New Rescue... broken back or MBD??

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irwin'smom

Sub-Adult Member
I sell feeders locally and one of my clients brought her dragon in. She said she does not know what happened to him and I saw him a few months back and he was a normal happy dragon. She did not use UVB or calcium I found out. She said she does not think the kids hurt him but she is not sure. He has been like this for 2 months. His back is sunk in and his spine is curved. His tail and vent are really swollen and the rest of his tail is limp. He still eats and did a huge poop last night so I know its not impaction.
My vet will not be back till Tuesday so just wanted to get some opinions here.
He can not use his back legs and does a GI Joe crawl. His name is Shrek and he is a year old. Very small for his age but still eats and basks as long as he does not have to climb because he cant.
Any advice would be great. He does flinch when you touch him.
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Tigg

Juvie Member
Wow... Any idea on what size cage he was kept in with the previous owner?? The bend in the spine really looks like MBD to me, but you can also see a severe bend in the tail which almost looks like a break, but could also be from the MBD. Is he able to lift his head ok? BD's in this condition usually have a hard time stooling due to the narrowing of the pelvic bone, and the muscle deterioration you are going to want to monitor his bowel movements, and give frequent baths. Not sure how he is able to move about, and hold himself up, you may want to lay him in a small container with a towel to hold him up, making sure his vent is fully submerged but probably not much more than that.

Hopefully someone with some more experice will chime in on this one shortly!
 

irwin'smom

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
They had him in a 55 long split in half. He can pretty much scoot around with his front legs and yes he poops with no problems. He has big huge poops like the size of him. So he is defecating properly.
He sleeps a lot and I do not have much in his cage due to he has a hard time moving around. I prop him up on that little house and he seems to be more comfortable like that and not laying flat. He will move off when he gets to hot but can not go far. I have a flat rock that is easy for him to climb on but he has no use of his back legs other then an occasional twitching in them. He can lift his head and ate very well this morning. He enjoyed his bath last night and drank a ton of water and had a nice urate so he is processing well.
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Tigg

Juvie Member
Great to hear that despite how rough he looks, he's doing so well with you... He's handsome too.

I wonder if proper lighting, and the right supliments will be able to revese any of this?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello DiAnn,

Oh he is so cute though! I think that you should give him a little bit of time. Those deformities, or curves, will not go back to normal but, as far as his overall strength I think that he should be able to overcome that with good care such as what he is getting now.
I would continue the liquid calcium, 5 times per week right now. Also if he is not eating the dark green leafy greens on his own, blend that up into a slurry because they are nutrient & calcium rich as well & will help him out alot too.
If you have a probiotic that will help out his little tummy too, just in case he has any trouble digesting anything right now. Go easy on the protein for a week or two just to ensure that his kidneys are going to be functioning well too. It is great that he is drinking alot of fluids, so that is not a problem. Continue to get oral fluids into him daily too.
What do you have his basking temperature at? For now, I would keep it at 100 & no higher than 102 or so, since he is most likely not used the proper temps. It takes their system awhile to adjust to a new environment & eating regime too.
Hopefully he is not impacted from the walnut shell though. Giving alot of soft foods will help his system out if he does have any walnut shell inside of him though. Since his hiney is swollen, you can use some vaseline or aloe vera gel to help soothe that area, poor little one.
The Megaray & liquid calcium should greatly help him out!
Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

irwin'smom

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the advice. The good thing is he never stopped eating. He loves his greens and she said he ate daily and pooped daily. She also gave him super worms daily but only super worms no other feeder. He is actually a pretty chunky guy and reminds me of a little dwarf. I am hoping with calcium and care he will be able to have a pretty decent life. I know he may never walk perfectly but he is pooping fine and able to bask when needed and move away when needed. I do not feel a break in his back so I am hoping its MBD and he can live a pain free life. He pooped a huge poo again today and it surprisingly had no substrate in it. It was a nice healthy looking poo. I will start the acidophiles tomorrow and he loves his greens so that is easy enough. He loves his feeders to so I will just do some horn and silk worms. I will only let him eat a couple a day for now. He pretty much just sleeps all day but he was always a lazy dragon. I have seen him a few times over the last year and it struck me odd that in a couple months he went from looking normal to looking like this. It was maybe 4 months that I had not seen him. Her other two dragons are doing fine. I am glad he is here and my son really loves this guy. He feels so sorry for him. I do to. I will keep you posted on the progress.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello DiAnn,

Ok great, that sounds good. I hope that he will continue to improve.
It is a good sign that he is eating so well & that he doesn't have any problems going to the bathroom on his own. In time, he might be able to use his back legs more too once he gets more strength in his bones.
I think it is odd that he went downhill that quickly. Does she provide UVB to her other dragons? He did not have UVB correct?
I am glad that he can move away from the heat when he needs to. How long is he?
I know you know how to feed & how much so I am not worried about the amounts you will feed him. He is in good hands with you.
If you are not finding undigested bug parts in his stools, then that is excellent. I am surprised also that you have not seen any walnut substrate in his stool either.
I think he will have a decent life as you never know exactly how far he can come until it happens. He seems to still have a will to live so that says alot for his spirit.

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie
 

irwin'smom

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Thanks Tracie that is very sweet.
He was not provided with any UVB or calcium most his life. She has both at her house and used them the first week or two when she got him as a hatchling bred by a local pet store. It is crazy to me that someone would have the supplies in a drawer and not think they are important enough to use. Crazy.
He did go downhill fast and its shocking. The other two dragons are adults and doing well. She has since got a crash course once again on the proper care of dragons. She has been told all of this by me for quite some time but apparently 6 kids makes you slack in other areas you do not feel are important.
She feels bad now knowing it was her doing and not a freak accident.
I will definitely keep everyone posted on how he does.
Oh, and his body is about 5 inches snout to vent and 11 inches total. He has always been a very small dwarf looking dragon but he use to be normal looking as far as health goes. Always very calm and laid back. Special from the get go I guess.
 
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