Dealing with MBD...

[Cerko]

Hey all! First pot here in regards to my first bearded dragon.

Last Friday (May 6) I purchased a bearded dragon + setup from a friend of a friend. They didn't say much about her, just that she had been given to him and they had decided they didn't have interest in reptiles after owning her for about a month. Setting up her tank with the given supplies it was immediately clear her care had been lacking; UVB bulb was burnt out, no additional supplementation, diet of dried mealworms... I didn't expect her to be healthy from the start. I left her alone until Sunday so as to not stress her out, just replaced her bulb and offered greens and dead crickets in a bowl, which she ate a bit of. I also offered her live crickets by hand which she gobbled up, though only 3-4 a day before she'd refuse. On Monday I thought I'd offer her some live crickets to see if she'd be interested, which she was - unfortunately I realized then that she couldn't walk to catch them. I had assumed she'd have MBD or something similar from the improper care, but wasn't sure to what extent as I hadn't been messing with her much as she acclimated to my home. I brought her into the vet and confirmed the diagnosis of MBD, she got a shot of Ca and I was given an oral Ca supplement to give daily. Since then she has not eaten; I think might be stressing her out giving the supplement every day but don't know that I can really change that... She's also started sleeping for most of the day.

I'm wondering if any of you have dealt with MBD, and if you can tell me your stories with it. I'm wondering how long it should be before I see improvement in her appetite and behavior - vet said up to three weeks for walking but that he couldn't be sure she would make it that long. All in all it's just very sad and frustrating to see that someone let her condition get to this point...

Thank you in advance for any comments!


How old is your dragon - 4-6 months
How long have you had your dragon - 1 week
How long is your dragon - 14 inches
What is the sex of your dragon - Female (Vet thinks - still young + malnourished)
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in - 22 gallon, currently. Upgrading to larger once she feels better and is less stressed
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank - Rag-type paper towel
Do you use UVB lights - Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb - Coil
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB) - Exo Terra, 150, 26W
How old is your UVB bulb - Brand new
How close can your dragon get to the UVB - 12 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb - Yes, Exo Terra 50W, White
What are the basking temps - 95
What is the cool side temp - 80
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun - Stick on
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps - Level with her perch
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad - Under tank heating pad
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific - She is not currently eating, but has taken crickets and brocolli
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night) - Not currently eating
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc - Yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them - Oral liquid calcium prescribed by vet, normally gets Rep-Cal Ca+D3 powdered supplement
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops) - She has been previously, no poop today
Do you bath your dragon? How often - No
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath - No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done - Yes
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon - No

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....sorry to hear about your poor girl. You say she can't walk at all ? If so, she may never gain much movement...maybe enough to move forward on her own just a bit. I agree that the vet visit stressed her, but hopefully the calcium will help her. Try coating the crickets with the calcium . And rather than broccoli, try either turnip, mustard, collard or dandelion greens, some baby food squash via syringe or on top of her other food items. You might try some unsweetened fruit juice to spark her appetite or a few blueberries .The 2 things she needs are calcium and proper uvb. The coil bulbs don't put out as much uvb as the long tube, and even with the long tubes the best ones are the Reptisin 10.0 or the Arcadia 12%. You might have to order those from a company like Dr. Foster + Smith. For now, take her out in the sun, but not in a glass tank unless it's about 65F because the tank will greatly magnify the heat. So if it's warm , just sit with her on your lap or if it's super hot [ 85-90] just put her in the grass. Hopefully she'll start to improve a bit...poor girl needs someone to take care of her.

 

[Cerko]

Hi there....sorry to hear about your poor girl. You say she can't walk at all ? If so, she may never gain much movement...maybe enough to move forward on her own just a bit. I agree that the vet visit stressed her, but hopefully the calcium will help her. Try coating the crickets with the calcium . And rather than broccoli, try either turnip, mustard, collard or dandelion greens, some baby food squash via syringe or on top of her other food items. You might try some unsweetened fruit juice to spark her appetite or a few blueberries .The 2 things she needs are calcium and proper uvb. The coil bulbs don't put out as much uvb as the long tube, and even with the long tubes the best ones are the Reptisin 10.0 or the Arcadia 12%. You might have to order those from a company like Dr. Foster + Smith. For now, take her out in the sun, but not in a glass tank unless it's about 65F because the tank will greatly magnify the heat. So if it's warm , just sit with her on your lap or if it's super hot [ 85-90] just put her in the grass. Hopefully she'll start to improve a bit...poor girl needs someone to take care of her.

Thank you so much! I'll be ordering the reptisun 10.0 ASAP, I know the coil isn't the best option but I figure it's better than nothing. I picked up some squash baby food and she LOVED it! Actually pushed herself up to lick it which she hasn't been able to do before - yay! I took the chance to coat some crickets and greens in it and she ate those, too - another yay! Thank you for the suggestion, it worked very well

 

[AHBD]

That's really nice to hear, glad that her appetite is back. Be sure to mix calcium in with it, too. Is it warm enough to sit in the sun at all ? And if you order the Reptisun 10.0 make sure it's the long tube and that you get the right fixture. The bulb comes in a t8 and a t5.....the t5 is stronger and the fixture is different that the t8. If you already ordered the other one, it's fine though. Once you get it, post here + ask how best to set it up.

 

[diamc]

Welcome to the forum. So sorry to hear your beardie is going through so much. Thanks so much for taking her in & trying to help her out.

Great to hear that she enjoyed the squash so much and even ate some crickets & greens too. Sounds like she is trying so hard.

Since she has been so neglected, she may be dehydrated too. Would be a good idea to start offering her drinks of water with a plastic medicine dropper or needleless syringe, put drops on her nose for her to lick off. Continue to do it each time until she doesn't want to drink anymore. VERY important to keep her well hydrated. Once she is settled, you could give her a warm bath being sure to support her if she isn't strong enough to hold herself up. She may even put her head down to drink but make sure she doesn't drink too much too fast and that she swallows it each time.

Replacing the UVB with one of the bulbs that AHBD mentioned would really help her out, great that you will be ordering her one very soon.

It also is important to get accurate temp readings and the round gauge (dial) thermometers can be off 20 degrees or more. The most important temp to know is the basking SURFACE temp and the only 2 ways to get that reading is with either a temperature gun or digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end.

Please be sure to keep us updated on her. Hope she continues to improve daily. Must have been so great seeing her enjoying the food like that.

 

[Cerko]

Welcome to the forum. So sorry to hear your beardie is going through so much. Thanks so much for taking her in & trying to help her out.

Great to hear that she enjoyed the squash so much and even ate some crickets & greens too. Sounds like she is trying so hard.

Since she has been so neglected, she may be dehydrated too. Would be a good idea to start offering her drinks of water with a plastic medicine dropper or needleless syringe, put drops on her nose for her to lick off. Continue to do it each time until she doesn't want to drink anymore. VERY important to keep her well hydrated. Once she is settled, you could give her a warm bath being sure to support her if she isn't strong enough to hold herself up. She may even put her head down to drink but make sure she doesn't drink too much too fast and that she swallows it each time.

Replacing the UVB with one of the bulbs that AHBD mentioned would really help her out, great that you will be ordering her one very soon.

It also is important to get accurate temp readings and the round gauge (dial) thermometers can be off 20 degrees or more. The most important temp to know is the basking SURFACE temp and the only 2 ways to get that reading is with either a temperature gun or digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end.

Please be sure to keep us updated on her. Hope she continues to improve daily. Must have been so great seeing her enjoying the food like that.

Thank you to everyone for the help! I appreciate it immensely The vet told me to stop using the calcium supplement while she's on the liquid calcium, as it's as much as she needs daily. I'm hoping for warm weather but can't seem to get it Any sunny days are too windy to bring her out... maybe this week!

She's been doing well! She drinks from a shallow water dish I have in her tank (which I'm very happy for - I know some don't understand that they can drink from it, but she hops in and laps it up) and was nice and active today! Even pushed herself up and scooted over for baby food! I'm a bit concerned that she's going to stop taking crickets and only want the baby food soon, though... today I coated some crickets with it but she wanted nothing to do with them - she gets closes her eyes when she doesn't want food, then they pop back open for baby food. Sassy! Better than not eating, though, so I can't complain much. I do know that she should be consuming more bugs than veggies right now, but mostly want to be sure she has something in her belly.