Greetings everyone, Cam here.
I have had my bearded dragon Grogu since January 8, 2021. He was given to me by a friend who could no longer care for him. At the point he was handed over to me, all he had was an incandescent bulb and likely was not receiving any vitamins. His exact age is unknown and sex is unknown but he is about 8.5 inches and weighs 22 grams as of March 6. He was normal and had a great appetite for about 1 month, but around February 20th I started to notice swollen, red joints on the right side limbs. He gradually started to eat less and less. He has been to the vet 3 times with no definitive diagnosis. At the first visit he was 26g and he guessed that maybe he had a fall but I have not witnessed any falls. The vet said he didn't want to overtreat this and that I should keep an eye on him. At the second visit he was 20g I was advised to force feed him with baby food, keep him hydrated and soak once a day. Again, the vet didn't want to overthink the situation. Around this time his spine also appeared lumpy and has gotten more pronounced over time. At the third visit he had gained a little weight due to the force feeding and the vet finally said it could be early stages of metabolic bone disease and advised more force feeding of a well rounded diet and soaking twice a day.
On a typical day, his lights switch on a 8am. He sits under the light and doesn't move much. I usually feed him for the first time between 9 and 10, then between 12 and 1, and finally around 5. His beard is black throughout the day. He seems lethargic most of the time, closes his eyes often, and is generally not alert. Sometimes he stays in the same place all day and can't pick his belly up off the ground and support himself. When he attempts to walk, his head drags and his limbs seem rigid. Occasionally he will slide off of the rocks and other structures and he has to picked up because he can't climb anything. His lights switch off at 8pm, and he'll either fall asleep at his current position or climb down to the ground to sleep, but he can't climb up.
Diet/Supplements: When I first got Grogu, he didn't eat much for about a week (I think from relocation stress) but his appetite did improve. He ate small crickets dusted in Fluker's Repta calcium powder (w/ D3, no phosphorus) 1-2 meals per day. He also ate small crickets dusted in Zoo Med's Reptivite vitamins (w/ D3) about 5-7 meals per week. Eventually I bought Dubia roaches with the same supplement routine. At his best, he would eat around 30 roaches a day. The insects were also fed produce. I bought hornworms and he ate two small ones but his condition got pretty bad around this time. During all of this, I also offered produce frequently (collard greens, bell pepper, kale, carrot, strawberry) but he refused them with the exception of an occasional bell pepper, celery, and strawberry. It was discouraging because he really didn't care about greens. After the 2nd vet visit was when I introduced baby food. He seemed to enjoy the sweet potato puree. I got some other varieties with carrot, pumpkin, squash, kale, apple. Sometimes he will lick it off his nose and kinda seems to enjoy it. I started to mix some Fluker's Repta Boost with baby food and water in an attempt to add protein and nutrients. I also mixed 0.5 ml of tart cherry concentrate with water, Repta Boost, and baby food together twice a day because he absolutely refused every form of food at this point. He gets water dropped onto his nose to drink 4x/day. His stool is not as frequent and is mostly liquid now. To this day he still doesn't care about bugs either in a bowl or from tongs and I continue to syringe feed him. Since he's not getting powdered calcium or vitamins I have started to give him 3 drops per day of Zilla liquid calcium and I just received Fluker's liquid vitamin that I will administer soon. I bought Oxbow carnivore critical care powder to try out as well.
Enclosure/Setup: With the previous owner, he had an incandescent spot bulb, a cheap thermometer, one hide and one bridge thing on reptile carpet in a 15 gallon tank. For that tank I bought him a more powerful basking bulb, a coiled UV light (which I later realized was a poor choice so he only had it for a week) and I added a taller log for him to climb closer to the light until I could buy a more appropriate tank. He now has a 48x18x21 glass tank lined with ceramic tile. For UV, he has a 36 inch T5 Reptisun terrarium hood that came with a 5.0 bulb which I used for a week until I replaced it with a 10.0 bulb. It used to sit 14-16in away (sitting on top of mesh) from Grogu but now the hood is 8-9in away, suspended by chains (not obstructed by mesh). He has a 160w mercury vapor bulb, currently on top of mesh, and a 100w ceramic heat emitter which both remain 14-16in away. The CHE is on 24/7 and keeps it at 80 degrees as night but the other two are on 12hr timers. For daytime temps, the hot side is 105-110F max (surface) and cool side is roughly 80. I check on the surface temps with a handheld IR gun and I don't have a digital thermometer right now. The humidity fluctuates from 35-50%.
My main concern is the swelling and lack of appetite. The left side limbs are starting to swell, including his digits. The vet visits have not been very productive and I don't know what to do. His legs and tail twitch also randomly and his level of inactivity is concerning. I will post pictures of Grogu and his home tomorrow. Any recommendations in diet or husbandry practices would be appreciated to keep Grogu healthy and happy.
I have had my bearded dragon Grogu since January 8, 2021. He was given to me by a friend who could no longer care for him. At the point he was handed over to me, all he had was an incandescent bulb and likely was not receiving any vitamins. His exact age is unknown and sex is unknown but he is about 8.5 inches and weighs 22 grams as of March 6. He was normal and had a great appetite for about 1 month, but around February 20th I started to notice swollen, red joints on the right side limbs. He gradually started to eat less and less. He has been to the vet 3 times with no definitive diagnosis. At the first visit he was 26g and he guessed that maybe he had a fall but I have not witnessed any falls. The vet said he didn't want to overtreat this and that I should keep an eye on him. At the second visit he was 20g I was advised to force feed him with baby food, keep him hydrated and soak once a day. Again, the vet didn't want to overthink the situation. Around this time his spine also appeared lumpy and has gotten more pronounced over time. At the third visit he had gained a little weight due to the force feeding and the vet finally said it could be early stages of metabolic bone disease and advised more force feeding of a well rounded diet and soaking twice a day.
On a typical day, his lights switch on a 8am. He sits under the light and doesn't move much. I usually feed him for the first time between 9 and 10, then between 12 and 1, and finally around 5. His beard is black throughout the day. He seems lethargic most of the time, closes his eyes often, and is generally not alert. Sometimes he stays in the same place all day and can't pick his belly up off the ground and support himself. When he attempts to walk, his head drags and his limbs seem rigid. Occasionally he will slide off of the rocks and other structures and he has to picked up because he can't climb anything. His lights switch off at 8pm, and he'll either fall asleep at his current position or climb down to the ground to sleep, but he can't climb up.
Diet/Supplements: When I first got Grogu, he didn't eat much for about a week (I think from relocation stress) but his appetite did improve. He ate small crickets dusted in Fluker's Repta calcium powder (w/ D3, no phosphorus) 1-2 meals per day. He also ate small crickets dusted in Zoo Med's Reptivite vitamins (w/ D3) about 5-7 meals per week. Eventually I bought Dubia roaches with the same supplement routine. At his best, he would eat around 30 roaches a day. The insects were also fed produce. I bought hornworms and he ate two small ones but his condition got pretty bad around this time. During all of this, I also offered produce frequently (collard greens, bell pepper, kale, carrot, strawberry) but he refused them with the exception of an occasional bell pepper, celery, and strawberry. It was discouraging because he really didn't care about greens. After the 2nd vet visit was when I introduced baby food. He seemed to enjoy the sweet potato puree. I got some other varieties with carrot, pumpkin, squash, kale, apple. Sometimes he will lick it off his nose and kinda seems to enjoy it. I started to mix some Fluker's Repta Boost with baby food and water in an attempt to add protein and nutrients. I also mixed 0.5 ml of tart cherry concentrate with water, Repta Boost, and baby food together twice a day because he absolutely refused every form of food at this point. He gets water dropped onto his nose to drink 4x/day. His stool is not as frequent and is mostly liquid now. To this day he still doesn't care about bugs either in a bowl or from tongs and I continue to syringe feed him. Since he's not getting powdered calcium or vitamins I have started to give him 3 drops per day of Zilla liquid calcium and I just received Fluker's liquid vitamin that I will administer soon. I bought Oxbow carnivore critical care powder to try out as well.
Enclosure/Setup: With the previous owner, he had an incandescent spot bulb, a cheap thermometer, one hide and one bridge thing on reptile carpet in a 15 gallon tank. For that tank I bought him a more powerful basking bulb, a coiled UV light (which I later realized was a poor choice so he only had it for a week) and I added a taller log for him to climb closer to the light until I could buy a more appropriate tank. He now has a 48x18x21 glass tank lined with ceramic tile. For UV, he has a 36 inch T5 Reptisun terrarium hood that came with a 5.0 bulb which I used for a week until I replaced it with a 10.0 bulb. It used to sit 14-16in away (sitting on top of mesh) from Grogu but now the hood is 8-9in away, suspended by chains (not obstructed by mesh). He has a 160w mercury vapor bulb, currently on top of mesh, and a 100w ceramic heat emitter which both remain 14-16in away. The CHE is on 24/7 and keeps it at 80 degrees as night but the other two are on 12hr timers. For daytime temps, the hot side is 105-110F max (surface) and cool side is roughly 80. I check on the surface temps with a handheld IR gun and I don't have a digital thermometer right now. The humidity fluctuates from 35-50%.
My main concern is the swelling and lack of appetite. The left side limbs are starting to swell, including his digits. The vet visits have not been very productive and I don't know what to do. His legs and tail twitch also randomly and his level of inactivity is concerning. I will post pictures of Grogu and his home tomorrow. Any recommendations in diet or husbandry practices would be appreciated to keep Grogu healthy and happy.
