Brown Anole Paralysis

Question
A couple days ago I found my brown Anole upside-down.  Upon picking him up, I discovered its still alive, eyes open, breathing, but has appeared to be paralysed in regards to its hind legs and tail.  However, when I lightly touch its tail or hind legs, they seem to be stimulated and reflex in response.  Not sure what the situation is here - have read some previous answers to similar questions, which referred to possible emaciation or exposure to chemicals - neither which seem to be the case here, as my anole is healthy and plump looking, and the only thing different would be crickets from a different store than usual... and the lady that served me the crickets did mention she had been feeding Bearded Dragon pellets to the crickets, to gut-load them... wonder if that explains it...

Answer
Hi Doug, I can't imagine that the gut-loaded crickets are involved either. Whenever I hear of hind-leg paralysis that is not explained by trauma my first suspicion is usually calcium deficiency. It is an extremely common problem affecting captive reptiles. Cricket exoskeletons are high in phosphorous and this has to be counter balanced by adding calcium to the diet of reptiles in order to bring the ca:P back toward a 2 to 1 ratio. Providing UV lighting and supplementing with vitamin D3 also play key roles in the metabolism of calcium. When there is a chronic calcium deficiency the body will strip it from the bones to keep the blood calcium level sufficient. The bones become soft and in the case of the spine can put pressure on the spinal cord. Injuries and fractures easily develop and the long bones of the legs can no longer support the animals weight. The body will attempt to re-enforce the weakened bones by surrounding them with connective tissue giving the reptile a classic fat limbed "Popeye" appearance. You mentioned that your anole was plump looking which caught my eye.


http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/9008/wp-mbd.html