Severe scoliosis and kyphosis care

[Katilah]

I adopted a bearded dragon who was severely neglected, no UVB, no calcium, and only dry commercial food with limited access to water. He has been assessed by a vet and he was treated for severe metabolic bone disease and receives proper diet, lighting, etc now. I’m desperate for information on how to care for this poor boy. He’s 3 years old and his spine is arched, curved to the side, and his tail is curved as well. He doesn’t seem to be in pain that is bothering him as he eats, drinks, and is shedding frequently. Any advice on environment or how this will progress would be wonderful.

[KarrieRee]

Make sure he has the proper UVB -- the Reptsiun 10.0 tube either the T 8 or a T 5 - I would recommend the T 5 as it is a stronger bulb- how is his mobility? If he has a hard time getting around its best to keep things low so he can get to them w/ out a lot of climbing- you can always get like some sort of decor that has a ramp - I have seen them at Petsmart -- I would have his substrate a textured non adhesive shelf liner so hes not getting his nails caught on anything -- if you do a hammock a cloth would be better than a mesh-- I know some others on here would be able to help and recommend stuff as well
Karrie

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor guy, that is too bad he has had such a rough time of things, so early on in life.
Do you have any pictures of him, we could see?
Just review your tank setup with us such as the type/brand of UVB you are currently using,
supplementation, temperatures, foods given, etc just so we can be sure everything is optimal
for him.
A lot of dragons have lived good lives, with the help of a generous hearted keepers such as
yourself who are willing to give love & care.

Tracie

[Katilah]

[Click image to enlarge]


For UVB, Paul has the Reptisun 10.0 tube for 12 hrs everyday on a timer. He eats a mixture of fresh greens such as bok choy, romaine, and kale and gets some fruits like blueberries as treats. He has difficulty chasing insects, so he eats Fluker’s adult and juvenile foods mixed per vet recommendation for a bit more in energy. He does eat dubia roaches twice a week as long as I hold them for him. Supplementation is calcium powder twice a week on his veggies and a liquid calcium that he gets orally as well daily for the next few weeks (we just moved to the oral from injections of calcium). He is kept at a tank temperature of 80 on the cooler side and 100-110 at his basking spot, and at night everything is about 80 (all in Fahrenheit).

As y’all can see, he has quite the twisty spine, but fortunately his bone density is much better on his recent radiographs. He is very small for an adult bearded and probably won’t grow much longer unfortunately. He is a little under 10 inches from tip of nose to tip of tail. He was on an anti-inflammatory for a couple weeks and had a pain medication, but has been doing well off of them. He is shedding regularly now that he has proper care and enjoys basking and attempting to zip around the tank!

Thank you for lending advice and responding! I want to do everything I can for this little lizard!