Beardie Arm

[DKchewie]

I noticed last night that My Bearded Dragon's arm is twisted in a funny way. She's not reacting when you touch it, but she's definitely not walking on her hand. It's turned so she's walking on her elbow instead. What should I do?

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. She/he is a cutie pie. It looks like she has mbd( metabolic bone disease) That is due to lack of calcium and uvb. Does she have a uvb and what kind if she does? Do you dust her feeders with calcium? It's not reversible, but given the proper treatment won't get worse.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

She is very young, indeed, very sweet face.
Please run over your tank setup with us, such as the type/brand of UVB lighting, along with your supplementation & temperatures.
It does appear to be weakness in the joint from developing metabolic bone disease. It could possibly be an injury, too but not as likely as a calcium issue.
Other than the wrist, can she walk & climb normally?

Tracie

 

[DKchewie]

Above her tank I have one 26W UVB high-output bulb and one 100W Repti Basking Spot Lamp. Her cool side is about 70-80 degrees while warm site is about 90- 100 degrees. I feed her crickets with Flukers Repta Calcium with D3. She walks around her cage fine, but sometimes stumbles on her wrist.

I have also been reading other articles and found out reptile hammocks lead to injuries. I have one in her terrarium. Could she have accidentally popped her wrist out of place?

 

[DKchewie]

I just got a new uvb light for his cage. It is all living things reptile uvb tube.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It is a possibility she could have hurt her wrist on the hammock, they have been known to contribute to injuries.
The UVB light you have though, while high output, is a compact/coil UVB. They tend not to distribute UVB evenly. They spike, then fall way down on output. A lot of times, their UVB wavelength is incorrect also, not providing adequate wavelength which is conducive to D3 synthesis.
We normally recommend tube bulbs or mercury vapor bulbs. There are some T5 high output tube bulbs which have terrific performance on UVB. The Reptisun 10 or the Arcadia D3 12% either one would be a great choice.
How often does she get calcium supplementation?
Are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure the temperatures with?
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[DKchewie]

Hello,

First off, I did change the UVB to a 18 inch 15W 50UVB fluorescent bulb. I sprinkle her calcium on her crickets each day. I use the Zoo Med reptile digital thermometer.

Also if it is an injury, should I take her to the vet? I don't want her to be in pain.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Has the wrist improved at all?
It can be difficult to determine if she is in pain or not. You can definitely take her
in to see the vet for an x-ray to see if anything is broken. It is likely either a sprain
or metabolic bone disease issues.
Which brand of tube UVB did you get for her & how close is it to her?
The digital thermometer, is that a stick on or a probe type?

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[DKchewie]

I got her a All Living Things Desert UVB. The thermometer is on a little probe that a put in her water and cage. Her colors seem a bit brighter since I put the new UVB in, and her wrist has improved a little. She can get about 5 inches away from the UVB, but stays about 7 inches away.( She has a big misshapen basking log.) Other than that she has been doing fine, she is very active and not showing any severe symptoms of MBD.

-DK

 

[DKchewie]

I just got home to check on her and realized she is doing a lot better!! The new UVB must be working its magic. Her color is more vibrant, she is more active, and she isn't really walking on her wrist!!

I want to thank everyone who helped me make Chewie feel better.

-DK



PS: She still hasn't completely gotten her wrist back to normal, so I will keep updating you guys on her condition.

 

[CooperDragon]

She looks nice and alert, that's a great sign. Hopefully the wrist heals soon. The light you got is a decent one and is the same as a Zilla Desert 50 in PetSmart packaging. You have it in the right range so it should be producing plenty of UVB over the basking area now.