Cheap vets or herps?

My friend (i know what your thinking, my friend really means me. This time its not.) has a bearded dragon he just recently bought and i think it has signs of mbd. Im not a vet but i told him he should obviously go see one to make sure his little girl is ok. Shes 9 months old and shes only 15 inches llng. Clearly not very well taken care of. He is currently unemployed (i told him he shouldnt get a beardie if he didnt have the money to properly take care of it but he did it anyways) and has no way of taking him to an expensive vet. I was wondering if theres such things as herp clinics, or a certain vet in nj that might do payment plans for him? Im gonna give him some money to help out but infortunately if i didnt already own 3 beardies, i would take his girl away from him.

Since he's unemployed he will be hard pressed supporting himself for the most basic living expenses (power, rent, food, utilities) let alone afford vet care , is unlikely he can afford to provide adequate housing, lighting, uv and a good diet for his juvenile dragon .... 9 month old is still a juvenile and requires two live insect meals per day (a pricey situation even for just one dragon), IMO he should contact a reptile rescue organization and surrender it , they rehabilitate it and then rehome it.

If he insists on keeping the sick dragon, his only options for paying for the vet bills and any meds and suppliments it needs are :
>>>> ask relatives for a loan / financial help
>>>> ask friends for a load / financial help
>>>> GoFundMe maybe if he has a PayPal Acct
>>>> sell some possessions to raise the funds
>>>> if he has a credit card , use it to pay the expenses
>>>> take out a PayDay loan (very bad idea !!!)
>>>> apply for an advance on his dole payments (means he'll have even less money each fortnight to live on until the advance is paid back).
>>>> get a job.

What exactly are the signs that make you think MBD ? Is it not able to move it's legs ? Developing an underbite or deformity anywhere ? Very sluggish ?

Do you know the exact type + brand of lights he's using ? At 9 months old, 15" is perfectly fine, well within the average size range. Is it thin though ?

Can you post pics of the dragon + it's entire set up ? If you can get him out in the sun, be sure he gets calcium dusted insects [ if you can, get the liquid calcium that Tracie sells at bugdelite. ] And get a proper uvb bulb. That is all a vet could do IF the beardie has beginning of MBD....good uvb and calcium which can be done at home. But again, what are the symptoms and can you post pics ?

Hes living with his parents so home situation is fine. I set him up with a 30 gallon with a powersunmvb 100w and bought him 1000 crickets. Im basically supporting his dragon because he cant and i feel bad for her. On the brightside he soends all day with her so thats not horrible. I will provide him woth calcium but thats really all i can do because i have to take care of my own beardies. Shes really slim. Has 2 joints that are swollen, very lethargic and when she does move she slides around on her stomach. I asked him to send me a picture so i will post when he sends it to me. He takes it out into the sun when its not cold and its sunny but oher than the 2 swollen joints, not really much deformities. She seems to be aware of her surroundings but doesnt really sit up much or anything. Just lays flat all day. Poops regularly and the urate is white and not too gooey and holds its shape. All her scales look like they are shedding but the shed wont actually come off and her back is starting to turn black on the sides. Also her nails wont grow. They seem to be shorter each time and she wont hold on to anything like she has no strength in her arms. She moves her back lega but. Ot really too often so i dont think shes impacted or paralyzed.

Also what are the signs for repiratory disease? I would love to check him out myself but my friend lies over an hour away because he moved back in with his parents last month when he got fired. I think it may be a possibility because she seems to have her mouth open frequently. But i dont know what normal breathing patterns look like for a juvenile beardie.