Swollen Beard (Too much D3? MBD?)

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Lifesadrag

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Hi all,

So, we adopted our guy, "Camo" a little less than a month ago. The shop owner told me he's about 8 months old. He's set up in a 40 gallon tank with a basking light & a Reptisun 10.0 T5 (I think...whichever one is the stronger one; I'm not by the box right now.). Basking temp is between 100-110, cool side is 75-80. We feed him crickets & veggies everyday & he has a good appetite (usually 12-16 large crickets once a day, sometimes eating a few more in the evenings.)

I suspect he may have MBD from the shop...when we got him, he was happy & alert, but never really pushed up on all 4s & it wasn't until I got home that I realized I didn't see a T5 or T8 over his tank; just a basking bulb. He was raised on mealworms with crickets for a treat and spring mix veggies. The shop suggested I dust calcium w/D3 on feeders 2x/week, but that seemed low to me, so I started dusting his feeders once/day with Repticalcium w/D3. Since he's been with us, he's now perked up, runs on all 4s, chews much stronger, excitedly hunts crickets, etc, but he seems to have a hump in his tail a little below his hind legs that's developed (or at least become more prominent since he's grown the last month with us). We have carefully supervised all handling at our house, so I wonder if he fell from the basking "tree" we got him and hurt it without us knowing. (At the shop, he only had rocks about 4 inches off the bottom of the tank, nothing to climb...it took him some time to get confident climbing in his viv at our house.)

Fast forward to 4-5 days ago, I noticed his beard was shedding underneath (he's now starting a full shed), and that his beard looked darker than usual day & night and slightly puffy. I know sometimes he puffs his beard up, but even resting, it looks a little swollen and dark. His front legs look a little outward turned and swollen, but maybe that's normal & he's just growing, I'm not sure.

He's so loved by our family & I just wanted to ask if you all notice anything off that you think is out of the norm that I should take him to the vet for, or if this all seems normal. He's happy, eats well, and likes to hunt now, though he spends his day basking...

Pics attached. Thanks for your help, everyone. Never thought we'd be a reptile family, but man, we love him!

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CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
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Moderator
How far is your T5 tube (T5 is the stronger one) above his main basking area? If that's around 10-12'' up then he can probably synthesize his own D3 and you can just use plain calcium on the bugs (I dust bugs lightly at every meal).

The bend in his tail looks like either a birth defect or caused from an injury at some point. An x-ray would help show the extent of the damage and also show his bone density. Your setup sounds good and since he's eating well and active I think he'll be OK. His beard looks fine to me. Their beards start to get a bit baggier as they get older and that's natural.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
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I noticed the thermometer in your picture. Is that what you're using to measure your temps?

-Brandon
 

Lifesadrag

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Original Poster
CooperDragon,

So it's squirrelly, but it's probably only 6" from the highest point of his basking area. But, it's off to the side of his basking area. I have the split lid partially open, then have the light resting its long edges of the reflector hood on the two parts of the lid, so the light shines down through the wide gap between the two parts of the lid in the center without being filtered by the mesh.

I really appreciate your advice and help! Thanks so much!
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

If you are using a T5 Reptisun tube, you will need to have that at a 10-12 inch distance for
safety. I think 6 inches is a bit too close. Are you using a bright white light for basking, too?
The 40 gallon tank is a good size for him. So he gets unfiltered light without any screen? I
think he should be getting adequate UVB exposure.
I agree, an x-ray should show what could be going on. Chances are, he developed that bump
before you got him.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
6'' is too close for the main basking area, but it's OK to put a branch at that distance to allow access if they want it. They are able to handle more intense UVB for limited periods and I encourage offering as much variety as you can. They're quite good at moving around to get what they need if given the options. 10-12'' is what you want for the main basking zone though. If you have the UVB light set to the front/back/side of the basking area, the UVB output will be decreased a bit so those estimated distances get a bit smaller.
 
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