Bearded Dragon with MBD help

Hello, I have had my bearded dragon for a little over 4 months now. I got him from PetSmart and he was the smallest one with about 8 others in the tank that were climbing all over him. The store person recommended me a leopard gecko starter kit and told me the bearded dragon wouldn't need anything more than the dehydrated food they sold.

I unfortunately did not do as much research on bearded dragons as I really should have and completely went with everything the employee told me to. He was a hatchling when I bought him. A local family owned pet store owner who actually breeds bearded dragons and is very knowledgeable of them told me this set him up for failure. They also said that this PetSmart has put a lot of other people in the same situation.

My dragon has MBD and is only 5grams. He has been eating a little now because the local petstore owner had me handfeed him everyday with turkey and banana baby food with calcium mixed in. Now, my dragon has been eating everyday, but only about one large Phoenix worm and a mealworm on average. I always make sure he has more bugs and veggies available in case he decides to eat them. He poops daily as well.
He also set me up with the proper repti-sun lighting for bearded dragons and his tank stays between 95°F-105°F at all times. I bathe him everyday and he seems to really enjoy baths.

It seems like he is mostly normal, but he is only 5grams! I am really at a loss on how I can get him to gain weight. Even when I was feeding him baby food, he would only accept a few licks and then would refuse to eat anymore.

Please give me any tips you might have. Also, if I need to give you anymore info, please just ask and I will answer as best I can.

Hi Hannah, the poor little guy is anorexic and in critical condition but hopefully we can help get him better. First off, Phoenix worms are fine but avoid mealworms, he's too fragile to risk impaction. Get some small crickets or dubia roaches and crush one , then rub the guts on his snout. That sometimes gets them to eat. Get some Repasy grub pie, very nutritious and some dragons love it. You want to try as many things as you can to get him to eat. Even a few drops of raw honey on something to get him to eat it.

Next, post pics of his set up including the lights.

Thank you for responding so quickly!

I have a 75w Reptile Basking Spot Lamp and also a 75w Infrared Basking Spot Lamp. Also, I generally keep a dry clean rag next to the lamp on the empty space over the tank to help keep heat in. I'm in Pennsylvania and it been pretty cold lately.


The black thing over his basking rock is a hammock and even though he is really bony he somehow has the energy to climb and run around. He's pretty active.

I had no idea about the mealworms. I'll get some dubias tomorrow and I'll check out the grub pie. I'm really desperate and I will try anything to get him better.

Hannah

Also, just a note - the red light in the picture is not coming from my Bearded Dragon's tank, but from my snake tank next to it. They are at different heights though so they never really see each other and I've never seen any intimidation or anything between them.

O.K, thanks, this helps ! So of the 2 bulbs you have neither one is a uvb bulb. And since it's a smallish tank which is good for him while he's sick you should probably only have one heat bulb so get rid of the red one. He will need a long tube uvb , a Reptisun 10.0 t5 is a very good brand. So get that changed for him ASAP.

For this tube light, when I put it in the fixture, does it just sit on top of the tank? The only one with a fixture for the bulb I found was this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Custom-Cages-Reflector-Assembly/dp/B00K2BIM1Q

Here's the fixture and yes it sets on top.

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwiIicyKvtXfAhUUd14KHROcBRMYABAPGgJpcQ&sig=AOD64_27pgRAxvIViCzLz3DeZGD15AhOAA&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwicgsaKvtXfAhWlxYMKHUmnC-cQ9aACCEk&adurl=

AHBD":3tyojpiy said:

Hi Hannah, the poor little guy is anorexic and in critical condition but hopefully we can help get him better. First off, Phoenix worms are fine but avoid mealworms, he's too fragile to risk impaction. Get some small crickets or dubia roaches and crush one , then rub the guts on his snout. That sometimes gets them to eat. Get some Repasy grub pie, very nutritious and some dragons love it. You want to try as many things as you can to get him to eat. Even a few drops of raw honey on something to get him to eat it.

Next, post pics of his set up including the lights.

Click to expand...

I just wanted to add that the Repashy Grub Pie is fantastic and I highly recommend it. Where I am insects are $1 each so Repashy Grub Pie is often a staple over here.
It is mostly black soldier fly larvae and it’s in powder form - you mix it with water and it instantly sets like jelly.
Less impaction risk as well with him being anorexic

Thanks to both of you!
I ordered some of the grub pie and also ordered the light from the pet mountain link. I'll keep trying to get him to eat more until that light comes. For now, at least I know he's properly warm. The grub pie should get here Sunday from Amazon.

Is it sunny where you are? If the temps are good enough get him outside with you to soak up the natural uvb for an hour a day at least until your new uvb arrives

Hello,

Poor little one! Definitely purchase either the Reptisun 10 T5 or the Arcadia D3 12% or 14%
T5 tubes, they are very good & strong.
I hope he likes the grub pie you got him, most of them tend to enjoy it.
How often are you giving calcium for him? I would try to get calcium into him 5 days a week,
to help get his levels up. Along with improved UVB & calcium intake increases, he should
start to get better.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

MarlowandMe - I am in Pennsylvania in the US and right now, it's 35°F. Unfortunately, he'd probably freeze before any uvb got to him. I'll look out for a really sunny day though, today it is going to be really cloudy.

Tracie - He eats a Phoenix Worm daily, and I sprinkle calcium on his veggies everyday, but he ignores those.

Quick update, yesterday was the first time in at least 2 weeks that he hasn't eaten anything or pooped. I'm at work now, but before I left home I mashed up some green beans and put them in his dish. I also put two Phoenix worms on top in the hopes that they would make him excited to eat. He definitely wanted to eat this morning and was making little excited movements to get a worm I was holding with the feeding tongs. He just couldn't seem to take the final bite and grab it. So, he definitely wants to eat it, but maybe the size of the worm was making him hesitate?

I've tried small crickets, but the moment they hop away, he loses all interest in them. He also ignores the crickets even while they climb on him.

Thank you everyone for your help.

This morning I woke up and discovered that he had passed away some time in the night. I had managed to get him to eat the day before and had gotten a weaker temporary uvb bulb to hold off until the other one arrives, but I suppose it was too late.

So sorry to hear about the loss of your little one. If you decide to get another beardie, be sure to check in on the website. Members are quick to reply, very helpful, and want to see everyone's pet dragons as happy and healthy as possible.

Hello,

Oh no, I am so sorry you lost him. It sounded like he was going to start improving, that is
horrible to lose one.

Tracie