet stores and have located a uvb bulb that you recommended and will go get it tomorrow. I have been calling around to find a liquid calcium supplement as well. How about Zilla calcium supplement spray?  It says online that 3 drops of it will treat calcium/vitamin deficiencies. I also found another product called t-rex solar drops and the description on it says that it prevents and REVERSES MBD.  What do you think about it? I need something quick but would like to order the one you have for future use-but for this emergency-what do you recommend.  I will go get whatever is needed-you just tell me what to do.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Camille

Answer
Hello Camille,

Sorry Suey is worse.  Great, which UVB did you find, the Reptisun 10 tube bulb?  
Poor girl, she just is not feeling well at all.  
The solar drops are not as good as the liquid calcium.  Since the Zilla liquid calcium is nearby, go ahead & get that one.  However, you will need MORE than 3 drops, it is not enough.  I happen to know the concentration of it.  So, if you give me her weight, I will dose it for you so she will get the recommended dose for her.  OK?  
I hope she hangs in there!

Tracie