I need some advice, please. How do I help my beardie going forward? TL;DR metabolic bone disease, how do I prevent it from getting worse? Is my vet giving me good advice? Details below.
I got a baby beardie (6 inches, 8 grams at time of purchase, currently 40 grams and approx 9-10 inches) 08/24 from a local reptile store. The owners of the store breed their own beardies for stock, so I know the parents are healthy and well cared for. The siblings that are still in the store all look perfectly fine.
This morning I took mine into the vet because she's been knuckling over on her wrists and dragging the back feet occasionally and I got a diagnosis of MBD via x-ray. She has no deformity nor any shakiness or trembling.
I'm stumped. I've got a 40-gallon terrarium with a screen lid and a hammock to get her up to a good basking area (110-115*F) and a Reptisun 5.0 T8 that I just swapped for a 10.0. She's been getting calcium+D3 dusted crickets and collard greens. I have been avoiding spinach and kale. She has no problem getting around and jumping and has a great appetite and regular BMs.
The vet takes issue with crickets and wants me to get her outside more for real, actual sunlight. He wants me to quit using the calcium powder because he thinks she isn't absorbing it and wants me to find better, higher calcium insects/worms and veggies for her. I don't really like his advice much. He told me she is "underdeveloped" and basically told me to Google better food options. She is bigger than most of the rest of her siblings still in the shop and is by no means "underdeveloped", just a literal baby! His practice seems mainly dog and cat centered and I saw no other exotics come in, so I get the feeling he was not exactly experienced in herp medicine. He was on google on his computer looking up "worms for lizards" to try and give me alternatives to crickets.
I took a picture of the x-ray with my phone. I don't know what I'm looking for and he did not point out anything except that she has ribs. I asked if the x-ray could be emailed to me but I didn't really get an answer and I haven't received it yet. Sorry for the potato quality. I was expecting him to say maybe she had dislocated something or has a parasite. I brought a fecal sample and offered it twice but they didn't want to run it.
I got a baby beardie (6 inches, 8 grams at time of purchase, currently 40 grams and approx 9-10 inches) 08/24 from a local reptile store. The owners of the store breed their own beardies for stock, so I know the parents are healthy and well cared for. The siblings that are still in the store all look perfectly fine.
This morning I took mine into the vet because she's been knuckling over on her wrists and dragging the back feet occasionally and I got a diagnosis of MBD via x-ray. She has no deformity nor any shakiness or trembling.
I'm stumped. I've got a 40-gallon terrarium with a screen lid and a hammock to get her up to a good basking area (110-115*F) and a Reptisun 5.0 T8 that I just swapped for a 10.0. She's been getting calcium+D3 dusted crickets and collard greens. I have been avoiding spinach and kale. She has no problem getting around and jumping and has a great appetite and regular BMs.
The vet takes issue with crickets and wants me to get her outside more for real, actual sunlight. He wants me to quit using the calcium powder because he thinks she isn't absorbing it and wants me to find better, higher calcium insects/worms and veggies for her. I don't really like his advice much. He told me she is "underdeveloped" and basically told me to Google better food options. She is bigger than most of the rest of her siblings still in the shop and is by no means "underdeveloped", just a literal baby! His practice seems mainly dog and cat centered and I saw no other exotics come in, so I get the feeling he was not exactly experienced in herp medicine. He was on google on his computer looking up "worms for lizards" to try and give me alternatives to crickets.
I took a picture of the x-ray with my phone. I don't know what I'm looking for and he did not point out anything except that she has ribs. I asked if the x-ray could be emailed to me but I didn't really get an answer and I haven't received it yet. Sorry for the potato quality. I was expecting him to say maybe she had dislocated something or has a parasite. I brought a fecal sample and offered it twice but they didn't want to run it.