Hello,
Bit of background:
I rescued Pebbles in May, when he was around 3 months old so now about 8 months. He was very small due to a poor start in life & the loss of his tail. Since then he hasn't grown much & is only 4.5 inches & 27g.
I wouldn't say I'm new to beardies as I've had another for around a year but I'm no expert.
When I rescued Pebbles I went to the pet shop & sorted out a basic set up so I could rescue him ASAP with the intention of developing & upgrading it over time, the guy recommended a combined arcadia lamp which would give off UVB & be a basking bulb which would be sufficient as he is only in a 2ft viv.
Fast forward to now:
About 2 weeks ago, I noticed he was becoming less active (assumed brumation was beginning as my other dragon went into brumation this time last year) so I thought little of it. Then he was eating less, again, just thought I would monitor it, then was pooing less.
Last Thursday, I realised he hadn't pooed for a week, despite regular baths & whatnot. I was feeding him & his tongue was swollen & pushing out the food, the bug was actually crawling back out of his mouth before he could chew it & he had no strength in his legs, was kind of dragging himself (looked like he was swimming on the floor) & he was very swollen with air & doing this weird hiccup action.
I whisked him off to the vets who gave him anti biotics, pain relief & an anema as well as giving me some meds to continue at home, including a bowel movement medication & to bath in reptoboost. Her main concern was the bloating & lack of poo, then she was going to work out the rest.
At the weekend, I decided to check out my light to see if it was all fine & the UV was still going strong & to my horror, he had accidentally given me the wrong bulb so Pebbles has had virtually no UVB in 5months - I very quickly went & purchased a new full UV unit! So I searched MBD symptoms, he ticks pretty much everybox; swollen tongue, softened jaw, weak limbs, inability to lift himself.
So, after all that info - I just want to know, because I think he is quite severe, are things hopeful for him? Can dragons recover from severe MBD? I've rang the vet & she said monitor for another week & with the UV he should pick up a bit.
(He pooed a tiny bit yesterday, is eating via syringe at the moment because the tongue is still swollen - with calcium mixed in)
Bit of background:
I rescued Pebbles in May, when he was around 3 months old so now about 8 months. He was very small due to a poor start in life & the loss of his tail. Since then he hasn't grown much & is only 4.5 inches & 27g.
I wouldn't say I'm new to beardies as I've had another for around a year but I'm no expert.
When I rescued Pebbles I went to the pet shop & sorted out a basic set up so I could rescue him ASAP with the intention of developing & upgrading it over time, the guy recommended a combined arcadia lamp which would give off UVB & be a basking bulb which would be sufficient as he is only in a 2ft viv.
Fast forward to now:
About 2 weeks ago, I noticed he was becoming less active (assumed brumation was beginning as my other dragon went into brumation this time last year) so I thought little of it. Then he was eating less, again, just thought I would monitor it, then was pooing less.
Last Thursday, I realised he hadn't pooed for a week, despite regular baths & whatnot. I was feeding him & his tongue was swollen & pushing out the food, the bug was actually crawling back out of his mouth before he could chew it & he had no strength in his legs, was kind of dragging himself (looked like he was swimming on the floor) & he was very swollen with air & doing this weird hiccup action.
I whisked him off to the vets who gave him anti biotics, pain relief & an anema as well as giving me some meds to continue at home, including a bowel movement medication & to bath in reptoboost. Her main concern was the bloating & lack of poo, then she was going to work out the rest.
At the weekend, I decided to check out my light to see if it was all fine & the UV was still going strong & to my horror, he had accidentally given me the wrong bulb so Pebbles has had virtually no UVB in 5months - I very quickly went & purchased a new full UV unit! So I searched MBD symptoms, he ticks pretty much everybox; swollen tongue, softened jaw, weak limbs, inability to lift himself.
So, after all that info - I just want to know, because I think he is quite severe, are things hopeful for him? Can dragons recover from severe MBD? I've rang the vet & she said monitor for another week & with the UV he should pick up a bit.
(He pooed a tiny bit yesterday, is eating via syringe at the moment because the tongue is still swollen - with calcium mixed in)