Leg Twitch

[gunkle]

So our recently re-homed BTS is doing good. Almost all the stuck shed is gone, just some small spots that are being very stubborn. We are able to maintain at least 60% humidity and higher during the day. Temp range of 107 - 80 with lots of hides and moss and a big bowl of water. I do have a concern about its left front leg. From time to time we see the left front leg kinda twitch and go over it head almost straight up. Its very odd looking and my wife is worrying about it and its only the one leg. If we go to close to the shoulder while working on stuck sheds it gets a little defensive. I do know that the previous owner didn't have a UVB or calcium supliment but the I know the person they got roaches from and they gutloaded all roaches with vitamins and D3. Main Diet was Dubia Roaches, mealworms, greens (not sure what but got the impression is it was mostly lettuce of some kind), bananas and strawberries with some occasional other items I don't recall. They did the cat food for a "little bit in the beginning" so not sure what that means. He has peed and pooped a couple times in the 6 days we have had him. We have been offering some veggies with calcium and vitamins sprinkled on everyday ( I know too often but just seeing if he gets comfortable) and some roaches twice so far. Not much interest in the veggies but ate 2 medium roaches and an adult male first time and 15 dusted mediums the second time 4 days later went chasing each one down I'm told. The wife was so excited I told her it was probably too much but we are keeping an eye out for issues.

[Janella]

Hi guys, I am sure your little skink is thankful to be part of your family now. As for the twitching and the leg lifting, that is concerning. It very well could MBD related from lack of proper diet, supplements, and UVB. However, there are people who don't keep their skinks on UVB and they are perfectly fine. What concerns me is that it will lift it's leg straight up. To me that isn't normal. I have personally never seen that or heard of that. You also mentioned it seems defensive in that area. So I am wondering if there is something more serious going on. I suggest a vet visit to just be safe. As for feeding remember to follow our diet suggestions and don't worry about over feeding bugs. Some will polish a dozen or more lightening quick. My guys go nuts for snails, eggs, ground lean turkey, chicken gizzards and hearts, and of course dog food. I mix one type of protein with a good veggie mix and some fruit. That way they can't pick out what they don't like. I mix up the protein source every feeding to so they don't get bored. I have one skink who goes crazy for bugs. The other one won't touch them. I hope this helps. Keep us updated on your little one.

[gunkle]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fbwf2DahCWQKpUHz6 Here is a video I took today of it in its bath. 15 minutes and a light rub down of the toes, I think one more is a loss as its kinda black and sticking up a bit. Hopefully it doesn't get infected. I would love to get some actual substrate down instead of paper towels. Also you can hear a whistling kinda sound, like breathing with a booger in your nose , Could this be an RI? I see no signs of bubbles in the mouth. I will be trying on Monday to set up a Vet visit. I attached a couple photos of him in his enclosure. Plenty of moss to help bump up humidity. right now its at 87% and 106 on the rock and 98 on the ground with 80 on the cool side. He does spend a lot of time in the pile of damp moss I have that is in the middle of the cage but does come out to bask a few times a day. All but a tiny bit of stuck shed is gone and that is on the foot with the black toe and is sensitive so the baths will be done for now.

[Janella]

From the video, it just looks normal. Looks just like a skink trying to escape it's bath. As for the noise, it is also hard saying without hearing it. I personally think that I would just do a vet visit no matter what to make sure with the noise and the leg. The enclosure looks good. While healing it is best to be on paper towel. Once healed and healthy you can use substrate. Let me know how the vet visit goes.

[gunkle]

From the video, it just looks normal. Looks just like a skink trying to escape it's bath. As for the noise, it is also hard saying without hearing it. I personally think that I would just do a vet visit no matter what to make sure with the noise and the leg. The enclosure looks good. While healing it is best to be on paper towel. Once healed and healthy you can use substrate. Let me know how the vet visit goes.

If you would please take a look at the video at 24 second mark it's left front leg lifts straight up and kinda waves around might be hard to tell but it is pointing straight in the air 180° from it's normal direction. That happens in it's cage while sitting still seemingly on it's own like a spasm. The bath was just a clear shot with the camera it happens quite often when not in bath Also the noise is load and clear through the entire video. It sounds like someone lightly squeezing a dog's squeaker toy. If you look closely you can see his breathing coincides with the squeak. We are going to call the vet on Monday just want to have as much info as I can get before the appointment. We have used this vet for other reptiles in the past and they are good but this isn't too common of a species around these parts that I know of so any info I can bring with me would be a plus. Thank you for your time and help it is appreciated.

[Janella]

So first let me apologise, I didn't realize I had my phone on silent when I watched your video. I was also extremely tired last night. No excuse I know, but I re- watched it and clearly hear the noise. Also I paid better attention to the part you are talking about. I see what you mean about the leg seeming to spasm. If this happens like you say it does, it isn't normal. I agree a vet visit is in order. It very much could be the start of a URI. I am very curious what they say about the leg. Keep us posted. Again I apologise for my error.

[gunkle]

No need to apologize or anything to excuse. All the help and info has been great. I appreciate you giving it a second look thank you. I haven't ever had a reptile with an RI before so I wasn't sure if it could be stuck shed in a nostril or something (wishful thinking). The previous owner says the leg thing was there since purchase so it has been over a year at least. The good news is that it attacked the dog food I fed yesterday with vitamins and calcium in it. It has also eaten gut loaded roaches well so it has a great appetite. I will update after the vet visit. Hoping to put some time in today on its new home.

[Janella]

Well thank you for understanding. I felt kinda stupid when I realized my mistake. If the leg thing has been going on for that long I wonder if it was a birth defect or truly something from MBD. Who knows exactly, hopefully the vet can shed some light. Hopefully if it is an URI you caught it early and it won't be to hard to treat. Good luck on the enclosure today and Happy Easter!

[gunkle]

Happy Easter to you as well. No need to feel bad its all easy to overlook. Thank you again for your time.

[gunkle]

So the vet appointment is Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 1130. My wife will be taking him in. I will be writing everything down that I have learned to share with the vet. Will update when I get home from work tomorrow with the findings

[Janella]

Okay sounds good. Please keep me updated.

[mb606587]

Sudden muscle spasms can often times be indicative of MBD and a poor diet but also it can be the result of a neurological impairment. Offering a more varied diet than the previous owner may aid your skink in showing slight signs of improvement if the root cause is a nutritional deficiency. I would just caution on over supplementing as that can lead to kidney and renal disease.

[gunkle]

So the Vet visit went well. Tootsie (my daughters named it since it was missing toes ) is a bit under weight, might be just starting an RI and has weak bones. As soon as my wife put Tootsie in the prepared tote for transport he pooped, I forgot to ask her if the Vet checked it so I will have to when she gets home from work. The Vet said its bones were weak and may have some issues due to that and gave us some Calcium Gluconate 167mg and we are to give 0.2ml orally once a day. She said that Skinks have very flexible joints and the fact that it raises its leg like it does isn't concerning in itself but the twitchy part is but feels the calcium and recomended UVB bulb will help with that. She doesn't think it will ever be 100% but should be able to live a good life and with proper care going forward should show less signs of issues. As far as the RI goes we now have Enrafloxacin Suspension 0.1ml orally once a day for 14 days. I wrote down everything we were doing and about its current cage and the one I'm building and was told we were doing a good job of rehabilitaing Tootsie. The only thing she questioned was the dog food and gave some suggestions for proper veggies which we already had on our feeding list. We were also told to feed every other day for a while to get its weight up to since it is underweight a bit but not too bad. My wife came home and cut up some butternut squash and collard greens and covered it in some wet dog food with some vitamins mixed in and Tootsie went nuts and ate great. On a slightly sadder note Tootsie will most likely be loosing a couple more toes that we were a bit too late to save, the damage was already done but the Vet said we did get all the stuck shed off of the toes. So it looks like paper towels for a bit longer till they fall off and heal. Well I think I got all the info I have. I will check with the wife when she gets home to see if I missed something and will update if needed. Thank you all for your info, help and concern.

[Janella]

Thanks for the update. I really hope Tootsie recovers well for you guys. I love the name. I am glad the vet didn't think the leg was broke or anything. I am sorry to hear about more toe loss. Poor little thing. That is good you caught the RI early. Hopefully it doesnt get any worse. Please keep us updated on how things go. Have you checked out the forums diet plan? It can help give you ideas for feeding. It is definitely a good idea to mix a protein source, veggies, and fruits together so your skink can't pick out just what they like. Also I believe in changing up the protein source so that they don't get to picky on what they want to eat. Let us know if you need any more help.

[gunkle]

Sudden muscle spasms can often times be indicative of MBD and a poor diet but also it can be the result of a neurological impairment. Offering a more varied diet than the previous owner may aid your skink in showing slight signs of improvement if the root cause is a nutritional deficiency. I would just caution on over supplementing as that can lead to kidney and renal disease.

Thank you for your advice. The extra calcium is due to the bones being fragile and small and only for a short time for now. We have made a nice copy of the food chart and are giving him a varied diet based on what is listed on it. For now we are feeding wet dog food mixed all over the veggies/fruits as he doesn't seem too interested in them on there own but goes to town with it mixed up. We will be switching up which dog foods and veggies/fruits regularly. Also we have gut loaded Dubia Roaches that we raise for our Bearded Dragon and he seems to like them as well. So far since we got him he has eaten like a little pig. This was meal number 4 with dog food + fruits/veggies.

[Janella]

Glad to hear you found the feeding chart. Even better news is Tootsie eating so well. Keep up the good work!

[gunkle]

So Tootsie has completed the antibiotics and strong calcium drops. He lost a few more toes that we knew where going to happen and they seem to be healed up good. Now his enclosure is kept between 65 and 85% humidity and we added a UVB light. The leg twitching seems to have gotten quite a bit better. More legs were starting to do it but now its rare that I see it happen at all. All in all everything is going good so far.

[mb606587]

The missing toes won't slow him down any. Glad to see he's responding well to treatment. With the right diet he should thrive going forward. These skinks are truly hardy and once the proper care is given, they rarely miss a beat.

[Janella]

That is wonderful news! Glad all is going well. Thanks for the update.