I don’t think my vet know what they are talking about!!!!

They say my Leonardo has mbd and puemonia, I give him plenty of Calcium he has a good uvb light. I uploaded pictures of his x rays, need to know opinions on what it could be. I personally now this it’s just brumation, But I don’t know it’s so stressful.

Hi there, your pics didn't show up on your other thread. What are his exact symptoms ? What are the temps. in his tank [ hot side/cool side ] and what has he been eating + when did he last eat anything ?

Here's how to post pics :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

No pictures seen.

I use postimage.org to upload my images see : viewtopic.php?f=30&t=236881

I'm sorry you're going through this, but this wouldn't be the first time (or the thousandth time) that a vet had no idea what they were talking about with regards to a bearded dragon...Was this vet a Reptile Specialist Vet? Or was it an "exotics" vet?

Try again to post the photos of his x-ray...Also, did this vet take culture to diagnose the respiratory infection, or did they base the pneumonia on the x-ray only? What were his symptoms, and what was the reason you took him to a vet in the first place?

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ < this should be his x Ray, and they are an exotic animal/vets for dogs. He isn’t eating right he isn’t acting like himself. Always is tired, doesn’t really drink. He doesn’t want to poop and when he does they are tiny. He is a big dragon he’s a 1 year old. They also just based pneumonia on his x Ray, and said that it looks like he has mbd because some parts are darker in the beginnings and ends of his bone.

EllenD":766s35so said:

I'm sorry you're going through this, but this wouldn't be the first time (or the thousandth time) that a vet had no idea what they were talking about with regards to a bearded dragon...Was this vet a Reptile Specialist Vet? Or was it an "exotics" vet?

Try again to post the photos of his x-ray...Also, did this vet take culture to diagnose the respiratory infection, or did they base the pneumonia on the x-ray only? What were his symptoms, and what was the reason you took him to a vet in the first place?

Click to expand...

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ < this should be his x Ray, and they are an exotic animal/vets for dogs. He isn’t eating right he isn’t acting like himself. Always is tired, doesn’t really drink. He doesn’t want to poop and when he does they are tiny. He is a big dragon he’s a 1 year old. They also just based pneumonia on his x Ray, and said that it looks like he has mbd because some parts are darker in the beginnings and ends of his bone.

WHEn god on into the user upload screen, you have to make sure you hit the upload icon. Then if it goes through, when you make a post, hit ‘XIMG’ that’s above the text box. Hope that helps, and I hope your beardie gets better soon.

We still can't see your x-ray photo...once you upload the photos you want to post into the "User Image Upoader", which I think you did because that's the link you posted (we can't see into your photos, that link only takes us to our own photos we have uploaded), then you have to hit "Post A Reply" back in this thread, and then when the empty message box pops up then you have to click "XIMG" right above the message box, which will take you right to the photos you have uploaded. Select which photos you want to insert into the body of the message, and they will be inserted wherever the cursor is in the box...

It sounds like that was not the vet to go to, an "exotics" vet in the US only means that they are are General Vet who is "willing to see" animals other than dogs and cats. They don't need any specialized education or experience beyond saying that they will see other animals. So they certainly aren't any vets I would trust at all...

Did they ask you at all about your husbandry? Like what UVB light you have, how old it is, how your lighting is set up in your tank, etc.? Because my guess is, at a year old, his lethargy and lack of appetite is due to a lack of adequate UVB light, proper temperature zones in his tank, improper light set-up, etc.

- that should be his x Ray, and i don’t know he had a proper set up, all she is doing is giving him medicine by mouth.

< that is my baby, and the medicine they are giving him. that is also him he just pooped today it’s not always very big but he did which is a good sign.?

Hello,

It's a bit hard to tell from the x-rays. The bones are not too bad, meaning they do have some
brightness to them. It's hard to see the density of them. Did the vet do a blood test at all, to
determine calcium levels?
Can he walk, climb or run without any trouble?
Please review your tank setup for u, such as the type/brand of UVB lighting, how old the UVB
light is, how far they are from him, etc as well as the brand of calcium & any other supplementation.
Did the vet do a fecal on him also to test for worms or parasites?

Tracie

He has a new uvb light, and it was on the other side but I moved it onto his favorite spot where he usually is. I give him zoomed repticalcuim without d3, and the day after I give him National Geographic reptile calcium supplement power with d3. I also have 2 uvb in there since today I thought the more the better so, I put one with his basking bulb and, one with on the other side of his tank. He is moving around he’s just typically lazy but he’s been moving around a lot lately, the reason why I don’t think he has pneumonia is because he doesn’t cough or have any substances coming out of his nose or anything like that. I’m letting the horn worms grow into adults right now so when he eats it will give him a lot of nutrition. And no they did not do any blood work they just said it’s because of the calcium, and they didn’t do poop tests neither. All the did was x ray and they diagnosed him.

His x-ray looks okay, it's very hard to see it that way but it's not terrible, but I don't see any pneumonia at all.

Can you please tell us what UVB light(s) you have? List the brand name, the wattage, and what type they are, meaning are they a long tube that is at least 18" long and in a long florescent tube fixture, or are they a compact or coil bulb that fits into a regular lightbulb socket?

95% of the UVb lights made/sold are totally inadequate for a Bearded Dragon or any desert Reptile, they need very strong, intense UVb light and a bright-white colored basking bulb, which is the correct wattage to get their temperature zones within the correct ranges, and they both need to be on for at least 13-14 hours every single day. They must have a long UVB tube, at least 18" long, as there is only one single compact UVB bulb that is adequate for a Bearded Dragon, it's an Exo Terra 200 which is 26 watts, but it still must be mounted in a special nano hood with a reflector and be inside the tank to work. So this is why most all experienced dragon owners and breeders use the long UVB tubes that are the T5 strength, not the much weaker T8 strength.

The other issue is that his tank has to be set up correctly, with both the long UVB tube and the bright white basking bulb both right alongside each other, not end-to-end, but rather right alongside each other and over the Hot Side of the tank, with his Basking Spot moved to being directly underneath both lights, so he gets both at the same time while basking. You can't have the UVb tube not right alongside the bright-white Basking bulb, or either of them over the Cool Side of the tank. Dragons have very specific temperature zones that are needed, a Basking Spot Surface Temperature between 100-105, a Hot Side Ambient (air Temperature between 88-93, and a Cool Side Ambient (air) Temperature between 75-80. And both of these lights must be right alongside each other and over the Hot Side of the tank, with the Basking Spot/platform directly underneath them.

If your tank is properly set up for the lights and the temperature zones, you will only need one long UVB tube and one bright-white Basking bulb (sometimes people put a second bright white colored basking bulb of a much lower wattage over the Cool Side to get the Cool Side Ambient Temperature between 75-80 degrees and to brighten the Cool Side up). That's it. You shouldn't need multiple UVB bulbs and multiple basking/heat bulbs. And the other issue most people have is if their tank has a mesh lid, which most do, that mesh lid will block around 40% of the UVB light if the UVB bulb is sitting on top of the mesh lid. So if you are using either a very weak and inadequate compact or coil UVB bulb or a weaker T8 strength UVB tube and any of these are sitting on top of the mesh lid, then your dragon is getting/has gotten zero UVB light at all. ONLY a long, T5-strength UVB tube can sit on top of a mesh lid and still emit adequate UVB light to your dragon. In addition, if you have a compact or coil UVB bulb and it's not unobstructed by the mesh lid and then also within at least 3-4" of your dragon, he's not getting any UVB light, and a weak T8 UVb tube must be within at least 6" of your dragon. And both a compact/coil UVB tube and a T8 strength UVb tube must be replaced every 6 months. So really, the only adequate UVB light for a Bearded Dragon is a long, T5-rated UVB tube.

Most experienced Bearded Dragon owner/breeders and Reptile Vets use either a Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output UVb tube, usually either a 22" or a 34" tube in either a 24" or a 36" long, T5-rated tube fixture, or a 24" or 36" Arcadia 12% T5 UVB tube in a 24" or 36" T5-rated tube fixture. That's it.

Hello,

How is your dragon doing today?
If you can, try to post some pictures of your tank setup, just so we can see how it's all setup.
Please let us know the type/brand of UVB lights you have also. What are the distances from
the lights to him?
He only needs calcium once a day, 4-5 days per week as long as the amount given was a
sufficient amount. Just a small pinch of calcium is all that is needed, most of the time.
As long as the insects are properly fed & loaded for nutrition, that helps out a lot on his
nutrition also.
He will love the hornworms once they are big enough for him to eat.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie