Advice needed!!

[joeatsdough]

Hey everyone, I recently got this 6 month old ambilobe panther male, (6 days ago) and I am slightly worried about him. He is very shakey when climbing and almost seems nervous, he also seems quite un-coordinated with his back legs and they sometimes go up in right angles to his body (facing upwards) and he sometimes seems generally 'limp'. I'm concerned it may be issues related to MBD as the person I bought him off seemed quite careless, however any advice to ensure his health would be greatly appreciated, also any potential diagnosis's. Thanks for any help, Joe.

 

[brownie64]

Could we get some more pics it looks a little weird, but not sure it just the angle or what?

 

[jpowell86]

Yeah, I am with brownie64 on this one. I can't tell much by the picture provided.

Is he on the underside of the vine because he cannot hold himself up properly?

 

[joeatsdough]

Yeah, I am with brownie64 on this one. I can't tell much by the picture provided.

Is he on the underside of the vine because he cannot hold himself up properly?

Yeah he was walking up the vine and then just sort of 'flopped' off. I will try upload a video and more pictures but it's not working too well at the minute! Thanks for the reply!

 

[joeatsdough]

I've attached a video of him, please watch his front right hand and you can see how shaky it is,

Edit;
It will not let me attach any videos so I have put them onto YouTube and here are the video links, thank you al!

 

[jpowell86]

I've attached a video of him, please watch his front right hand and you can see how shaky it is,

I don't see the video, did it attach properly?

 

[joeatsdough]

Here a side view of him showing one of his back legs if that helps anyone at all (worried his back legs may be weak / damaged)

 

[jpowell86]

Okay, I got the video now. The poor guy does look to have MBD. MBD can affect more than just the bones. It creates issues with contraction of muscles and also nerve conduction amongst other things. I think this is why he is having such trouble grasping the branch and finding his footing.

There are some major issues with the front right arm. Very unnatural movements and extension in that area. With the weakness he is displaying, falls are not out of the question. I would secure him where a fall isn't possible. That or line the bottom of his enclosure with a nice padding of towels for the time being.

My advice would be get him to a vet ASAP. He needs a shot of calcium to bring his blood calcium levels back up to normal range. He will also need further diagnostics done to see what damage has been caused.(i.e. Bent bones, broken bones, organ damage).

I hate this is happening, but I'm glad he is in your care now and not the other person. MBD is not a sudden onset...it takes time to develop, so his husbandry was completely wrong.

Are you running UVB now?

 

[joeatsdough]

Okay, I got the video now. The poor guy does look to have MBD. MBD can affect more than just the bones. It creates issues with contraction of muscles and also nerve conduction amongst other things. I think this is why he is having such trouble grasping the branch and finding his footing.

There are some major issues with the front right arm. Very unnatural movements and extension in that area. With the weakness he is displaying, falls are not out of the question. I would secure him where a fall isn't possible. That or line the bottom of his enclosure with a nice padding of towels for the time being.

My advice would be get him to a vet ASAP. He needs a shot of calcium to bring his blood calcium levels back up to normal range. He will also need further diagnostics done to see what damage has been caused.(i.e. Bent bones, broken bones, organ damage).

I hate this is happening, but I'm glad he is in your care now and not the other person. MBD is not a sudden onset...it takes time to develop, so his husbandry was completely wrong.

Are you running UVB now?

Thanks for reply and advice! I did think it was that the guy I bought him from just seemed so careless, when he said he was selling due to 'loss of interest' and had only had him for 3 months I was so surprised and it's not a shock he didn't care for
Him properly! I will take him to the vet asap and get calcium shot and further check up, thank you very much for your reply it's been so helpful! Yes I have UVB setup, although I want to get a new bulb if you have any recommendations for the one that will be most beneficial? Thanks a lot for all help I have been / am really worried about him!

 

[joeatsdough]

Here is another video I have just taken of his back legs, this is where I mainly worry about any muscle damage, as you can see they sort of 'flail' around and are very uncoordinated he is shedding though which shows some promise at least!

 

[brownie64]

Thanks for reply and advice! I did think it was that the guy I bought him from just seemed so careless, when he said he was selling due to 'loss of interest' and had only had him for 3 months I was so surprised and it's not a shock he didn't care for
Him properly! I will take him to the vet asap and get calcium shot and further check up, thank you very much for your reply it's been so helpful! Yes I have UVB setup, although I want to get a new bulb if you have any recommendations for the one that will be most beneficial? Thanks a lot for all help I have been / am really worried about him!

They say the Arcadia 12% is a real good bulb and it last for over a year. You can get it off of one of our site sponsors Light you reptiles. His legs don't look that savvier to me so you get him it to the vet it should clear up nicely as long as there isn't any neurological issues going on there. I would put a soft towel in the bottom of his Enclosure in case he falls. His bones being soft they can break real easy.

 

[joeatsdough]

Thanks for all replies! I've spoken to my local vet and they are seeing him after the weekend, he is shedding well which is promising and I have been getting lots of calcium into him through syringe. His attitude seems very good and he has a lot of life in him! Hopefully he will pick up soon and live a healthy life! Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[jpowell86]

Great news! Glad to hear things might be turning around for the little guy!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks for all replies! I've spoken to my local vet and they are seeing him after the weekend, he is shedding well which is promising and I have been getting lots of calcium into him through syringe. His attitude seems very good and he has a lot of life in him! Hopefully he will pick up soon and live a healthy life! Thanks again for all the advice!

I cried when I saw your videos.

The reason he looks so uncoordinated and is having so much trouble moving is that he has what looks like many complete fractures to the long bones of multiple legs. Please put him somewhere safe where he won't fall and won't slip (and try to grab a branch to save himself from falling). You could do something like pull all the branches out and give him mounds of scrunched up towels. Just make is easy for him to move in and out of the the heat gradients. Maybe natural branches lying on the towels, so he can climb the branch, but if he slips, the mounds of towels are right next to the branch.

While metabolic bone disease is something that develops over time, you have to realize that a fracture is a fracture and regardless of how the bones ended up broken the animal is still dealing with fractures and severe pain. Please do not handle him unless absolutely necessary to avoid hurting him even more.

Someone recommended Arcadia lights, and I do as well. Get the higher level lights--12%. The 12% will penetrate deeper into the enclosure, giving him UVB further away from the bulb. He needs all the UVB he can get. I use that same 12% bulb for my montane species. If you are located where you can get him out in natural sunlight, please do. He needs his skin to get warm to actually utilize UVB. Natural sunlight is superior to any light bulb, even Arcadia bulbs. Just bear in mind that if you move him anywhere, you are moving an animal with mangled legs and you do not want to cause him any more pain than he is already suffering. A day or two of UVB will not make any immediate difference to him right now, but will help him in the long run.

Good luck with him tomorrow. The good news is that this can be dealt with and he is a male. Metabolic bone disease and laying eggs has a really bad prognosis.