Lucy MBD help

I was recently gifted with a sweet bearded dragon, Lucy, who was being rehomed. We jumped at the chance to get to know such a wonderful creature. She came with her set up and some remaining food. To my knowledge she was fed crickets, mealworms, fresh greens and fruit, and a dried vegetable mix, as well as given calcium powder. Her 20 gallon tank came with a red heat lamp bulb that was kept on 24/7 and a coil UVB bulb. However at around a year old, she is only as long as my hand plus a little more tail, and thin... not bone protruding thin, but felt like she weighed little. It was mentioned she had gotten "lazy" and stopped hunting. They fed her with tongs. From the research I had done prior to picking her up, warning bells were sounding and I began researching more. She sort of drags her back legs rather than walks on them, she doesn't climb, even to bask. I have had her for three weeks and this is what I've changed... Got rid of the red light and replaced it with a 75 watt basking light. Replaced the coil bulb with a ReptiSun 10.0 tube bulb in a fixture that spans most of the length of the tank. It has an aluminum shield above the bulb, and I removed the plastic cover so nothing would block or diminish the UVB rays. I hung this inside her tank, so it is about 10" from the floor. I got rid of the mealworms and started ordering feeder crickets from backwater reptiles, which I gutload with vegetables, fruits, high protein cat food, and use calcium fortified cricket quencher. I dust them 5 feedings a week with RepCal powder. She gets fed these twice a day, until she stops eating within 10 minutes or ... probably about 15-20. I feed her with the tongs because she won't hunt. But I started dropping them further from her to encourage her to go after them. She will give up if they move too far. I also give her superworms occassionally. I make her a fresh salad every day. I use alfafa, turnip, mustard, collard greens, yellow squash, red peppers, green , occassional carrots, cucumber, tomato, strawberries, mango, papaya, grapes, and pears. I mix it up every day, make sure the pieces are small enough, but she never touches it. Even when offered with the tongs she will only take one or two pieces. She gets a soak twice a week. Her substrate for now is paper towels. I remove her feces as soon as she goes, wiping the area down and replacing the towel, which is about once a day now and seems like normal stool and urate. I clean the whole tank once a week with a diluted 1:10 bleach solution and rinse a few times well. Her water dish is rinsed thoroughly and refilled with a little distilled bottled water daily. Although she doesn't climb, she has a rock cave to bask on. I did have two basking areas, one on each end, but removed one to give her more floor space. I have thermometers on both ends of the tank, not the strip kind. One side stays between 95-100° and the other 75-80°. I turn off her lights for 10-12 hours a night and the temp stays at 75°. I make sure her last feeding its no sooner than 2 hours before lights out and her first is an hour after lights on. I offer her greens in the middle of the day, though I keep them in a dish with her at all times. While she will watch and look around, turn towards us when it's time to eat, she isn't active. I physically move her to her food and water dishes a couple times a day to encourage her. By the way, she does drink from it occasionally. If nothing else, when she goes in I feel a little better. When I pick her up, I can feel she has gained a small amount of weight. I'm afraid she had developed MBD and I am doing all I know to halt it and get her healthier. But this is my first Beardie and if there's anything else I can do, I would greatly appreciate any advice. I would love to see her climb, walk without awkwardness, and hunt.

So far everything your doing is sounding great. You have done some very good research. I'm sure you already use this since you offer a good variety of food but just in case http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

There are a couple things, is that her basking spot temp or just the hot side? Also how close is she getting to the uvb? Does she sit on the basking rock most of the time? I would get the uvb within 6 inches to where she basks considering the mbd. It's smart to just keep everything low for her since she does not climb well and as long as she can get up on the basking rock hide easily keep that in there. Maybe a straight log or flatter corkboard to lay flat for something else in there to climb and rub against.
Also what kind of calcium are you using? I would suggest a liquid calcium you can order it from:
http://beardeddragon.co/ or
http://www.bug-de-lite.com/
Those are two great sites and they can help with dosing the calcium.
Do you have a scale to weigh her with? Like a kitchen gram.
But otherwise your doing great, she may never be able to use her back legs correctly but she might. With your great help and love you can definitely prevent her from getting worse.

Sounds like you're off to an excellent start, she's lucky to be with you. I agree with kbro's advice and don't have anything to add to it at the moment. I wish both of you the best. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you have.

I have sandstone slab rocks for her to bask on the hot side to replace the stone log I had in there. The hot side temp is between 95 and 100 but on the basking area, it gets to 110-115. I can readjust and lower her UVB fixture more. She doesn't seem to do well on her front legs either I watched her go after her crickets today and she walks more on her elbows. Kind of like an awkward slither. It's absolutely heartbreaking. I read about liquid calcium, but I was fearful of those who said it killed their reptiles, at least the Flukers brand. Thank you for the links, I will get a scale and the liquid calcium. I want to try taking her outside some days too. We live in Florida, so there's plenty of sun I am hoping if she gains strength, she will be able to move with some improvement. I will see if I can find something wide and flat with a slope, maybe she can use that to climb.

Either of the sites I gave you have knowledgeable people that can help your dosing of calcium. Also I believe Tracie does the bug de lite and she is a moderator here drache613 (i think lol). But Tracie helped me with dosing for liquid calcium when Pebbles was gravid. You will need her weight though.
Real Sun could help her a lot too, I wouldn't have her out for too long if the humidity is super high though. Too much humidity for too long can lead to other problems. But I don't think a little each day would harm her.
Yeah, I would lower the light some between 6-8 inches from her is what's recommended but I would do 6 for her. What you have for a rock sounds great, that way she doesn't have to struggle or fall if she is struggling.
Poor girl, she might never be able to walk right, but she can still have a happy life with you now. I hope someone that has dealt with mbd like this with give you some more advise, I know some simple basic things but not too much more. Put a picture up for us please, I would likely love to see the cutie.

So I was wrong, I've only had Lucy for 2 weeks. This is when we first got her. I had placed her on her new basking area, but when I realized she couldn't get down safely, I removed it from her terrarium.



And this is Lucy as of yesterday. You can see she's put on a little weight You can also see the bump at the base of her tail, as well as the curve of her front legs. Her back legs are in the position they are always in. I did lower her UVB bulb, and I'm going to be purchasing the liquid calcium tomorrow. Thank you for the good advice! I will keep you all posted on her recovery.

Oh, what a cutie though, poor girl. I bet she has quite the personality, she looks like it. She does look like she has put on weight that's great! Yes, I do see the bump at the base of the tail, also in the front leg where the elbow is looks more rounded but it could just be the way she was sitting. I asked to be sure but I think Tracie (memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=8309) does the bug de lite site I gave you, she is such a wonderful help with everyone here I personally would support her site (although the other site is a great help as well). Also, when you get Lucy's weight you can send her a private message, or post it here so she can tell you what would be a good amount to give Lucy (or I suppose thru the site you decide to order from).
I thought you would enjoy this, my dad has a Lucy (Chilean rose hair, I think, tarantula). He also has a Lucy (wiener dog/ chihuahua) and Ricky (chihuahua). Everybody loves I love Lucy :lol:

Lucy does have quite the personality. When she doesn't want her greens, she closes her eyes and turns her head away. I always laugh because the action seems so sassy, especially when she'll perk right back up for a cricket. Yesterday while my husband fed her, she actually stood on her hind legs for a moment, which was exciting to see. It makes me hopeful. I went to the store and completely forgot the scale, so I have to go back out today.

Lol, I always forget something at the store, I did see one at Wal-Mart that was a decent price ($15-25+ I want to say for digital). Digital would be better, but I do have the other kind (lol cannot recall what they are called) and the vets scale was very close if cost is an issue at all. Just make sure it reads up to 2 pounds or more (although 2 pounds is a hefty dragon lol) and that it gives you gram measurement as well as that's the most common given for beardies and easier. Most will read up to 10 pounds though it seems.

That's wonderful that she used her back legs a little. It's probably a good idea to get her to a little, like bearded dragon physical therapy, so that she exercises them some. You could maybe add more water to her bath part of the time so she tries to swim some, just watch her like a hawk though if you do this in case she has trouble keeping herself up. If you give her a bath in the tub the angle will give her a shallow end, otherwise maybe put something flat with some height in there so she has a shallow end incase she gets scared (or keep your hand close by).

Swimming in the bath sounds like a good idea! I already ordered the calcium from the website, so just waiting for shipment. I got her three different flavors in hopes she will enjoy at least one. Hmm... I will have to do a little research and see what types of "exercise" I can give her, and perhaps some information on how much to do and how often, so I don't wear her out. Thank you!

Lol, yeah I have no clue how much or what is best as far as other exercises. I just figure water therapy is used for many different species and types of issues and it makes it so there is less pressure on the joints. Maybe edit your first post and change the topic to say Lucy, tips for mbd? Some more people might chip in on any exercises to do besides swimming and anything else that is helpful for mbd. What a spoiled girl you have, she better like one of those flavors, if your lucky all three lol.

How's your little Lucy doing?

Lucy is doing well She is going through her first shed (with us). She's moving around her tank a little more, and she really perks up at feeding time. She has been getting up on all four legs to eat sometimes! Her belly almost leaves the floor. We're so excited about that. Lucy also tries harder to go after crickets, actually running after them if they're in the open near her. I took her out on our screened in patio the other day, and she moved a little, curious to see the bugs and lizards on the other side of the fence. We have a ton of geckos that hang out in front of our patio. They are so cool to watch. I ordered her a bark log hideout with hopes that maybe the texture will help her climb. I also got her a hammock. We are willing to try anything. Our shipment of calcium should be here soon I hope. We are also looking into making her a new habitat for when she is ready, rather than a bigger tank. It's an exciting venture for sure. Oh and she is eating more greens. She really seems to enjoy escarole.

I'm glad to hear she is moving around more and going after crickets more. That is so great to hear she is even able to use her legs a little better . She is so lucky to have you, you sound like your going to spoil her rotten :lol:

The bark hide sounds great too, the texture should help so she can grab good. What kind of geckos hang out there? That would be cool to see in my backyard. Where I live (the city in mn) I see no reptiles in my yard. I bet she is interested in them and it gives her something to watch. I'd love updates and pics too

Thank you. I try to spoil all my babies. We have three children, two kitties (siblings rescued ferals-though you'd never guess!), Audrey our sweet shepherd/lab who we adopted last year, and now Lucy. I will post some more pictures in a couple days, maybe I can get one of her using her new basking areas. In the apartments here, there are geckos everywhere! I am not sure of their type, I will have to research it. They run and play (?), and you can see their behavior of bobbing and puffing out their throats. Occassionally they sneak into our patio. We've actually fed one crickets, which was really awesome. They are welcome guests, b/c I'm not a fan of bugs, so the more the better! Florida has been amazing so far with the wild life.