Beardie might have mbd. Help.

My beardie is about 9-10 months old. Lately I started to notice some things. He's very lazy per say. He sleeps every day he dowant drink unless you bring him to the water dish or running water. He hardly eats cause he's always sleeping. But also I noticed he has a underbite (( which gotten a bit better )), a bump on his tail and a crooked spine. I heard it may be mbd but is there anyone who can help say things I can do to help or if it really is? Idk how to post photos but if anyone has kik message me @/pastxllbeauty and I'll send photos of him.

You can post photos by going to https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ , uploading the image there, and then clicking "XIMG" when you write a post to add in the picture.

Pictures would be very helpful, of him and of his setup.

Can you give us some details about his care?
-Does he have a UVB light, what brand/type/strength, how old, how far away from his basking spot is it?
-What does he eat? How much? How often? Is it dusted with vitamins/calcium etc
-How much does he weigh?
-What temperature is his basking spot and his cool side? What sort of thermometer (stick on, infrared gun, probe) are you using to measure it?

Beardies don't tend to drink much, they are normally hydrated by their food, so I wouldn't worry about that unless he actually looks dehydrated.

There could be a number of things causing him to sleep and not eat, hopefully we'll know more once you give us some details.

He's in a 50 gal tank I believe, he has a log in which he can climb up or go under and a few others things like a rock, a tree he can climb up water dish/fod dish. I switch his lights out every night to a uv light that's 50 watts. I had a little hammock he could climb up into so he could get closer but he never uses it. But I got told to feed him atleast every other day so I do. It switches from either freezer dried crickets to alive crickets, then bearded dragon food that gives them the nutrients from fruits amd veggies. I tried withdifferent types of fruits/veggies but he doesn't bother with them. Now tho he hardly eats as mentioned as before. When I have the alive crickets I usually feed them fish food with the calcium in it and then feed them to him. I got told since he's still young to feed him 6-7 crickets. (( I get medium sized )). But it's been a while, I just started up the calcium again last night which thankfully he ate for once. The weight I do not know. My brothers girlfriend sent pictures to a friend and I got told he looked a healthy weight for his age. I also do not know the temps. The thermometer on the tank broke amd I haven't got the change to replace it. As for pictures I'll send them asap

I just posted photos (( I believe ))
And I forgot to mention I usually handle him after school and it's been cold lately so I planned once it warms up to take him outside to get sun

Hello,

He does have metabolic bone disease, yes. You can also see his lower jaw starting to protrude
slightly.
Are you saying he only has a basking light all day, but no UVB light? Which UVB light are you
using for him at night? He needs an optimal basking spot of a range from 95-110 with a cooler
area of around 78-82. You will need to get a digital probe or a temp gun to accurately measure
his temperatures.
Ideally, he needs at least 8-10 hours of UVB lighting daily of high quality emissions. I would
highly recommend upgrading his UVB light to a T5 high output tube bulb. You can get either
the Reptisun 10 or the Arcadia D3 12% or 14%, both are great. What sized tank is he in?
How long was he going without a direct calcium supplement? Giving foods that have calcium
in them oftentimes are not enough for the youngsters who are growing rapidly. They also need
another calcium source, too.
Once you can get him outside for some sunshine, that will help too. In the meantime, he will
need an indoor UVB light, as soon as possible or he wont recover very well.
The crickets, are they smaller than the space between his eyes? If not, then you will need to
get some smaller ones. Any bigger than the space between the eyes will usually cause some
trouble with impaction.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

I got in contact with a bearded dragon professional and I got recommended the reptisun 10 which I'm going to get today. As for the calcium I'm not sure. I'd get live creekits here and there which would have the calcium. But like I said I stared it up again and he gets it everytin I feed him. I'm using the zoomed 50 watt uv light. It's suppose to help give them energy and it said night vision, etc etc. The live crickit'd weren't bigger than the space between his eyes. Everytime I seen a large one (( there never specific with what they grab at the pet store )) I'd make sure not to give it to him. I mentioned the tank before it's 50 gal and I let him in the sun a bit today while I cleaned his tank. Hopefully letting him in the sun can happen more often when it gets warmer. It's supposed to be spring and we're still getting snow. Now I noticed he wss having trouble pooping today but it's because he hardly eats. So hopefully I can also get him starting to eat more

Something to add that I don't think the others mentioned.. DONT feed any sort of freeze dried crickets, they basically have no nutrition at all, and your poor baby needs all the nutrients he can get at this point. Another thing, I think you mentioned feeding him the pellets, they are also pretty useless nutrition wise, and can also cause impaction, but you don't have to throw them away, you can feed them to the crickets which love them. The reason that your lil guy doesn't have much of an appetite is because of the lack of UVB, so once you install your tube light i'm sure you will see a difference over time. Again, make sure to feed him twice a day with LIVE bugs, and offer a salad daily. I'm sure if you follow up with this he will look like a normal beardy soon (I can see his legs look a little stiff and bent, along with the crooked back/jaw)

I don't do the pellets. Its this purple soft food for juvenile bearded dragons. The freezer dried crickets were for over the winter since I couldn't get out in the snow. But now I know not to give him them. I got live crickets so he's been chasing them and since I put the light in he stopped hiding which makes me happy.

Someone mentioned the feedings, thank you. I got told to only feed him every other day but I was afraid that wouldn't be enough for him. I'll start feeding him more

Hello,

He will be thrilled to get more food, absolutely!
Are you going to be giving any critical care or baby food supplemented for him, to help with
some weight gain.
Yes, definitely, he needs his UVB during the day, along with his basking light for optimal health.
It usually is recommended that they have total darkness overnight, to help them sleep better.
Red lights do tend to disturb their sleeping patterns.
How does he like the Reptisun 10 tube bulb today? That should help him out a lot.
I hope that he starts doing better, but keep us posted on him!

Tracie

Money was tight but when I get my next check I'm getting the lamp that has space for two bulbs so he'll get everything he needs. He been chasing the crickets in his cage (( he's a slow eater )) and he has some troubles catching up to them. But I also been feeding him veggies and fruit. Sadly I have to kinda put small pieces in his mouth myself so he'll eat. He been out more lately except for last night, he went back under his log but I think he was trying to catch a cricket and got too lazy. But he is in fact eating more and out from hiding. He's receiving calcium every other day. Found out he enjoys carrots so that's what I put it on.

Hello,

How is your boy doing today?
Do you leave crickets in the tank with him, or take them out after a couple of hours?
Are you going to be using a tube bulb for UVB, correct?
I hope that he's feeling better & starts catching his prey better also.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

He out from hiding again and there's still things going on, obviously but I think he's doing well. He looks more alert but he still likes to sleep. He's getting fed daily and calcium every over day. The crickets I do leave in the cage since he been going at them when he's hungry. Besides there's only 3-4 in there? I figured it wouldn't hurt so I have the others in the cricket carrier until all of the ones in his tank are gone.

Hello,

That's good to hear he isn't hiding as much now. I hope he's starting to feel better.
I would not leave crickets in there simply because they have a terrible habit of biting or
chewing on your dragon, especially at night when your dragon is sleeping. I would hate for
them to chew his eye lids, or tail.
It will take him awhile to regain his energy if recovering from low calcium reserves. Let us
know how he is doing.

Tracie