Baby bearded bragon

I bought a bearded dragon they claim he was 16 weeks at the point of sale. Any way ..... we had no end of issues with him, the vet said he's not 16 weeks ! Infact he's so small they can't take bloods to investigate. He went in for the night to be observed and iv been told to hand feed 3 x a day and he's on a painkiller and antibiotics as a precaution, My question is he's nearly off antibiotics and definitely more lively but he can't seem to catch crickets or walk properly, The vet suggested he may have a neurological problem. Anybody seen this before? Any ideas what's the issue ? And a age estimate would be good. We have a follow up in 1 week with a reptile specialist an hour away to try work it out. I can't upload a video of him trying to walk or catching a cricket,  it was approved as a post on Facebook tho under tge user noyabiz

Hello - please accept my apologies that I am not a reptile specialist and it is great to hear that you are going to see one.  To my best understanding, feeding live crickets might be a poor idea at the moment, as an ill predator can sometimes become damaged by the prey - and if the dragon can't catch them, then they are not a useful foodsource.  I wonder whether other sources of protein would be better at the moment.    I haven't seen the video but I'm sure that your specialist will;  for me the most important thing for any exotic-pet owner to do, is to research very carefully - from veterinary-led sources rather than pet-shops - the correct husbandry, temperature and diet for your charge.  Is the food Calcium-dusted, or gut-loaded, for example, and are suitable veggies being fed?  Are they being kept at the correct temperature with the right lighting?  Most problems with exotic animals come down to husbandry somewhere (they are simply not adapted for the environment in which they are kept - and any problems may go back to a time before you got involved).  Hopefully your exotics specialist or vet have triaged the case for urgency (but if you feel you should be seen earlier, definitely ask).  Meanwhile, researching as much as possible the appropriate environment for your charge may be useful: Husbandry Article:  https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2020/01/17/first-steps-for-first-time-reptile-owners/ https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2020/10/19/whats-wrong-with-my-bearded-dragon/  

Hello - please accept my apologies that I am not a reptile specialist and it is great to hear that you are going to see one.  To my best understanding, feeding live crickets might be a poor idea at the moment, as an ill predator can sometimes become damaged by the prey - and if the dragon can't catch them, then they are not a useful foodsource.  I wonder whether other sources of protein would be better at the moment.    I haven't seen the video but I'm sure that your specialist will;  for me the most important thing for any exotic-pet owner to do, is to research very carefully - from veterinary-led sources rather than pet-shops - the correct husbandry, temperature and diet for your charge.  Is the food Calcium-dusted, or gut-loaded, for example, and are suitable veggies being fed?  Are they being kept at the correct temperature with the right lighting?  Most problems with exotic animals come down to husbandry somewhere (they are simply not adapted for the environment in which they are kept - and any problems may go back to a time before you got involved).  Hopefully your exotics specialist or vet have triaged the case for urgency (but if you feel you should be seen earlier, definitely ask).  Meanwhile, researching as much as possible the appropriate environment for your charge may be useful: Husbandry Article:  https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2020/01/17/first-steps-for-first-time-reptile-owners/ https://vethelpdirect.com/vetblog/2020/10/19/whats-wrong-with-my-bearded-dragon/  

Assuming your vet to be correct about the neuro problem, there are a huge range of neurological disorders possible in the bearded dragon.  They might include infectious disease (eg Adatodenovirus), nutritional shortages, head or other traumatic injury, metabolic disorders, circulatory disease (neurological injury can happen secondarily to heart disease), toxicities (e.g. from fireflies) and neoplasms.  We hope that your vets are able to get to the bottom of the problem - please will you let us know how you get on?  

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