Back legs bending and not working???

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My 7month old bearded dragons back legs are not working properly, she tries standing on them but she either sways until she falls onto either side of her butt with her leg underneith, or he back foot bends to the side or backwards behind her (on both sides). She does have slight MBD from being raised in a pet store, I'm thinking that it is impaction? She used to poop like clockwork every day in the am, then it suddenly stopped, pooping with the help of a bath or eveyother day. It is normal, just not her usual routine, been about a month and now her legs are acting like this. Help?
 

Besrdielover1

Member
Original Poster
Yes I'm feeding her repitcalcium with d3 most of the week and then 2 days out of the week I give her rep-cals herptivite multivitamin on her food. She has a zoomed reptisun 10.0 UVB across the top of her tank that is 4 months old. She was kept on paper towel when younger and is now on reptile carpet
 

Besrdielover1

Member
Original Poster
Nove2112":ac9idvsf said:
Are you feeding calcium supplements with proper d3?
Yes I'm feeding her repitcalcium with d3 most of the week and then 2 days out of the week I give her rep-cals herptivite multivitamin on her food. She has a zoomed reptisun 10.0 UVB across the top of her tank that is 4 months old. She was kept on paper towel when younger and is now on reptile carpet
 

Savora

Hatchling Member
Is your ReptiSun a T8 or T5 and is it mounted on top of the mesh screen?

Are her stools harder, runnier, or smaller than usual? Does she seem to be in pain when you touch or move her legs?
 

Besrdielover1

Member
Original Poster
Savora":38ido0yn said:
Is your ReptiSun a T8 or T5 and is it mounted on top of the mesh screen?

Are her stools harder, runnier, or smaller than usual? Does she seem to be in pain when you touch or move her legs?
The light I'm using is a t8, it is sitting on top of her mesh because no stores that I love sell anything that I can use to mount it inside her cage I've been looking for months now, and her poops are completely normal they're just less frequent and usually only happens when I bath her, so I bath her everyday because of this
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
When did she last poop?

I don't think it's an impaction at all, I think it's the MBD progressing and getting worse due to inadequate UVB exposure. You cannot mount a T8 UVB tube, not any brand, on top of a mesh lid, it is blocking at least 40% of the already weak UVB light. Honestly, a dragon with progressive MBD should have a T5 strength UVB tube, but the Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB tube will be fine as long as it is mounted under the mesh lid UNOBSTRUCTED by anything, and is within 6" of her main basking spot.

You need to poke 4 holes in the mesh lid, with a pair of scissors or a utility knife and use those really wide, long, plastic Zip Ties (you can buy these in packs of 10 at any Walmart, DollarTree, Lowes, Home Depot) to strap the entire tube fixture to the underside of the mesh lid, MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE UVB TUBE MOUNTED RIGHT ALONGSIDE THE BASKING LIGHT AND THAT BOTH LIGHTS ARE LOCATED IN THE HOT SIDE OF THE TANK AND THAT BOTH ARE DIRECTLY OVER HER BASKING SPOT. This is extremely important, you're trying to replicate natural sunlight directly overtop of her Basking Spot in the Hot Side of her enclosure, and you do this by putting the UVB tube (I'm assuming it's an 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8 so it will be easy to mount under the mesh and CENTERED over the middle of the Hot Side, with the Basking Spot/Platform directly underneath it and the Basking Light) and the Basking Light right next to each other, making sure the UVB tube is centered over the Hot Side with the Basking Spot right underneath it, so that she gets both lights at the same time while basking.

You also must make absolutely sure that after you get the UVB tube strapped to the underside of the mesh lid and centered in the Hot Side with the Basking Light right next to it, that whatever you use as her Basking Spot/Platform is high enough to be within at least 6" of the unobstructed tube.This is crucial, and you are not doing anything to reverse her MBD at all without getting her lights mounted correctly, and making sure that both lights are on for at least 14 hours every day. Without doing this she is not absorbing ANY of the calcium you are giving her or that she is eating in her food, and her MBD is just getting worse and worse.

That's the bottom line: A T8 strength UVB tube just isn't strong enough to be blocked by anything like a mesh lid or to be any further away from your dragon while she is basking than 6". Also very important, AFTER YOU GET HER LIGHTING SET UP PROPERLY, please double check her Basking Spot Surface Temperature again using either a Digital Thermometer with a Probe on a Wire or a Temperature Gun (NO stick-on thermometers, you can't measure her Basking Spot Surface Temp with a stick-on thermometer), and make sure it is between 105-110 degress, as this is also extremely important for a dragon with MBD to be able to properly digest their food and be able to absorb and process the nutrition from it, including the calcium.
 

Savora

Hatchling Member
]Yes, unfortunately, the symptoms sound like a classic case of MBD.

This is how I rigged my T8 fixture inside the screen mesh, as Ellen described, but with a different medium:
93177-7337117283.jpg
93177-8979718182.jpg

Alternatively, buying two of these on Amazon worked beautifully with keeping my T8 securely inside the tank: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B4YZVXG/ref=asc_df_B01B4YZVXG5245910/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01B4YZVXG&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216531775325&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7962669621233324346&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009438&hvtargid=pla-361945639915
 

Besrdielover1

Member
Original Poster
EllenD":2ya39qf0 said:
When did she last poop?

I don't think it's an impaction at all, I think it's the MBD progressing and getting worse due to inadequate UVB exposure. You cannot mount a T8 UVB tube, not any brand, on top of a mesh lid, it is blocking at least 40% of the already weak UVB light. Honestly, a dragon with progressive MBD should have a T5 strength UVB tube, but the Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB tube will be fine as long as it is mounted under the mesh lid UNOBSTRUCTED by anything, and is within 6" of her main basking spot.

You need to poke 4 holes in the mesh lid, with a pair of scissors or a utility knife and use those really wide, long, plastic Zip Ties (you can buy these in packs of 10 at any Walmart, DollarTree, Lowes, Home Depot) to strap the entire tube fixture to the underside of the mesh lid, MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE UVB TUBE MOUNTED RIGHT ALONGSIDE THE BASKING LIGHT AND THAT BOTH LIGHTS ARE LOCATED IN THE HOT SIDE OF THE TANK AND THAT BOTH ARE DIRECTLY OVER HER BASKING SPOT. This is extremely important, you're trying to replicate natural sunlight directly overtop of her Basking Spot in the Hot Side of her enclosure, and you do this by putting the UVB tube (I'm assuming it's an 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8 so it will be easy to mount under the mesh and CENTERED over the middle of the Hot Side, with the Basking Spot/Platform directly underneath it and the Basking Light) and the Basking Light right next to each other, making sure the UVB tube is centered over the Hot Side with the Basking Spot right underneath it, so that she gets both lights at the same time while basking.

You also must make absolutely sure that after you get the UVB tube strapped to the underside of the mesh lid and centered in the Hot Side with the Basking Light right next to it, that whatever you use as her Basking Spot/Platform is high enough to be within at least 6" of the unobstructed tube.This is crucial, and you are not doing anything to reverse her MBD at all without getting her lights mounted correctly, and making sure that both lights are on for at least 14 hours every day. Without doing this she is not absorbing ANY of the calcium you are giving her or that she is eating in her food, and her MBD is just getting worse and worse.

That's the bottom line: A T8 strength UVB tube just isn't strong enough to be blocked by anything like a mesh lid or to be any further away from your dragon while she is basking than 6". Also very important, AFTER YOU GET HER LIGHTING SET UP PROPERLY, please double check her Basking Spot Surface Temperature again using either a Digital Thermometer with a Probe on a Wire or a Temperature Gun (NO stick-on thermometers, you can't measure her Basking Spot Surface Temp with a stick-on thermometer), and make sure it is between 105-110 degress, as this is also extremely important for a dragon with MBD to be able to properly digest their food and be able to absorb and process the nutrition from it, including the calcium.
95334-7426326731.jpg
Is this an okay temporary fix? I have my screen lid pulled back and then the uvb shining unobstructed into the tank primarily where she sits the most
 

Besrdielover1

Member
Original Poster
Savora":3tzca4qv said:
]Yes, unfortunately, the symptoms sound like a classic case of MBD.

This is how I rigged my T8 fixture inside the screen mesh, as Ellen described, but with a different medium:
93177-7337117283.jpg
93177-8979718182.jpg

Alternatively, buying two of these on Amazon worked beautifully with keeping my T8 securely inside the tank: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B4YZVXG/ref=asc_df_B01B4YZVXG5245910/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01B4YZVXG&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216531775325&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7962669621233324346&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009438&hvtargid=pla-361945639915
95334-1054219273.jpg
95334-5207415619.jpg
This is what I have done does this look okay??
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
I can't tell exactly what you did, but the UVB tube must be unobstructed by anything, pointing downwards into the tank, centered so no UVB light is lost into the glass but rather reflects throughout the tank, and right alongside the basking light with both directly over his main basking spot so he gets both lights at the same time while basking.
 

Besrdielover1

Member
Original Poster
EllenD":2g2gmyr1 said:
I can't tell exactly what you did, but the UVB tube must be unobstructed by anything, pointing downwards into the tank, centered so no UVB light is lost into the glass but rather reflects throughout the tank, and right alongside the basking light with both directly over his main basking spot so he gets both lights at the same time while basking.
I attached it to under the mesh so that there is nothing between it and my dragon.
 

Besrdielover1

Member
Original Poster
Nove2112":2u2bpikp said:
This sounds like MBD to me as stated the uvb is not adequate.
In the pictures above it shows that I have it now under the mesh screen so that there is nothing in between my dragon and the uvb is that okay now??
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Yes that is much improved and should provide a big increase in UVB now that the screen is out of the way and the bulb is a bit closer. Can she climb up to the hammock or up on the vine easily? Those look like the best spots to get the most UVB.
 
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