Beardie With MBD Help!

[PuffTheMagicBeerdie]

Hello everyone i have a about 9 inch beardie. When i first got him (or her) he was very sick and almost dead, now Puff is up moving eating and doing everything that healthy beardie does The only thing is that his back has become curved His back legs still work but not 100% and his back is really curved like his head is next to his tail when he sits. I tried making him a lil back brace to keep his back stright and it did but he wasnt very happy with it on. What can i do? is puff gonna have to grow up like this? i have posted a video of puff on youtube so you can see exactly what i'm talkin about please view it and help me out!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THe_mbPGntM

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Are you using a good UVB light right now? What type & brand of UVB light are you using, a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light? How close is the UVB light to him, & is there any screen between him & the light?
Are you using calcium for him on a regular basis?
What types of foods are you feeding him?

If he already has some physical deformities, it is going to be very difficult to undo that type of damage. You can halt the progression of that type of damage, but you most likely can't improve the physical deformities a whole lot though, unfortunately as the bones have already been altered.

Tracie

 

[PuffTheMagicBeerdie]

I have 2 lights on him, one is a 75W exo-terra sun glo and the second is a exo-terra repti glo and that is the long one its the size for a 10 gallon but its on a 30 gallon long tank. At night i use a 75W exo-terra night glo bulb. All lights are on top of the tank sitting on top of the metal screen lid, i'm not sure exactly how far it is from Puff but its whatever a 30 gallon long tank is. Right now he is maily eating wax worms that are always dusted with bearded dragon calicum powder. He has a salad bowl at all times which has collard greens and green beans in water. One thing I have been doin for like the past week or two is taking a tiny piece of ace bandage and wrappin it carefully around Puff from under his arm pits to half way down his back. This does help keep Puffs back stright but he dosent seem to like it too much So idk what to do I just want him to be the happiest lil beardie that he can be.

 

[Buggsy]

Ok so theres a lot that you need to change, esp as he already has MBD. The reptiglos have a shady histroy at best, many of us (myself included) have had issues with them. You either need the reptiSUN tube, or if in europe the arcadia 12% UVB and it needs to be mounted 6-8" from the basking spot. It also needs to go INSIDE the cage at the screen will be filtering out the vast majority of UVB.

Secondly wax worms are just not good, they are like beardie cr**k! they are very fatty and highly addictive. Good feeders include crix, locust, roaches, butterworms, phoenix and silk worms.

Take a look at :http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html for things to feed or not to feed.

The tank is also a bit small so you may want to start looking around for a 40 gal breeder or larger!

 

[PuffTheMagicBeerdie]

How is it that i'm suppoes to get the light in the tank? I'll try to get another better bulb but as far as what Puff is eating, wax worms are the only thing that Puff can catch right now. I use to feed him crickets but they are too fast for Puff right now. Puff is only 9 inch i was told that a 30 gallon long would be good from Puff untill he gets to be closer to being full grown. I just got this tank i cant possible get another one now. All i want to know is if Puff is going to grow up with this curved back or if thers something that i can do to help strighten him out.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The curved or hunched back may not grow back normally no. It could possibly straighten out somewhat on its own, but not without proper UVB lighting & calcium supplementation.
Since he is only 9 inches long, then he should grow some more for you, hopefully.
The waxworms are not giving him the proper nutrition. Some better choices of worms are phoenix worms or butterworms for his size. They have much less fat & a higher protein value.
It is easy to mount the UVB fixture underneath the screen, with wires. The UVB light needs to be 6-8 inches from him, for maximum exposure.
You can have him do some water therapy to help strengthen his muscles right now. Is the ace bandage tight on him? Be careful wrapping him because if it is too tight, it could constrict the circulation.


Tracie

 

[PuffTheMagicBeerdie]

The ace bandage is not too tight he usually wiggles out of the bandage within about 2 hours. I will go back to crickets insted of wax worms and the light my boyfriend can fix so it is closer to Puff. but 6-8 inch seems a bit too close or is it? Do you think that i should keep tryin to strighten his back with the ace bandage or should i not do that anymore, i dont think he really likes it on him but if you think that it will help he will just have to deal with it for a little while.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What you can do with the crickets, is pop the back legs off which slows them down immensely & he should have no problem getting them then.
Good that the ace bandage is not too tight, I was concerned about that.
The distance of 6-8 inches is fine, as long as the tube bulb is placed directly beside the basking light on one end of the tank to help protect the eyes.
No there is no need to use the ace bandage, as it may be stressing him out. Concentrate on making sure he is getting good lighting. I would recommend liquid calcium in this case because the powdered calcium doesn't absorb as well as the liquid does.
The combination of the lighting & liquid calcium coupled with better nutrition will give him the best chance at recovery. You can massage his back area when he is soaking in his warm bath. Try to gently manipulate his muscles in the back area, like you would do with an injury if you were a physical therapist. You can place a rock or something that he can rest on somewhat elevated, so you can manually "stretch" his back, GENTLY during his bath.
You may see some improvement but again I stress the importance of the lighting & the calcium for him. He will not improve without these 2 things.

Tracie

 

[jeschardies]

If you can get ahold of a plastic under cabinet light or blacklight tube fixture; I mounted mine against the glass using metal 3M hooks through the two holes on the back of the fixture. Very easy!
These fixtures can be found at walmart, lowes, home depot for under $20.....
Hope this helps with your lighting situation, good luck!

 

[PuffTheMagicBeerdie]

Ok i have made a few changes to Puffs tank. I have moved the long tube light to the inside of Puffs tank, it is now hangin from the lid it is about 8 inch from puff. I always put his heat lamp on the inside of that tank. I added a 3rd light because with the other being closer to him there is areas of no light at all so i got a 120W sun glo bulb which is hangin from the roof shining down on to Puffs tank this light is about 2 and a half feet about Puff. so i hope that helps him out with all his lighting. I have been to 3 different pet stores and none of them have the liquid calcium cau someone please give me the brand and the name of the liquid so i can maybe orded it online. Thank you everyone for your help Puff thnaks you too

 

[babyelvissocute]

Hey,
I have a beardie suffering from MBD too. Tracie was the one who helped me too, and I ordered the liquid calcium thru her, so I'm sure she can help you with that. (my beardie loves the banana flavor) My beardie, Elvis, made great improvements with liquid calcium, befor he couldnt hold or support his body weight, and now he is fine, not 100% but I'd say 80-90% for his walking.
With the feeding, I have found worms are best because they can easily eat them out of your hand or a bowl, plus you dont have to pull legs off or anything like that, and in my opinion they are easier to keep alive and dont smell.
Theres alot of hard, frusterating, sad, and happy times when it comes to a beardie with MBD. But just do everything right and happy improvemnts will come, and at the end of the day, they are still cute, healthy, happy beardies
Good luck!

Kaitlyn

 

[PuffTheMagicBeerdie]

Hey,
I have a beardie suffering from MBD too. Tracie was the one who helped me too, and I ordered the liquid calcium thru her, so I'm sure she can help you with that. (my beardie loves the banana flavor) My beardie, Elvis, made great improvements with liquid calcium, befor he couldnt hold or support his body weight, and now he is fine, not 100% but I'd say 80-90% for his walking.
With the feeding, I have found worms are best because they can easily eat them out of your hand or a bowl, plus you dont have to pull legs off or anything like that, and in my opinion they are easier to keep alive and dont smell.
Theres alot of hard, frusterating, sad, and happy times when it comes to a beardie with MBD. But just do everything right and happy improvemnts will come, and at the end of the day, they are still cute, healthy, happy beardies
Good luck!

Kaitlyn

Wow thank you so much it makes me feel like theres a light at the end of this tunnel So far puff just semms to be on alert because of the light hanging in his tank now lol but i'm sure in a day or two he will lear to like it better i am going to try and upload some pics of the new setup.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is Puff doing today? Sorry you couldn't find any liquid calcium in the surrounding pet stores. Some carry it while others just don't. If you are still wanting to get some liquid calcium, I sell some. Here is my site if you would like to order some online:
http://www.bug-de-lite.com/

Please keep us posted on how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[PuffTheMagicBeerdie]

He is doing preety good i mean his head is up and hes movin around but his back is still very curved. He has been layin kinda like on his side of his food bowl he looks funny but he looks happy and light colored. Most times when he is being very sluggish he is also a darker color. But he seems to be adjusted to his new lights and everything is good right now. Thank you everyone for helping me make these changes to help Puff

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Please keep us posted on little Puff. We are all pulling for him to get better.

Tracie