Hello, I'm not very good at compiling things I need to say ( I do jump around a bit) so please excuse me for that but I have some concerns about my dragon.
About 4 weeks ago I bought a bearded dragon from petco and named it Lemon (I dont know the age, he's about 6 1/2 inches from tail tip to snout). I'm not aware if Lemon is male or female, it doesnt matter to me tbh but I THOUGHT I seen little lumps indicating a male so we'll go with "He" for now. Anyway! Lemon was pretty full of energy when I seen him, but I noticed that the beardies there were not being fed live anything. They just had dried worms. I asked when purchasing how much live to feed them and where can I buy the food in the store. They told me they haven't had shipments of live food for the beardies because of the storms happening. I instantly knew I was going to have problems with the health of this poor creature. I did research immediately and learned about MBD and all the other illnesses that can occur. But Lemon was pretty full of energy and SEEMINGLY OK, I just wanted to give him a good new home and life aware from a pet store.
I set up Lemons tank, he's in a 20 gal (my dad is building me a big viv) he has tube UVB T8, heat lamp and a lamp for night (no light, ceramic for night if it gets too cold in my room), during the day his hot spot WAS at 95 until recently (I've managed to bump it to 110 exact), paper towels for his bedding for now and I've been ordering him dubai roaches small and powdering them with supplement that has D3 (he refuses to eat the veggies! UGH!).
Now to the problem. Somewhere down the line Lemon decided to stop using his leg and become 'tired'. I though, great, how could this happen he only has a log maybe 3-4 inches high to basks on (I didnt deck out his tank with accessories off the bat). I thought maybe he jumped off and broke his leg. I took him to the vet, did x-rays and the works. No breaks. The doctor gave me inflammation meds for him said he might have injured himself and to keep an eye on him. Not even 5 days later (before his scheduled check-up) he stopped using both back legs and became extremely lethargic. No crawling, just 'sleeping'. I knew it was MBD. I had taken anything he could climb on out after the appointment so there was no real way he could jump or hurt himself from falling. So MBD had to be the case. I take him in and they tell me thats what they feel is the culprit as well.
So along with MBD test they also did parasite testing and found 2 types I think. One was coccidia and I forget the other, I'm sure they'll tell me today. They gave him some injections for the MBD yesterday (11/7/17) . Now today he just seems the same. If anything he's seeming sort of worse, limb wise? Even after the visit? He barely crawls and I have to bring the food to him (btw he wont eat ANY veggies I provide, just roaches. I try to give him all the best greens, no lettuce or kale). So he DOES eat, he just cant get to them. He's eating maybe 5-8 a day. His poop is fine, despite the parasites making it smell and I've been cleaning it up instantly. The only GOOD response I've seen today is he's not lying flat anymore he at least has his head perked up a bit? I just dont know what I should be looking for.. The good signs that treatment is working. I just want this little dragon to be happy and healthy, this is heartbreaking for me.
Also today they are treating him for parasites and I read that it can be super harsh on these guys. He's so SMALL. I dont even know how old he is so I'm terribly worried he'll stop eating once the parasite meds kick in (or worse, give up and die from the stress of it all). Is there any way I can avoid the tummy troubles or anything I can give him to help if they do occur? How long until the MBD treatments kick in? Did he already have MBD before I brought him home because it just happened out of nowhere? I don't even handle him much because I'm scared it'll hurt him. I want to give him a soak because I figure it'll help and feel good but I'm not sure if I should? Any advice would be appreciated!
About 4 weeks ago I bought a bearded dragon from petco and named it Lemon (I dont know the age, he's about 6 1/2 inches from tail tip to snout). I'm not aware if Lemon is male or female, it doesnt matter to me tbh but I THOUGHT I seen little lumps indicating a male so we'll go with "He" for now. Anyway! Lemon was pretty full of energy when I seen him, but I noticed that the beardies there were not being fed live anything. They just had dried worms. I asked when purchasing how much live to feed them and where can I buy the food in the store. They told me they haven't had shipments of live food for the beardies because of the storms happening. I instantly knew I was going to have problems with the health of this poor creature. I did research immediately and learned about MBD and all the other illnesses that can occur. But Lemon was pretty full of energy and SEEMINGLY OK, I just wanted to give him a good new home and life aware from a pet store.
I set up Lemons tank, he's in a 20 gal (my dad is building me a big viv) he has tube UVB T8, heat lamp and a lamp for night (no light, ceramic for night if it gets too cold in my room), during the day his hot spot WAS at 95 until recently (I've managed to bump it to 110 exact), paper towels for his bedding for now and I've been ordering him dubai roaches small and powdering them with supplement that has D3 (he refuses to eat the veggies! UGH!).
Now to the problem. Somewhere down the line Lemon decided to stop using his leg and become 'tired'. I though, great, how could this happen he only has a log maybe 3-4 inches high to basks on (I didnt deck out his tank with accessories off the bat). I thought maybe he jumped off and broke his leg. I took him to the vet, did x-rays and the works. No breaks. The doctor gave me inflammation meds for him said he might have injured himself and to keep an eye on him. Not even 5 days later (before his scheduled check-up) he stopped using both back legs and became extremely lethargic. No crawling, just 'sleeping'. I knew it was MBD. I had taken anything he could climb on out after the appointment so there was no real way he could jump or hurt himself from falling. So MBD had to be the case. I take him in and they tell me thats what they feel is the culprit as well.
So along with MBD test they also did parasite testing and found 2 types I think. One was coccidia and I forget the other, I'm sure they'll tell me today. They gave him some injections for the MBD yesterday (11/7/17) . Now today he just seems the same. If anything he's seeming sort of worse, limb wise? Even after the visit? He barely crawls and I have to bring the food to him (btw he wont eat ANY veggies I provide, just roaches. I try to give him all the best greens, no lettuce or kale). So he DOES eat, he just cant get to them. He's eating maybe 5-8 a day. His poop is fine, despite the parasites making it smell and I've been cleaning it up instantly. The only GOOD response I've seen today is he's not lying flat anymore he at least has his head perked up a bit? I just dont know what I should be looking for.. The good signs that treatment is working. I just want this little dragon to be happy and healthy, this is heartbreaking for me.
Also today they are treating him for parasites and I read that it can be super harsh on these guys. He's so SMALL. I dont even know how old he is so I'm terribly worried he'll stop eating once the parasite meds kick in (or worse, give up and die from the stress of it all). Is there any way I can avoid the tummy troubles or anything I can give him to help if they do occur? How long until the MBD treatments kick in? Did he already have MBD before I brought him home because it just happened out of nowhere? I don't even handle him much because I'm scared it'll hurt him. I want to give him a soak because I figure it'll help and feel good but I'm not sure if I should? Any advice would be appreciated!