Another craigslist rescue! but i need a little help...

so at first i decided i didnt need another cause my first one is spoiled rotten and i wanted to just keep him as the only beardie. well this morning i was on craigslist and i looked in the pets for some reason and found someone who was selling the bearded dragon his 20l tank, his climbing tree food and water bowls and calcium powder all for 30$. She said he was very healthy and eats really good. her grandson had him for 4yrs and decided to sell him to get money for a video game.

well i just went to pick him up and he doesnt look healthy at all. she did tell me that when they first had him they didnt know he needed calcium. he has also been with out heat lights/ uvb lights for i dont know how long. the lady did say she would put him in the sun for awhile to get uvb. but im pretty sure he had/still has MBD. his tail is crooked and his back looks really bad, it almost looks like its indented cause his ribs stick up. his little mouth is definatly deformed around his lips. he can still eat but the crix are way to hard for him to catch most of the time and he even had a little trouble getting greens from his little bowl. he is active and moves around alot, but its just so hard for me to watch him, i cant tell if he is in pain or not. he fell over on his head and had some trouble getting out of his tree.

Is there any way to reverse MBD? What can i do to make things easier for him? He has lived 4 years like this so is he just used to it and really is healthy now and just had a bad start at life? I dont want him suffering, but i already love him and dont want to have to put him to sleep.

I have a few pics of him. (camera isnt the best so sorry for the quality) if anyone can help me i would appreciate it!

You need to get the MegaRay bulb as the best uvb source, (don't use calcium supplements that have d3 added with this bulb, though, just straight calcium!)and foods like phoenix worms and Papaya are very high in calcium. These will help get you started on halting the MBD. Your vet should be able to prescribe an additional supplement in the proper dosage for your dragon's body weight. At this point, I don't believe you can reverse most of the deformities caused by the disease. I have five dragons that I've taken in with varying degrees of MBD, and this is by far the worst I have seen. Galadriel's story is here, [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=76162 f=3 ] and she has improved greatly since then, about 490 grams at this point. I also took in Spike in mid October, 5 years old, with severe MBD as a youngster, and although her disease was arrested some time ago, she has a curve in her spine and kinks in her tail as permanent reminder of the disease. I will try to get your topic moved over to ER or health, as I think you will get more attention there.

What a lucky lil' man that you've found him! My first beardie came to me as a mess. He had MBD (xrays) but no visual deformities although he was completely emaciated and couldn't walk. Looking at his xrays, he has developed much more bone density now and you wouldn't be able to tell he was in such bad shape. I am wondering if your lil guy will ever be able to catch/chomp his live prey with his mouth. If not, you could always syringe feed him a slurry of veggies/bugs. Beautiful Dragons http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/home.html sells syringes and soft nipples for quite cheap which would make it easier. I ordered some to keep on hand in case mine ever get sick. Good luck to both of you and hope he has a speedy recovery!

The poor thing, thanks SO much for rescuing him. He definitely has MBD and is extremely skinny. A vet visit would be a good idea because they could give him a calcium injection & B12 inj if needed. It also looks like he has a sore on his mouth that should be checked out. In the meantime, do frequent baths to make sure he is well hydrated and that his vent is right down in the water for at least 15 min. His eyes and skin do look like he is dehydrated among his other problems. Pick up some Repta-Aid that you can read about here, most large petstores carry it. http://www.flukerfarms.com You can also get some liquid calcium which will also help to get into his system quicker than the powder. /emergencycriticalcare.aspx You can also mix it with some squash, mixed vegetables, green beans and/or even applesauce babyfood. The Repta-Aid should help to give him a boost. You can even offer drinks by putting water on his nose with a plastic medicine dropper to see if he will lick it off. I would suggest you go real easy on any protein, including crickets as you don't want to tax his system causing a strain on his kidneys & liver.

Would also suggest that you give him a low basking area & prevent him from climbing so that he doesn't fall doing more damage. His bones are probably brittle from the lack of UVB, so have to be very careful.

A mercury vapor bulb like Megaray or T-Rex would be very helpful but you would need a minimum of a 40 gallon tank to use one as they throw off a lot of heat & strong UV rays. A 100 watt MVB would need to be a minimum of 12" from him. What UVB do you have on him now? Make sure you are using either a temperature gun or a digital thermometer that has a probe on the end. Would probably be a good idea to start with lower temps until he can get stronger & used to it first. Even a basking temp of 95 right now would make the adjustment easier.

Please keep us updated on him & let us know how he is doing today. You are great for saving him. :love5:

his uvb is a reptiglo 8.0...its all they had at petsmart last night and he needed some sort of uvb. is that one ok for now? petco and petsmart both didnt have repti sun at all so i will have to order it online. and i already have the digital thermometer to check the temp.

i already started using the repti-aid he seemed to really like it. he does try to eat his veggies on his own, its just really hard to watch him stumble all over the tank. should i just try baby food for awhile to make it easier? as for calcium, his old owner did eventually start dusting the crickets with the pink rep-cal. should i still do the liquid calcium? as for the little sore, it turned out to be some kind of dried up fruit, it came right off.

i already gave him a different tree to and a little lizard hammock to bask in. its alot easier for him to get on and off of with out falling over.

EclpsPrinc":fb672 said:

I am wondering if your lil guy will ever be able to catch/chomp his live prey with his mouth.

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he can defiantly catch the crickets, it just takes him a little longer to catch them i just dont like watching him struggle.

today he is very alert just alot of black bearding which im guessing might be a little stress from the move and adjusting. i do have another question, my other beardie seems a little jealous. I know they cant be in the same enclosure ever, but should i let them see each other? the tanks are close, but one is up high and the other is pretty low. my original beardie, forrest, is doing the arm wave thing almost constantly and when he is out running in my room he tries to climb up to the tank. will they get used to each other or should i move one into another room?

Hi again, yes the Repti-Glo 8.0 is fine for him for now. Make sure he can get within 6 to 8" of it. When it needs replacing in 5 to 6 months though, would be a good idea to have a Repti-Sun 10.0 ready though. That's great that you're using a digital with probe now.

So, you're already using Repta-Aid and he likes the taste, that's wonderful. Do you have to force feed that or does he take it on his own? Giving him a jump start with some babyfood along with the Repta-Aid would be a good idea, that would make it easier on him and make you feel better rather than watching him struggle so much trying to eat by himself.

As far as the liquid calcium goes, the liquid is more powerful and gets into their systems quicker. Here's some info about it:

T-Rex Drops
Manufacturer: T-Rex

Solar Drops are designed to deliver a regular controlled dose of natural dietary cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) to your captive reptile. For diurnal (daytime active) species of reptile, this easy to administer formula can prevent and even reverse Metabolic Bone Disease in lizards, turtles and tortoise species.

Bone Aid Drops are an intensive concentrated liquid calcium supplement that has been developed for reptiles and may be used for both critical and routine use to avoid calcium deficiency.

Hydro-Life Drops are designed both as an electrolyte and amino acid (protein) support therapy for both dehydrated and anorexic reptiles. It is useful for both hatchling and adults that are reluctant to feed, maintaining them in good condition until their general health improves.

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Here's the link: http://www.bigappleherp.com/T-Rex-Drops

So, the red area on the mouth was just dried up fruit, that's a relief, bet you were glad about that too. :mrgreen:

I'm sure he is stressed from all the changes but I'm sure he is much happier already. The black beard could be from some stress & could also be that he senses the other beardie. It probably would be a good idea to move one of them to another room as it would cause less stress on both of them. Perhaps later on you could move them to the same room, but I would take all precautions right now. Thanks for the update. Seems like you have become attached to him already.

he is eating the repta-aid on his own from a dropper. the liquid calcium sounds like it might be pretty good for him, i will look into for sure. i will probably be taking him to a vet this week, i just found out that avocados were not good for him at all and the previous owner said he loved them and was feeding them regularly, so im worried he might be even worse than he looks. i really hope he isnt, i m defiantly attached to him already! :love5:

That is great that he is taking the Repta-aid on his own, sure causes him (and you) less stress that way. Oh gee, the previous owner was feeding avocados? The vet will probably want to do bloodwork to check for abnormalities. Guess the other owner didn't do any research at all, it's a wonder that this poor beardie even survived. He must be a fighter though. How is his activity level? If you do decide to feed some babyfood, please go real easy with any protein like chicken or turkey, wouldn't want him to put an overload on his whole system. Do you have a reptile vet near you?

yea she actually said she read it somewhere that they could eat avocados but not spinach so she must have done some research somewhere... his activity level is pretty good, he moves around alot and tries to climb up the tank, i let him explore my room a little and he tried climbing up a shelf. and when i got the crickets out for my other beardie he jumped down and started going back and forth on the glass like he wanted to get them. so he is pretty active, he actually moves around more than my healthy beardie. would a squash baby food be good? thats what i fed the first one and he liked it. i didnt even know they could eat chicken or turkey baby food.

i think there is a good reptile vet close to me, my mom works with a lady who has a whole bunch of reptiles so we are going to ask where she goes. i live in houston so im sure there is at least one reptile vet somewhere.

Good to hear that he is quite active, sure is a good sign. You could try handfeeding a few crickets if you haven't already. Yes, squash babyfood would be good, even a little bit of babyfood applesauce mixed in that will help with the pooping process. Our beardies like the mixed vegetables babyfood & also pear/pineapple. Yes, chicken & turkey babyfood can be fed and we usually recommend a little of that mixed with squash but since he is so undernourished right now, I'm worried about it being too much for him since it does contain protein. Hopefully he will lick the babyfood off too so that you don't have to do any force feeding.

Yes, having a friend that has reptiles helps in getting to know about a good vet, that's for sure.

Just wanted to say thanks so for caring for him. We read your post earlier and Katherine wants to know his name. She is 8 and keeps a prayer list for sick dragons (and others) She likes to use their names "so God knows which dragons she is talking about".

Sandy H

protiemama":3bf98 said:

Just wanted to say thanks so for caring for him. We read your post earlier and Katherine wants to know his name. She is 8 and keeps a prayer list for sick dragons (and others) She likes to use their names "so God knows which dragons she is talking about".

Sandy H

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His name is edward! (My sister named him from the twilight series.) Please tell Katherine we said thanks so much! thats so sweet of her!

Hi Stef! :wave:

Did you get my email? Here is a great place to order silks and horns. They are the best feeders for compromised beardies.
http://www.mulberryfarms.com

And, if you need anything, you know that I am right down the road! :wink:


Let us know how the vet visit goes.

Rosebud":75e14 said:

Hi Stef! :wave:

Did you get my email? Here is a great place to order silks and horns. They are the best feeders for compromised beardies.
http://www.mulberryfarms.com

And, if you need anything, you know that I am right down the road! :wink:


Let us know how the vet visit goes.

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You are in very good hands with both Rosebud and Mulberry Farms. :laughing6: Rosebud is very close to you, and I am jealous! One of these years I'd like to visit her facility for beardies and other rescues. And she knows her stuff! :notworthy: I get my silkworms and phoenix worms from Mulberry, and they are wonderful in making sure you get everything in good shape! The phoenix worms are the highest level of calcium you can find in a feeder, and a couple of tubs (100 large worms) a week for awhile will run about 12.00 total plus shipping.

In the notes about avocado, it seems to be unproven what reaction they have on reptiles, but they are cautioned because they are very toxic to birds. I will try to find more info on reptiles and avocados, aka alligator pears!