Baby food

[beardieman198]

Hi guys! My 2 month old bearded dragon is recovering from what I believe mid signs of mbd. She has cut back on eating, and I know people have sucess through feeding baby food through a syringe. Does anyone know correct brand+flavor for my baby? Thanks.
in case you need setup;
10gal(next week going to be moved to 40 gal)
10.0 reptisun Uvb
75watt 100degree basking spot
Rep calcium dusted crickets every day/ dandelion greens and daily baths

 

[EccentricME]

I am not speeking from experiance, just from what I read. So hopefully someone will chime in who has had to to go through this. People use the chicken or turkey, green beans, squash ect. I personally would use organic but that's your choice. Gerber brand is just fine. make sure it only has green beans and water, for example, no added sugars filler ect.

 

[EccentricME]

Oh and you can get the syringe free from any pharmacy.

 

[beardieman198]

Thankyou! Are you sure gerber is fine?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Good diet you're giving your baby. The babyfood I've always used is Heinz vegetables and chicken & Heinz organic butternut squash. When Rubio & Issy were babies they had missing fingers, toes & Issy was missing half her tail. Needless to say I bought Issy right away & got Rubio a few days later. I got them to eat initially by adding lots of calcium & a bit of multi-vitamin to the chicken, they'd sit on my finger & eat away. It didn't take too long before they felt much better & were eating crickets & greens (collard greens & butternut squash) I'd food process the squash into tiny pieces & then I'd make little pieces from the collard greens, mix them together & they'd just attack. I also gave them bok choy. Then I lately discovered organic baby greens, which are easy to digest (can't get collard greens up here anymore). I live near Vancouver, BC Canada & there isn't alot of variety, but it all worked & neither of them developed MBD. My Sweetie (my first dragon) did have MBD in her back legs when I got her, I followed the same diet & made sure she exercised in her bath daily & that stopped the MBD from getting worse. I also discovered liquid calcium, which also helped, as it's easier to digest than the powder.

Make sure your baby gets lots of calcium, & lots of basking under that great UVB light, as that's what starts the MBD is not getting enough of both. Hopefully you'll stop the disease from getting worse. I rescued a beardie that I named Angel, she was 16 mo old & had never had a UVB light. Her bones were very soft as she had MBD everywhere. The liquid calcium & babyfood helped her get started & within 2 mo her bones were better. I lost her a year later but while I had her, she learned to walk & run & be a real beardie. I didn't know she was having kidney issues until it was too late, so when your baby is a bit bigger, if you have a herp vet in your area, get your baby checked out. Angel also had parasites, for which she was treated & she had a great year. If you stop the MBD before it gets a good hold on your baby, you'll avoid all the illnesses that can result from MBD

So good luck
Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

I moved your posts to feeding to see if you'll get more answers to your questions.
Deb

 

[beardieman198]

Thankyou!! Your a great help. I ordered liquid calcium from bug de lite, one of the moderator's site. I forgot to mention I think the mbd spread to her front left leg and right back :/ I hope this helps her get back on track

 

[sweetiepie9]

Good luck, just get the right dosage for your baby. Not having correct UVB (which you have, it's the best UVB tube on the market) and lack of calcium is what causes it. When you give your little one baths (she should get a daily bath), make sure she moves alot. That helped Sweetie & Angel alot, as it helped build up muscle in the areas that were weakest.
Deb

 

[beardieman198]

thanks. it took me a while getting all her stuff together before i even got her! i have been interested in reptiles since i was around 7, since i loved steve irwin so much(RIP). he did this one episode where a bearded dragon bit his nose, and i fell in love! i have saved every penny for his tank, him himself, lights, etc. even my mom enjoys him! even though that was 6 years ago, bearded dragons are the best reptile out there.

 

[Paradon]

You can add to the baby food an egg yolk and some immature crickets you buy at Petsmart and Petco...and blend it well in the blender. The egg yolk contain vitamin B12 that helps them absorb other nutrients from the food. The yolk is the food for them when they are in the eggs, so it's perfect.

 

[mistygirl]

Drs. Foster & smith online sells feeding syringes pretty cheap. They are a good online company that sells reptile supplies (as well as all other pet supplies). It's good to have some feeding syringes on hand in case you need them. The ones for ferrets are better than the ones for baby birds as beardies can have a pretty strong jaw and the bigger one is a little more durable.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I get syringes at Safeway pharmacy for a few cents, sometimes for free. I get smaller syringes at any vet, usually at no cost. For a baby, you'll want a small syringe, then put drops on his nose & he'll lick it off. Good luck & let me know how it all works out.

I just got a message from the owner of Zack 'n Wheezie (the two headed dragons that are now 4 1/2 years old, Barbara has a great thread showing them from birth to now. They're the only two headed dragons in the world that have survived this long.) and she told me there is a baby food from Gerber called greens & another one of veggies.

Getting your little one to jump in the bath is what's going to help with muscle tone. Don't put alot of water in the bath, just under his shoulders to make sure his vent is in the water, as they do absorb water through their vent & skin.
Good luck
Deb

 

[beardieman198]

I got her to eat over 10 calcium dusted crickets and 4 small waxworms. She is walking a little better now, but not back to her normal self

 

[beardieman198]

Just fed her squash baby food! Git her to eat a tablespoonful, and she lapped it up, she also already has more energy!