Bearded has MBD

[marspunk4]

My bearded has just been diagnosed with the starting stages of MBD. I bought the little one Sunday Oct. 27 and that night had a lump on it's jaw. Once I noticed it (that night) the next day got T-Rex Bearded Dragon Calcium Plus to dust his crickets with. It had an appointment with a proper vet Saturday Nov 2nd and they did not give me any liquid calcium. I'm continuing with calcium powder on his food. I put collard green with moist baby bearded dragon food in it's tank. I've been giving mealworms, but have seen that these are not very good. My store only offers mealworms, waxworms and superworms so I'll have to find a different supplier for different worms. Any suggestions? The only thing I'm worried about now is lighting and heating. I've used Zoo Med 75w repti basking spot lamp and tried exo terra 75w intense basking spot lamp but can't get the basking spot above 84 degrees Fahrenheit. The UVB lighting I've tried was Zoo Med reptisun 10.0 UVB 13w mini compact fluorescent and exo terra reptile UVB 150 coil bulb (was called repti glo 10.0 compact). Right now the tank is 23 gal. 13" w x 25" l x 16" h, the tank will be changed to larger in a short while.
The little one is active, shows good color and eats, just want to make sure I'm doing everything right to keep the MBD from getting worse. Thanks for any advise. I will be keeping an eye on the other dragons at Petco where I work so they don't end up with it.

 

[Teleste]

I'm sorry to hear about your baby's condition.

The most important thing for your baby is proper UVB and proper heat.

Proper heat is the easiest. I saved a lot of money by buying a very high wattage bulb and plugging it into a "table top dimmer switch" so I can control the brightness of the bulb.

My current heating setup in a 40 gallon breeder tank is a 150w halogen floodlight dimmed down very low. Halogens are very hot so you are most likely not going to need over 100w.

Proper UVB is the most complicated but most important part.

The most highly recommended bulb is the ReptiSun 10.0 FLUORESCENT TUBE.

I mount my 24 inch ReptiSun tube inside my tank because the dragon needs to get 6-8 inches from the bulb. No closer than 6 inches.

ReptiSun 10.0 Fluorescent Tube
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun-Fluorescent-24-Inch/dp/B0009YHSWK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383683714&sr=8-1

24 inch light fixture
http://www.amazon.com/Under-Cabinet-Fluorescent-Light-Stick/dp/B0026KW4QK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383683682&sr=8-1

Command sticky strips
http://www.amazon.com/Command-Mounting-Refill-Strips-6-Strip/dp/B000FCGS5Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1383683732&sr=8-3

Hope this helps!

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. How are you taking the temps? If your using the round gauge ones they are not accurate at all usually off by 20 degrees. Get rid of the compact/coil bulbs asap those cause eye problems in beardies.

 

[marspunk4]

I have a digital thermometer the ones that come with set up kits are junk I know. I will be changing the UVB from a coil to tube after reading about the issues with those. The bottom of the tank is slate (yes its a strange tank) but has reptile carpet (sand and walnut substrate is bad). Would an under the tank heater help because I don't want to burn the bearded's skin with a heat bulb.

And thanks for the advice so far!

 

[destiny1998]

Actually beardies can't feel heat or cold on their belly. They feel heat from the top. So a che would be good. Also I use a 75 halogen flood light and it gets to be 105 in my 40 gallon tanks.

 

[marspunk4]

I got a UVB tube and its on the tank, just need to cut the screen top so the light isn't blocked and the little one gets the full effect. The log allows him/her to get close (6") from the light. I also got a 100w with a dimmer and its gets to 90 and when I place a towel around the tank it holds the heat in an will get to almost 100 F. The towel also gives the little one some privacy and keeps one of my dogs from staring and whining at the tank so it doesn't get stressed. A che might be a good idea we have some at Petco and the black night light gives off a good amount of heat but it's still so bright.
Also an update while the lump is still there he or she (still just a baby 6-7" can't tell yet) is very active, good appetite, colors are good and no other signs of MBD! Here is some pics, the first is the tank so far, the next two are the little one now and the last is from last week of it's lump.