MBD, severe dehydration, jaw fracture, dislocated elbow

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I took Alice into the vet today because she was not perking up with her treatment plan for MBD. Earlier in the year, her X-ray showed bones that were basically mush. The x ray today was better, but she has a fractured jaw and a dislocated elbow. Thankfully the jaw is starting to heal itself, which is another good sign for her MBD. I thought I had been giving her enough water everyday with her meals, but I was wrong. She was severely dehydrated so they gave her 15 ml of fluids. She came home with orders to bathe her everyday, metacam 0.5mg/ml for 10 days and then as needed, and some antibiotics to keep infection out of her jaw and elbow. I guess when her bones harden up her elbow will be frozen but she’ll still be able to use her leg. The vet thinks she is so lethargic because of the dehydration.

Is there anything else I can do to make her more comfortable? Should I remove everything that she could climb on in her tank so that she doesn’t fall off and break? Is there anything I can do to help her elbow? The vet didn’t put it back in or anything.

Tank details:
50 gal with 24” reptisun T5 UVB (replaced in September)
97-99 degree basking spot, 80ish cool side
CHE bulb to keep it warmer at night to help her immune system
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
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Hi there,

How did they determine she was dehydrated?
Your vet does know that bathing doesnt hydrate dragons unless they actually drink the bath water right? How were you hydrating her previously?

How has her weight been? Hopefully shes been maintaining it well enough.

Your setup sounds fine. Can she get around well? If she can I'd be inclined to leave the tank how it is.
Is she eating on her own right now?

-Brandon
 

Beardiealice

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Original Poster
claudiusx":146c6mdh said:
Hi there,

How did they determine she was dehydrated?
Your vet does know that bathing doesnt hydrate dragons unless they actually drink the bath water right? How were you hydrating her previously?

How has her weight been? Hopefully shes been maintaining it well enough.

Your setup sounds fine. Can she get around well? If she can I'd be inclined to leave the tank how it is.
Is she eating on her own right now?

-Brandon

She was a bit wrinkly, her eyes were sunken, and her saliva was thick. I didn’t realize that she was wrinkly because when she would just lay there she looked full. I didn’t even think about the saliva, and I guess I don’t know what sunken eyes look like. Don’t they absorb water through their vent? And when she was first diagnosed I was bathing her twice a day, but recently I’ve been doing it once a week because she gets 2-3 tsp with her food. She’s too tired to eat by herself, but she surprised me today and ate 6 hornworms. I syringe feed her Critical Care and Carnivore Care.

She is 332g and 14-15 inches (she’s 4 and I haven’t measured her for awhile).

She’s doesn’t move around much. Most of the time she’s just laying around. She’ll move once or twice a day, maybe a bit more. If her light turns on and she’s not in her basking spot, she’ll just chill in that one location all day. She will open her eyes, though.

When she was first diagnosed and I was feeding her carnivore care, metacam, and bathing her twice a day, she turned back into her “old” self (she’s a rescue who had a horrible first two years, so her health has been pretty unstable for the two years I’ve had her, but during her good days she had the energy of a rambunctious toddler). The first time I brought her in to the vet (when she was diagnosed), was early this year when I woke up one morning, and she was unresponsive. Turned out she wasn’t in brumation like I thought, instead, her body had just been shutting down.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
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Nope they don't absorb water through their vents. That's a myth that's been proven false. So unless they physically drink in the bath, bathing does nothing for hydration.

How had her urates looked? That's usually the best indicator for hydration levels. White and soft = decent hydration levels. Hard and chalky can indicate that extra moisture would be beneficial.

That's quite a few hornworms. they are quite hydrating themselves :)
How much of the cc is she eating a day? You can always water it down a bit more to get more hydration in her. Hopefully she does well with the syringe?

I'd keep an eye on her weight and at least make sure she isn't actively losing weight.

-Brandon
 

Beardiealice

Member
Original Poster
Her last urate was good. It had shape but wasn’t hard and there was excess water with her poo. I guess that technically wasn’t her last one, but I didn’t notice the other poo until it had dried. The urate was pretty small. Does that matter?

She gets one tsp which ends up being about 6ml if it’s the critical care or 3ml if it’s the carnivore Care. She won’t start eating it until I force her to taste it, but then she’ll lick it off her nose. I usually have to have her taste a few times because she takes time to breathe every 0.5 ml or so.

Should I be treating the water I’m adding to her food/giving her? I live in the suburbs, so I have good water, but I have no doubt that it has additives. If so, would reptisafe work?

It was a lot! I found a new reptile store that sells hornworms for a reasonable-ish price, so I picked some up. She perked right up! She has no idea how to actually get them (horrible, horrible aim), so I kind of have to shove them at her when she sticks her tongue out. Usually she needs breaks between bites, but not today ;)
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

How is your girl doing today?
I don't think you need to treat the water but if your tap water is fluoridated, I would definitely
use filtered water though to be sure there aren't a lot of chemicals in it.
Are you still feeding the critical care to her also?
I bet she loves the hornworms! How many were you able to get for her? Well, at least she
will eat them with help.

Keep us posted on her.
Tracie
 
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