Mbd???

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I need help. Im a first time beardie owner. Ive always wanted one and saw a free ad on fb. The poor little guy was living in a tiny tank with no uvb light. The people we got him from had bought him at petco where they sold them a starter tank with no uv light and sand as substrate. So he had gotten a few impactions and somehow got tail end got which had healed before we got him. At first his back legs didnt work well but im wondering if thats due to the tiny tank. Hes now in a 50 gallon. His legs are working great now. But his back is like an s shape which i think is getting worse but im not sure. I don't understand because im feeding him correctly. His tank temps are perfect. I dust his insects with calcium and d3. I had bought retisun 10.0 light bars for all the way across his tank to provide uvb. I was then told thats not strong enough so a couple days ago the 100 watt mega ray murcury vapor lamp and bulb arrived. He hates it!! It's Only heating his basking spot to 85-90 so I've tried adding a small heat lamp to get the temp correct. Either way he hates the light. I don't know what to do at this point. Being a first time owner i don't know how they should act but he isn't very active. He sleeps or just rests all the time unless he is eating. I don't think he's eating enough either. I'd love to post pics but not sure how.
 

CooperDragon

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If he hates the new MegaRay you might want to take it out and save it for outside the tank basking area. Which ReptiSun bulb did you get? Depending on the distance it might be fine and then you can use a halogen bulb to produce the right amount of heat. We'll do our best to help you get everything just right for him. What has he been eating? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and then post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.
 

NicoleVanUnen

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First is his tank setup. Any suggestions are welcome. Second shows his back and how its shaped. The third is the highest I've ever seen hin raise himself up in the front which i dont think is normal. He should be able to lift up higher right? The lights i had first bought are reptisun t5ho 10.0. They are on top of the metal screen. But hes only between 6 to 8 inches from it since he likes to be up high so i dont think i can safely hang it inside the tank. As for the murcury bulb he is 9 inches from it. Its also on top of the screen. As for food i make him fresh salads 3 times a day hoping he will eat. But he eats very little. The salads contain a variety of greens dandelion, collard greens and mustard greens as well as squashes which he totally refuses ive tried yellow summer squash acorn squash and butternut squash. For insects I feed him but loaded crickets. He eats at most 5 smaller sized ones a day since hes easily impacted i cant do larger ones which he prefers. I tried dubia roaches. They just dont move enough to interest him. But he loves green horned worms which ive read should only be fed on occasion.
 

NicoleVanUnen

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Also his previous owner said he loves parsley so i planted parsley and basil in his tank. He eats it occasionally and attacks it like an insect which is so cute! But he doesnt eat much of either.
 

NicoleVanUnen

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I had the heat just perfect with the reptisun and halogen bulb for heat. But if he has mbd i dont want it to get worse. I just love this little guy and want him to be happy.
 

NicoleVanUnen

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Sorry one more thing lol. The previous owners got him in february and petco didnt know his age. But they said he doubled in size from feb until the begining of may when we got him. I know he lost part of his tail so measuring him wont tell me much. But im thinking hes old enough he needs to be eating more greens then insects. I just dont know how to get him to do it. Ive seen dressing to put on there salads. Should i try that? He doesn't like any fruit I've tried giving him as treats such as strawberries blueberries or watermelon.
 

CooperDragon

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His back is probably deformed permanently, but that doesn't mean he can't thrive. He may just have more trouble getting around so you'll want to try to accommodate him by making things low, flat, and easily accessible. Your T5 ReptiSun 10 should be just fine for UVB. I would set that up right next to a halogen and get your temp range set up to around 100-105 basking site, 90s around that, and maybe 75-80 or so cool side. If the T5 is shining through a mesh top, that will intercept some of the output so instead of 12-14'' recommended without a mesh top, 8-10'' is about right so I think that setup was just fine.

Your food offerings are great. It may take a while for him to adjust to the healthy variety so be patient and keep it up. Keep trying to offer by hand to give it a bit of movement. Try cutting squash into small worm shapes and see how that goes over. The hornworms are very hydrating and a good bug to offer. Just don't want them to be the only thing he eats that's all. Black soldier fly larvae are also a good option for him. They are small and wiggle around a bunch. Naturally calcium rich too which is a bonus. Do keep focusing on getting him into those nice salads you're making though. Ultimately that should be his primary diet. Collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, all good choices.
 

NicoleVanUnen

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This is kindof funny so he hates being down low. He seems really scared on the floor of his cage. So i just put his salad bowl on the bridge I made for him to see and he instantly attacked his salad all cute and ate some. :) my fear with him being up high like he likes is he falls easily and can't climb well. But ill figure something out. He needs more ways to get down. Right now the only way is on the left side because i have his hammock slanted down low onto a fat branch.
 

NicoleVanUnen

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Oh also we tried black fly larvea and he wouldnt touch it. He's pretty picky lol his old owners just fed him meal worms for insects which im sure helped lead to the impactions. Unfortunantly i read dubia roaches are super nutritious and easy to digest so i ordered a colony which cost a fortune. It should be here any day. After that i bought some at the petstore and since they don't move he wouldnt eat them. :(
 

CooperDragon

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Give it time with the roaches. They are easy to keep with minimal effort. Just keep offering them the leftover veges to eat. I've found that adding some superworms (just a handful) to the frass once that builds up helps keep the enclosure cleaner. It's good to have them on hand even if he doesn't eat them, but keep offering. Their moods and cravings change.

If he prefers to be up high but has trouble balancing, maybe something like a wide board with some astro turf or similar grip enhancing surface would work out for him if it's at a low angle.
 

NicoleVanUnen

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Things are going good :) i got a new salad bowl with suction cups so his salad is up high with him which he loves!!! He is currently shedding for the first time since i got him which i think is going well. Again he's my first beardie so its all new to me. Last night he ran around his tank hunting his crickets since he knocked them out of the bowl i put them in. Lol it was cute. I'd say hes happy. :)
 

WinFam01

Juvie Member
Glad to hear!
Aw, it's so fun to watch them do cute things.
I will say though, because I'm still new too and didn't know at first, is to make sure no crickets get left in the tank with him, as they apparently bite.

Has he had his first bath with you yet? If the shed does start bothering him, that's a good way to help him out.:)
 

NicoleVanUnen

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Oh gosh i learned the hard way about crickets!! I had no clue they bite them. I caught one eating his tail right after we got him. Poor guy. I felt terrible!! I found an amazing bowl at the petstore. Its actually meant to feed hamsters but the guy at the petstore said for some reason the crickets dont jump out of it and he was right!. Except for last night when tito went crazy and let them all lose lol. But i made sure there was none left roaming when he was done eating. He doesnt love the bath. But i do plan on giving him one tomorrow as i do think hes uncomfortable and i know it will help get all that skin off.
 

WinFam01

Juvie Member
That's great you got that bowl.

Ours doesn't love the bath either, but I did play around with the temp and found she's more tolerant of it at warmer temps. As soon as it starts cooling off too much she tries to escape, so then I let a bit of cool water out and add more warm.
 
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What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank
Taking my beardie for a walk

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