baby bearded dragon problem

Question
i have two baby bearded dragons born july 4th weekend.one seems to have partial paralysys of hind legs and real listless. when he hatched, he was OMG hyper and nothing was wrong with him.  what could be happening? his "twin" seems perfectly fine

thanks

Answer
Hi Kary, There are a few possible reasons behind the symptoms you are seeing. One is the ingestion of an over-sized food item. This is a particular problem with young beardeds like yours. The cricket length should be no longer then the space between the dragon's eyes. Due to the flat body shape of beardeds, overly large insects can press on the spinal cord as they move down the digestive tract causing rear leg paralysis. This problem can also occur with any source of intestinal impaction. The common sources are any loose particle substrate like sand or calci-sand or the undigestible exoskeleton of mealworms. Mealworms should only be fed a few at a time for that reason.
The other common reason is diet and/or lighting related. Insufficient calcium or vitamin D3 (which assists in the absorbtion of calcium) can cause softening of the bones. When this affects the leg bones the animal will have difficulty standing and supporting his own weight. When the spinal vertbrae are affected they can collapse and pinch the spinal cord causing paralysis. Six week old beardes need to supplemented a few times per week with a calcium and vitamin D3 powder on their insects. They should ideally have a UVB producing bulb as well which will help them synthesize their own vitamin D3.
If you suspect that it may be due to an impaction, I would suggest trying a barely lukewarm water soak. That can help move things along. Getting him to take a small drop of mineral oil (try mixing it with chicken baby food and putting a drop on his snout) may also help.