Bearded Dragon walking on elbows with upturned hands.

[jeseniaalbert]

I've had my beardie, Rowan, for a year and a half. When I got him, he was head to rear (not tail) about 3inches long. Nowadays, he's about 8inches . I've been noticing his front legs aren't working like his back legs do. He kind of stands up on his back legs but slithers on his elbows, with his feet turned inward toward his face, and lately, palms crooked up. He's a real belly crawler. I have another beardie, Luka, (in a different tank) who stands on all fours and walks/runs around normally, like a dog would.

He eats calcium coated crickets x3 a week, arugula, strawberries, and endive, every other day. I usually give him water from a dropper but he also drinks on his own.

I have done googling and several phone calls, but haven't found any answers or help. I want to make sure my little guy is doing alright, I'm fairly worried. I have attached some pictures, ignore his mouth, he was eating strawberries.

 

[diamc]

Oh poor thing. What brand & type of UVB have you been using and how often do you change the bulb? What is the distance of it to your beardie while in the basking spot.

Are you sure he is only 8" long from his nose to the tip of his tail?

 

[jeseniaalbert]

Nose to tip of tail: 12", I was just measuring his body without the tail.
He is 12" away from the basking light.
I have a ZooMed ReptiSun 5.0 18" long UVB. I have not changed it in the time that I have had him.

 

[diamc]

He is quite small for 1 1/2 yrs old. How many calcium dusted crickets does he get a week? Does he get fresh greens daily now?

Good that you're using the fluoresent tube. The 5.0's aren't strong enough for a bearded dragon though and the tubes need to be changed every 6 months as that is when the output declines. So, the UVB isn't putting out any benefical rays at all and even the distance is actually too far away. It seems like your beardies has metabolic bone disease I'm sorry to say.

Would recommend getting liquid calcium and a Repti-Sun 10.0 T5 (high output) bulb asap. Since the T5's are narrower, you will need a different fixture. The T5's can put out a very good amount of UVB rays at the 12" distance and can even be 15" away and placed on top of a screen. The Arcadia UVB's are great bulbs too.

Here's a site that shows the best calcium and nutritious greens in green print: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He definitely does need a stronger UVB. The tubes lose effectiveness after about 6 or 7 months.
As suggested, the higher tube bulb like the T8 10 or the High Output T5 tube bulbs are very good.
He has metabolic bone disease & needs a new light as well as increased calcium supplementation. How often does he get calcium supplementation?
Does your other dragon have the same setup as him?
Diamc's recommendations are excellent. Be sure to ask more questions so we can help you get it all fixed up for him.
He is a little cutie!

Tracie

 

[jeseniaalbert]

I appreciate all of you helping out. He gets 60 crickets a week, he's never been a big veggie or greens beardie, whereas my other, LOVES his greens.
He gets calcium dusted crickets 3x a week.

My dad just came home with a 13W "All Living Things" desert compact fluorescent UVB bulb to replace the long fluorescent tube. As well as an ExoTerra 75W Infrared Basking Spot. He also bought Flukers Liquid Calcium.
Both beardies now have the same lighting set up. Rowan (the beardie pictured) is in a 40 gallon, 36"Lx18"Wx12"H tank. Luka (not pictured, but is 3 years old) is in a 200 gallon, 72"Lx24"Wx24"H tank.

I do have a few questions:
Are there any other possibilities of Rowan's condition, other than MBD?
What foods should I put his liquid calcium in?
Any activities that your dragons like that could make mine have a happier life if MBD is the case?

 

[Pixall]

Compact fluorescent bulbs can actually be dangerous for them. This board recommends the reptiSUN tube 10.0 uvb bulb; I have good luck with MVB tho. Your lizard does have MBD, as well as being underweight and undersized. If I were you I would bump his feedings to every day. As many greens as he will eat, and live food daily also as much as he will eat for now. Some liquid calciums can be given directly. If I'm remembering correctly though the Flukers is actually an offensive product. When I tested it, there was a very unpleasant tingling/burning sensation on my tongue. The dragon I purchased it for reacted like I had hurt her when I offered it is why I tried it.

The red light can also harm their eyes; is there any reason you do not simply use a household bulb for your basking light? They are cheaper also. Make sure you are using an IR temp gun to get an accurate reading on the surface basking temperatures.

Tube UVB bulbs should be unobstructed and within 6-8" of the basking site. MVB vary, I use a 100W for most of my setups, and usually around 12" from the basking site, bulb pointing straight down.

See if you can get BSF larvae from a local shop(industry names vary, "calciworms" "reptiworms" "phoenix worms" etc etc etc), they are loaded with calcium! Also see if you can get some terrestrial isopods. They are crustaceans so have a calcium-rich shell as opposed to the chitin shells of most insects. However, be careful not to feed too many and watch for poops, I have heard a rumor that they can cause impaction if fed too much.

You could also go log thumping for termites if you are OK with feeding wild-caught items. Termites are also rich in calcium.

Earthworms also have very acceptable Cahos ratios, and are little moisture bombs besides. Some dragons don't like them though, and they do have difficulty in picking them up.

Good luck!

 

[Lovmybeardie]

Sorry to hear and see your beardie is having a tough time.
I second all that has been said in the posts above. The Lighting def needs to be changed and closer. As for finding insects outside.....(some do, do that with no problem) but with that being said I prob wouldn't do that in case of parisites, he is already not well and you don't want to chance anything more happening. There is a lot of other choice things for feeding as previously mentioned.

 

[Pixall]

As for finding insects outside.....(some do, do that with no problem) but with that being said I prob wouldn't do that in case of parisites, he is already not well and you don't want to chance anything more happening. There is a lot of other choice things for feeding as previously mentioned.

Like I said, some are ok with it, others are not. But if you feed pet shop crickets, chances are that you already have parasites. I keep many herps and I offer field collected items to nearly all of them(kind of hard to do field collected for large snakes lmao). Free-ranging items have more vitamins, but you do risk exposure to nasties. This board recommends nothing wild caught. Everyone does things a little differently though and I do what works for me. Still plenty of good options if you only feed captive cultured prey items.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your dragon doing today?
Did your dad return the compact/coil light & try to exchange it for either the Reptisun 10 tube bulb if possible, or the Arcadia D3 12% tube? The UVB lighting is essential, because without it he wont be able to get better. Do try to get the UVB lighting squared away as soon as possible.
Is he eating any better now?
I hope he is doing good so keep us posted on him!

Tracie