What is wrong with my bearded Dragons leg?!??

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Help I am a new beardie owner and I have no idea what is wrong with my bearded dragons front left foot!! It must have just happened today because it was not like this yesterday please help!!!
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

You are referring to the left elbow?
Please review your tank setup with us, such as the type/brand of UVB lighting, supplementation,
etc.
As suggested, if you are using a hammock with small holes they can often injure themselves by
getting a claw stuck in the hole then ripping at it until they injure themselves to get free.
Is he limping?

Tracie
 

Barbathebeardie

Member
Original Poster
She is actually trying to not use the leg at all. I have a 40 gallon tank. I have a dual red light/ daytime bulb fixture and then I have a uvb box lamp, all by zoo med. could she have MBD?
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
How long have you had her? What substrate is she living in/on? I'm assuming then that she does not have one of those hammocks, because that's often a cause of a dislocated shoulder/elbow.

I'm assuming this is an injury and not MBD, only because it just appeared suddenly, correct? Usually MBD happens gradually, so if she was fine one minute and then the next her leg was like that and she isn't using it, then it's most likely an acute/sudden injury. Plus, she's so small/young that usually MBD has not had time to set in yet, though it's not unheard of.

EXACTLY what UVB tube do you have (Brand, strength, wattage)? It will be written right on the tube itself if you don't still have the box. It will say something like "Reptisun 10.0 T8 15 watt" for example.

YOU NEED TO GET RID OF THE RED BASKING BULB IMMEDIATELY!!! Dragons see in full color just like we do, and any colored bulbs confuse night and day, cause eye issues, and not only that, you are trying to replicate NATURAL SUNLIGHT over the Hot Side of his tank, and you do this by putting a BRIGHT-WHITE colored Basking Bulb right next to a long UVB tube, so that they are side-by-side and sharing the top of the Hot Side of the tank, so he gets both lights while basking. So you can ONLY ever use bright-white colored bulbs!!!

You need to either go to a pet shop and buy a specific Reptile Basking Bulb that is bright white in color and is the correct wattage to put the temperatures within the correct ranges (usually a 100 watt bright-white basking bulb over the Hot Side of the tank in a 40 Gallon tank is correct, maybe a 75 watt)...OR, you can simply go to Lowes, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Walmart, etc. and buy a regular Halogen Indoor Flood Bulb, the kind you would use in your home, the PAR38 kind. That's what most of us use, they are no different than the Reptile Specialty Basking Bulbs and they are a lot cheaper usually. If you choose to buy one at a pet shop, avoid all the red, blue, green, purple, black, etc. colored bulbs completely, they make a lot of "Blue Daylight" Bulbs and "Red Infrared" Basking Bulbs, none of these are appropriate for a bearded dragon, only white bulbs.

As far as his leg goes, assuming that your long UVB tube is an adequate one that is mounted correctly, and that you haven't had him for very long to begin with, that means that he's got a potentially dislocated elbow/shoulder or a broken bone, either from falling off of something accidentally, or if he got his toenails stuck in something, like a hammock or some other piece of mesh or cloth decor, then he probably yanked his arm while trying to free it and he may very well have dislocated it.

He needs an x-ray done at a Reptile Vet ASAP, as if it's broken or dislocated it will need to be set properly, and he probably needs some pain meds, poor little guy. At his age he hasn't even begun to start growing, and will be doing so very shortly, they do almost all of their growth and development during their first year of life, so his arm needs to be properly set so it heals correctly and grows properly.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I'm sorry she isn't using his arm/leg right now. It does sound like an injury to me since it
just appeared. I don't think she has metabolic bone disease though, but if you do go ahead
& get x-rays it should show bone mass as well as any injury currently.
For the basking light, you will need to change out the red one with a bright white light
such as a halogen flood bulb. It will be much kinder to her eyes.
Is her beard black at all right now?
Let us know if you are able to get her to the vet & how she is doing.

Tracie
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Poor little sweetie....this was probably due to the wrong uvb [ you say uvb box lamp ] that has caused weak bones due to calcium deficiency. So that would be a step before MBD, but enough that she could have broken a bone, at least a slight fracture.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
I don't think they have had the little guy long enough for that to happen AHBD, this just suddenly appeared one afternoon, was fine prior in the day...

I took what they described as a "UVB Box Lamp" as meaning a UVB tube inside a tube fixture/strip light fixture, but who knows.

I hope we get an update soon, poor little dude...
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
An injury accompanied by swelling can happen in one day easily. The baby may not have had good uvb from the prior owner/store and could set up for a fracture due to calcium deficiency. Just one of the possible scenarios.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Baby dragons can also be born with calcium deficiencies depending on the status of the
levels of calcium of the mother. When that happens, it is very hard to get their levels up.
How are things with your baby today, are you getting him to the vet for an x-ray?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Drache613":3vbbd0av said:
Hello,

Baby dragons can also be born with calcium deficiencies depending on the status of the
levels of calcium of the mother. When that happens, it is very hard to get their levels up.
How are things with your baby today, are you getting him to the vet for an x-ray?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

I've never encountered this, and I see the problem with trying to get their levels up. What's the typical protocol for this scenario?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Unfortunately it is becoming more frequent due to inbreeding & line breeding. The best is to
not inbreed, but other than that, keeping levels up on a gravid female is the best option. If
the hatches encounter issues, they need to be immediately put on a liquid calcium as quickly
as possible with the stronger T5 lights to try & head off more problems.
There really isn't much else that can be done. I don't recommend shots done on that small of
a reptile.

Tracie
 

Barbathebeardie

Member
Original Poster
She seems to be getting around fine now. Thank you to everyone that has left comments on my post. She is still eating and drinking fine. I haven’t be able to get her X-rayed yet because I have no ide what it will cost. Cans someone please tell me the cost of getting her x-rayed? Thanks
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is good to hear she is doing pretty well & is still eating also. It varies from vet to vet as
to the cost of x-rays. Usually they can run $50 to $75 for an x-ray, maybe $100. Do you have
a vet to take her to? You could call up to inquire to the cost of an x-ray & they should be able
to tell you the cost hopefully.
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie
 

Barbathebeardie

Member
Original Poster
i do not believe that she would have a calcium deficiency because i put repticalcium in a container then use it to dust her crickets every time i feed her. if i leave the leg alone could it heal on its own? i dont have any money to take her to the vet. :(
 
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