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Thread: Tegu twitching??

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
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    Central Maine
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    Quote Originally Posted by K8t
    When I saw my Tegu trembling it was for only that one morning and it lasted maybe 5 minutes and then stopped. Besides that I havent seen it tremble and when I got my first Tegu it trembled the first 10 minutes I had it. I sprayed it down and it stopped immediatley. Other than those 2 times with both my Tegus I havent ever seen them tremble. That is why I thought it was from some sort of stress.
    If in the last two months you have seen one tegu tremble for 5 minutes and one for 10 minutes and they both stopped I wouldn't worry about it to strongly unless you see it happen again. Where was they when it happened? Sometimes when under a strong basking light a tegu will lift his foot to allow it to cool, perhaps this is what you are seeing?

    Rick

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    Gilbert, AZ
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    Yeah she was under the basking spot, she eats a ton and is doing fine now. I will keep a close eye on her and make sure it doesnt happen again. Thanks!

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
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    California
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    This is a fine example of why I love this forum!

    Someone stops in with a genuine problem and everyone, including breeder, jump in to help and offer advice. You guys ROCK!

  4. #14
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    Jul 2005
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    Gilbert, AZ
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    I agree!!

  5. #15
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    Dec 2004
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    Earth
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    Improper calcium metabolism isn't the sole etiology involved in MBD. In fact, you'll find MBD is a rather HUGE catch-bucket used to describe an immense amount of disorders that inevitably lead to deformation of bone. In captive reptiles, yes, the typical MBD seen manifests from lack of calcium in the diet, or improper calcium metabolism, but the improper calcium metabolism may NOT be the cause but instead the result of something else.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
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    Colin thought I should chime in.

    Metabolic bone disease isn't really a catch-all term, it's just a rather imprecise one for a specific subsection of deranged calcium metabolism called nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism. So I'm going to try to stay kind of general to explain why you need to get blood tests run by your vet:
    Skeletal disorders of reduced bone mass can be classified as either osteomalacia (mature skeleton) and rickets (immature skeleton). Any way you look at a reduction in bone mass, you can see similar symptoms from a vitamin D deficiency, phosphorus decificeny, chronic renal disease, or chronic fluoride toxicity. Osteomalacia as it derives from a vitamin/mineral imbalance is really poorly understood in all animals, including humans (i.e. despite supplementing our milk with active D3, 30% of Canada is deficient) What reptiles tend to get is a slightly different disease called fibrous osteodystrophy, where the skeleton is resorbed and replaced with fibrous tissue, leading to deformity and pathologic fractures. which is generally caused by primary or more commonly secondary hyperparathyroidism, the latter being where nutritional hyperparathyroidism fits in. The parathyroid gland is more active than the thryoid in Ca++ metabolism.

    So in reptiles, it is reasonable to assume that the early phase of secondary parathryoidism is causing the tremors, as calcium ions are critical in regulating muscle contraction. However, renal issues are possible, as is a primary CNS problem (probably unlikely, but it could be shared living in the same environment). The renal issues could occur from similar husbandry, but it's less likely than a secondary parathryoid problem.

    You could futz around with your husbandry, but the simplest thing to do is take them to your vet, explain your concerns, and get serum calciums run. If they're low, it's certainly early enough that you can do simple oral calcium and change your UV lights, and check the expiry on your Ca supplements as D3 does decay. Getting x-rays likely won't be too helpful, as it sounds like the problem is relatively early and it's hard to see when bones are just beginning to thin (severely affected reptiles look completely homogenous soft tissue, there's very little visible skeleton, but much before that is hard to see 'cause their skin is so thick and often slightly ossified) A general panel should tell you if their kidneys are shot, etc, and help rule in/out some differentials. If it's a primary CNS problem, good luck.

    Alex

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