Juvenile with MBD, need advice on next steps!

This is my first post so I'll start with a little bit of a backstory and I'll go ahead and apologize because I will ramble. I started dating my boyfriend and he had a bearded dragon named Spike who I instantly fell in love with and he was my best friend. I knew nothing about them so I started researching and noticed things didn't seem right (lighting, diet, temps) so after a vet visit we learned he had SEVERE MBD, like the vet wasn't sure how he was even alive since he was 3 years old. My boyfriend felt horrible as he just took advice from Petsmart, but our vet gave us a crash course in all things bearded dragon related and even though it was so advanced, after a few weeks he started to thrive and after a few months he was doing so so much better. The vet was so amazed that he turned around the way he did. He was doing so good and then in November 2017 he started to get sick and he had a tumor in his head that erupted through the skin almost overnight so we got an emergency vet visit and had him put to sleep to end his suffering. It was horrible to lose him, but it was so nice that he had a solid year of being healthy and thriving despite his deformities.

After Spikey passed we accidentally broke his UVB fixture and had to get a new one. We got an off brand UVB fixture similar to the Zilla slimline, you know, the one with the plastic covering over the UVB bulb. The off brand one didn't mention to remove the covering though so when we purchased our new baby, Sami, in February at 1.5 months old he had the plastic covering from early February until the beginning of April when I stumbled upon the fact that glass/plastic/ect filters out almost all the UVB. I broke the plastic off a few days before his vet visit and we explained what happened and knew right then he has MBD. Fecal exam came back negative for any parasites and we got him immediatley on a critical care diet, daily baths, pretty much everything we were doing for Spikey. That was two weeks ago. He weighed 23g at his appointment and since then we've been doing everything to try to nurse him back to health. He had some pretty good days right after his visit, but the last week has been hard. We got him to a solid 30g, but the last few days he dropped all his weight and he's back down to 23g. He's not eating, even force feeding he barely swallows. He won't keep his eyes open. It just seems like he's on his death bed. His two week follow up appointment is tomorrow and I am terrified. He's just not doing well at all and I'm so scared she's going to suggest putting him to sleep and I don't want him suffering, but I don't want to put him down if all he needs is a little bit more time to get a little better. Does anyone have any advice on what to do? The vet seemed hopeful that he would perk up, but it just doesn't seem like he is, but then again, I don't know the time frame. Is 2 weeks enough to perk up? Does he need more time? I just don't want to see the vet tomorrow and have to make a decision right then and there so that's why I'm posting.

Cage Setup:
50 gallon tank
Reptile carpet (I don't mind to clean frequently)
Digital probe for temps
Basking temp 108-115 depending on house temps
Hot Side around 92ish
Cool side around 85
CHE for night time so his cage never drops below 80 since his health is crap
Reptisun 10.0 tube
Before he got sick he was eating dusted dubias and ate a few bites of collard greens dusted each day
He hasn't had a single dubia or greens in about 2.5 weeks, only his critical care and then he gets his calcium baths daily
Poops once a day, sometimes two if he's had a good day and has eaten extra critical care food

Hi. Sorry he's having issues. Is the Reptisun a t8 or a t5? It should say on the end of the bulb. Also is cool side is too hot. Should be in the 70s. Also 80 @ night is too hot even though he's not well. Maybe you can raise the CHE so it's not so hot. The basking spot should be no hotter than 110. Also he needs calcium orally. Beardies do not absorb water or anything else through the skin. I would give him liquid calcium.

It's a T8.
His reptile vet suggested for the next few weeks to not let him get too cold which is why we have the cool side temps a little warmer as well as his CHE on at night too. He probably has some areas that are low 80s but I don't always move the probes around to check. His basking spot isn't consistently 115 as it highly depends on the outside temps. I live in an area that is 80 degrees one day and 5 inches if snow in less than 24 hours later so until it gets and stays warmer outside, he has his higher wattage basking bulb in. We've got multiple wattages for that very reason.

He gets liquid calcium mixed in with his critical care food which he normally eats 3x a day. He's not lacking calcium, he never was, he just wasn't getting enough UVB to do anything with it. He only gets daily baths to get extra water since he drinks water only in the bath.

Is the 58 on top of the screen covering the tank? If so it needs to be mounted under the screen. How far away is it from the basking spot?

It's on top, but we have a custom made metal lid for the cage so it's not mesh and with the reflector we don't really lose any UVB output.
When he gets on his log or rock he's about 5 to 8 inches away defending where he sits but on his floor he's more like 10in away. We move him up closer to his uvb and within a few minutes he's back down hiding. He hasn't basked in at least 5 days and this morning when I turned on his lights, within 10 minutes he climbed inside of his rock. He wants nothing to do with lights or warmth or basking whatsoever.

We have been trying to find a way to mount inside the tank and after looking online we've figured it out so as soon as we can make a run to the store we will have it mounted inside.

Hi there, can you post pics of the baby as well as the set up ? Here's how :

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

We had his follow up appointment today so before his appointment we gave him a quick bath where he choked on water and I had to basically give him CPR and rush out the door to the vet. He has aspiration pneumonia that developed a few days ago which explains him going back 10 steps so he's on an oral antibiotic as well as calcium and vitamin B injections. Since he perked up until the last two days the vet didn't want to give up hope that he might pull through. I'm staying home from work tomorrow so I can make sure he gets his medications on time and we're going to move his entire setup to the living room for the time being so we can keep a better eye on him versus him being in the bedroom.
Hopefully my little Sami pulls through. He was doing so well until the pneumonia so if we can get over this I think we'll have a chance at a somewhat normal life.

If the oral meds don't work you might want to discuss nebulizer treatment with your vet. That can be effective for treating respiratory issues. I hope he bounces back soon!

Hello,

Poor guy, sorry to hear he has metabolic bone disease & that he has developed pneumonia!
Which oral medication did the vet prescribe for him?
I agree, a nebulizer may really help out. When they develop pneumonia, it is stubborn & is
very hard for them to get rid of.
I hope he is feeling better soon! Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Sadly he passed last night. He was having constant diarrhea yesterday and was losing grams every few hours. He was down to 17 grams when he passed. We feel absolutely horrible and I hope he wasn't in too much pain when he passed. My fiance was holding him in a towel as he was going so he wasn't alone. We buried him last night and planted some flowers over him with a little solar light so at night he wouldn't be in the dark. We're going to get a little stone with his name on it as well. He had a lot of fight in him, but he was just too tiny to make it through.

Hello,

Oh no, I am so sorry you lost him, poor little one. I am so glad he was with you so he didn't
go alone. I guess he was just too weak overall to come out of it fully. I hope the meds didn't do
him in.
I am sorry for your loss.

Tracie