sick water dragon lizard

Question
my son has a water dragon who has been acting strange lately. he has never been sick before. The other night I found him on his back not able to get turned over. turned him over and he started to act so strange throwing him self around like he was scared. he has not eaten and I have given him water off the end of a Q Tip. he eats meal worms, cricket, earth worms and sometime I can mix strawberries and romain lettuc chipped and mixed with the meal worms. Could a dirty tank cause any of this. It needs changed now.

Answer
Hi Connie,

Has his diet been supplemented with additional calcium and do you have UVB lighting?

Calcium deficiency is very common in captive reptiles and symptoms can manifest in a variety of ways.

Calcium plays a critical role in nerve transmission and muscle contraction. Low blood calcium levels can result in seizure like symptoms that come and go. You may notice slight twitching in the toes at first. It can progress to seizures with uncontrolled muscle contractions such as an arched back and stiff limbs. I would question whether he may have suffered a similar seizure just before you found him.

Chronic lack of calcium also results in a softening of the large leg bones which makes affects mobility.

Toxins and bacterial or parasitic infections can also affect the central nervous system and that would obviously require veterinary intervention.