bearded dragon care 4 you

As with any animal, bearded dragons are prone to differant sicknesses, and parasites.

If you think your dragon is sick, here are a few signs to look for.

1.) Won't eat.

2.) Spends most of the day sleeping.

3.) Will hide in any closed in area 24;7.

4.) Sunken in eyes.

5.) Will no longer be alert to surroundings.

Now that you know the signs of a sick dragon, let's move on to diagnosing one.

Metabolic bone disease ( MBD ) is a result of to little calcium in a dragons diet, and not enough vitamin D3, the vitamin that enables the body to utilize calcium.

Symptoms inclued; tetanic convulsions or spastic twitching in extended limbs, forshortened and softened jawbones, and swollen pliable limbs.

Left untreated, a dragon will die.

To exist a dragon needs a certain amount of calcium in the blood.

When the level of calcium drops below a certain percentage, the parathyroid glands then begin drawing calcium out of the bones and moving that to the blood trying to mantain the levels there.

Fortunetly MBD is treatable in it's early stages, simply give your dragon as much calcium as it can eat every day for about 4 weeks, if symptoms proceed to get worse consult a vet immidiatly.   

The presence of coccidia in dragons' guts is an  insideous but persistent problem.

An overabundance of these telosporidian protozoans can impair digestion and can cause your dragon to be run down, and finally can, through direct and secondary infections, cause death.

If your dragon is dull-eyed, and has loose or smelly stools, coccidia ( or other endoparasites) should be suspected, and veterinary assessment should be performed.