BIG BEARDIE CONCERN NEWBIE HELP

Hey everyone, I am new on this site, but have found it to be very helpful for me. I recently purchased a baby beardie from Petco. He is about 3 months old now, and about a week ago, we noticed that his tail was starting to get a little crooked. We brought him to a breeder who said it was MBD, so we got new lights that night. Since then, it has gotten worse. We took the lil guy to a vet, who did an xray and said he was diagnosed with a rare Bone Infection. We are now giving him antibiotic shots every other day. Since then he is not really using his back legs (infection is in his tail, with a small fracture), and he has since began to not use his front. I am not sure if its because his arms are sore from the shots? It just seems like he is not getting better. Has anyone dealt with this? We are terribly worried that he is going to pass, and we are desperately trying to save him. he used to love crickets, now he hardly moves and waits for them to get by his mouth, and tries to get them. He seems just very blah now.. he used to be an active little guy. :? :?

Poor little guy, all his symptoms point to MBD....is this vet an experienced reptile vet ? Injections should not be given to babies, these are painful and can cause muscle atrophy. I hesitate to say you're being gouged by this treatment. He needs calcium, D3 and time in the sun. I would personally not return to the vet at all.

@AHBD My breeder Said He Has Always Gone To Her, I Will Admit Since The Shots (Given Once Every Other Day) Little Man Has Not Enjoyed Using His Arms

This Is A Pic Of Him

The dragon definitely has MBD. The curving hump on his back is also a classic + easy to identify symptom. Has he been pooing O.K . ? Just in case you're not aware, the crushed walnut shell can cause serious impaction. But if he's still eating, that's good, help the poor guy if he can't catch the crix now, and be sure they're dusted in calcium. Offer him squash + green bean baby food with a bit of water mixed to be sure he's hydrated, and if he's not eating much you can mix in a pinch of calcium with D3 powder as well as a good multi vitamin . I can tell you that not all vets that see reptiles really are experts.

i Am On My Cellphone So I Am not sure How to upload more pics but I think we are gonna take him for another opnion, i have his xrays which is what i was trying to upload ): i appeciate your feed back & and praying to the beardie gods your right!!! I told my boyfriend about what you said for his shots, and since then we have noticed he is very limited on his front legs and it does hurt him pretty bad, since i have to hold him and force him it ): hopefully this passes if i stop giving them to him, do you think the soreness will subside i feel so terrible

Yes, the pain will pass but shots in the arm can cause muscle damage. Since it's only been a few shots hopefully that won't be the case. And for MBD the treatment is simply calcium , D3 and either a very good uvb bulb or sunshine. Taking a small dragon to a vet is a gamble every time. Some can help while some can do more damage than good.

Hes had 5 shots (4 administered by me), and we have a 75watt light bulb from the store (breeder recommended) and a long zilla UVB bulb. He has a regular nightlight during the night. He pants some days, and other days hes fine. Weve been giving him baths, he seems to drink in his bath. I give him squash and zuccini, he just isnt eating like he used to so he isnt pooing, thats worrysome seemed to started when i started giving him the antibiotic shots. This is my first beardie so i am a netvous wreck with him!

The zilla bulb is O.K but check to be sure there's no plastic shield covering the bulb. It needs to be no more than 10" from the basking spot for the uvb to be effective. I know you're really worried, anyone would be if their baby was sick....it's very understandable. Just keep up with the calcium and getting her in the sun if you can. The tail has a break in it caused by MBD, and that's the only thing that will help her. She can probably still recover pretty well , hopefully regaining most of her mobility and the fracture/fractures can heal, although the lumps/crookedness will mostly remain. Keep all basking areas low so she doesn't have the possibility of falling.

Will he learn to walk right again? )he has a hard time & topples upside down, i feel terrible! I am taking him for a second opinion today.

He should be able to regain his balance once he gets enough calcium in his system. Calcium affects every function of the body, including neurological. That's why it can cause shakes/tremors, and even flipping over sometimes. I really hope this vet is honest + knows what they're doing. See what they say without telling them the other vet claims there's an infection. Then you'll see what the NEW vet concludes from those symptoms which are obviously MBD. If he's not pooing he may also have an impaction, that can also cause a bit of an arch to the back as the pressure is put on the spine from not being able to poo.

Poor baby My Evee girl has MBD, it sucks but they can live really great lives once you know how to care for them! I hope the second opinion you get also gives you more help! I'm kind of surprised that the vet said to give the shots in the arm...Evee gets penicillin every other day (for a stubborn infection) and I give her the shots near her side close to her front - but she has pretty much no muscle tone either (she's a rescue). Your baby looks so tiny, I imagine the needles in the arm would hurt quite a bit.

NBGwen, he is in so much pain): my poor little guy.

Do they have to go in the arm? Along the side where Evee's spikes are is where my vet said to give. I gently 'pinch' and pull the skin a bit and twist the needle a bit as I insert (vet said it can help as their skin can be tough). She said if the skin started to discolour or look dark to change sides (she gets them on the left as that's the side her injury is on) and forward closers to the foreleg as her injury is forward.

It totally could be a combo of MBD and infection. I would ask the vet about giving the shot on the spike line like I do for Evee. He's so tiny and his muscle tone is barely there. Poor little baby...also, my vet had scripted out a very small does of metacam for Evee when her jaw was bad. It's a pain reliever for cats/kittens but it worked like a charm and enabled her to eat and be active. Evee also ended up with yellow fungus (not confirmed but it's pretty obvious). Just be mindful that antibiotics can cause fungal issues.

If he doesn't want to eat, what worked for Evee was a mix of caloric supplement, vitamins, Calcium, and squash (baby food). I mix some up, warm it a bit when needed, and syringe fed her that and water 3mls everyday. Just an idea in case it comes to that.

NBGwen":25wkyb6z said:

Poor baby My Evee girl has MBD, it sucks but they can live really great lives once you know how to care for them! I hope the second opinion you get also gives you more help! I'm kind of surprised that the vet said to give the shots in the arm...Evee gets penicillin every other day (for a stubborn infection) and I give her the shots near her side close to her front - but she has pretty much no muscle tone either (she's a rescue). Your baby looks so tiny, I imagine the needles in the arm would hurt quite a bit.

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Yep .... sounds like the vet is treating the dragon like he would a cat or a dog.

When I was shown how to do IM injections for Lucky (my first rescue = a wild juvenile water skink who was the victim of a cat attack who was only 6g when I rescued and took him in who had lost his tail , had been clawed/bitten in his right eye - lost it and had a broken lower right jaw and penetration wound to his lower right jaw) I was instructed the best place to inject was in the upper back just under the skin (between some scales), NOT in the legs , and not in bottom half (something about different circulation to mammals and their kidneys removing the drug before it can be effective ---- others can expand on this most likely).

I'd definitely seek out a second opinion and a vet who is more experienced with treating lizards. (Most vets know SFA about reptiles and how to treat them.)