i think my male 1 year old beardie has MBD?

[chasndave]

we have had valentino almost a year. he was bought at a pet store and is only 10 1/2 in long over the last few months we noticed he hasnt grown his spine is twisted and so is his tail. i have all the right lighting and calcium I can not afford a vet bill right now is there any advice anyone can give me that could reverse this I really believe he has this disorder and he may pass I will be devastated. please help also he is in with our female whom we have had since oct she is 8 months old and almost 2feet long is MBD contagious and should i pout my male in a different enviroment? thank you for any help anyone can provide.

 

[Jenna8359]

MBD is not contagious, it is a disease caused by calcium deficiency. Can you post a picture of your dragon? What kind of calcium and what kind of UVB bulb are you using? Signs if MBD are leg twitches, twisted looking bones, and head shakes. Is your beardie experiencing any of these things?

 

[Jenna8359]

MBD cannot be cured, you can only stop the disease from progressing and getting worse. POsting a picture would be the best thing so we can help you determine if that is what is wrong with him.

 

[SamusTheDragon]

Hey there,

Yes, these are symptoms of MBD but without a picture one cannot be sure. Also, metabolic bone disease can't be completely reversed, but using a proper UVB such as The Reptisun 10.0 tube, which is really the only uvb source that provides sufficient rays because the arcadia 12% I believe (which is sold in the UK) and dusting insects regularly with Calcium with D3 is essential to keeping a dragon healthy. You can halt the process of MBD by doing these things, but not really reverse it. MBD is not contagious HOWEVER if you are planning to house two beardies together that is a bad situation in itself. Beardies usually do not get along, they are very territorial, and it only takes one instance for a dragon to lose a leg, tail, or even it's life :/ so it's highly UNrecommended that you house two dragons together. Hope you can get some pictures up of Valentino

 

[chasndave]

hi everyone i would post a pic of valentino but i am new to this and cant seem to figure out how to post his pic any advice or help wuld be greatly appreciated. and our beardies have been together for months without any issues territorialy they really get along in fact my female sadie likes to snuggle with my male its really cute.

 

[Gail]

upload your pics to photobucket.com then copy/Paste the IMG code into your post here. Dragons don't snuggle, that is a display of dominance not friendship.
We really need to know what brand of UVB light you have and what kind of bulb it is and also how old it is. Almost ever case of MBD is caused by bad UVB and lack of proper calcium.

 

[chasndave]

ok the uvb tube is a 10 i use flukners calcium with vit d3 and i do believe i just figured out how to post his pic im going to give it a shot. thanks for the help everyone this site is great.

 

[chasndave]

[imhttp://s1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj564/chasndave/g][/img] ok not sure this is going to work but i try

 

[chasndave]

i also want to mention he has a bump on his back leading to his tail. I dont want anyone to think im doing something cruel by putting them in the same enclosure they are male and female and they have not fought or tried to bite no bad things have happened they are in a huge 50 gallon tetarium but we have several enclosures as we plan to have many reptiles mostly beardies cause i absolutely love them.

 

[Gail]

Yeah, thats MBD and is fairly bad. The bumps and twists won't go away but you can stop it from getting worse. I'm gonna have to bug you about the UVB some more. Is there a name on it like retiglo, reptisun or zilla? Unfortunately many UVB bulbs are junk, also how old is it? Even if it produces light, they stop making UVB in about 6 months.
The one you need is this http://www.petmountain.com/product/fluorescent-bulbs/11442-504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10-0-uvb-bulb.html

You also need to make sure there is nothing like glass or plastic between the bulb and dragon and that he can get at about 8" away from the bare bulb.
Since you have multiple tanks, you really do need to separate them. If your male was healthy, you would probably either have fighting dragons or a pregnant female. Not to mention that a 50 gallon is barely big enough for one dragon, let alone two.

 

[dragonlover3]

hi everyone i would post a pic of valentino but i am new to this and cant seem to figure out how to post his pic any advice or help wuld be greatly appreciated. and our beardies have been together for months without any issues territorialy they really get along in fact my female sadie likes to snuggle with my male its really cute.

Please read the following link. It will tell you all the reasons to separate your dragons as soon as possible, complete with graphic photos. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=154908
Bearded Dragons are territorial and solitary, don't want or need companionship and need separate housing to thrive. It's really cute and adorable but they are not snuggling! It's dominance behavior. One will always dominate the other, eat most or all of the food, lay on top of the other to show the other domination, get the best basking spot, etc. One will become intimidated, can have loss of appetite and be lethargic and generally do poor. They most assuredly will attack each other at some point causing bites, nips, limb and/or tail amputations, large wounds and possibly death. You have been fortunate they haven't attacked each other so far. There are many on here with multiple dragons each in their own enclosures. I have 4 dragons and 4 enclosures. Yes all the equipment, tanks, tops, lights, fixtures, 4 Reptisun 10.0 tubes, 4 probe thermometers, vet visits, meds, supplements and everything else for 4 dragons adds up the $$$$ but it was my choice to have 4 dragons, it's my responsibility to them to take as best care of them as I can and to house them safely. Of course the decision to separate or co-habitate is yours but at least you will be well informed of the risk you take. .....no judgement!.....just wanted you to know!
I hope you can get the correct UVB light, it will help your little guy in multiple ways. I haven't seen a pic of him yet but from your description you might want to remove the high climbs and lower the heat light so he doesn't have to try to climb to bask, he may be uncomfortable due to the disease and a fall for him could cause a fracture. Also, a nice soft blankie to rest on in his basking spot might provide some comfort. Here is a link to a rescue thread of a sweet little guy Papa Smurf with advanced MBD, his rescue human ShannyBeard is saving and rehabbing him. I'm sure there is some excellent info there to help you with your sweet little guy. viewtopic.php?f=49&t=162368.
All Good Wishes to You and Your Beardies
Amanda

 

[chasndave]

thank you all so much for your advice we have now sepparated our dragons and i learned alot thanks to all of you the uvb bul is a exo-terra 10 and is only 2 months old should i replace it im going on the web sites that some of you provided. I really hope i can save valentino he is very precious to me as all of my pets are. I just want to make sure he is not suffering in pain i guess im going to bring him to the vet i found a highly recommended reptile vet and he is willing to let me make payments so in everyones opinion is this the best choice or is there something else i can do to help my poor lil guy hes looking very thin and eating very little. I usually have him out withme snuggled in a blankey he really likes that. i just dont want to lose him thanks again all

 

[ShannyBeard]

Hi. I recently took in a rescue beardie with severe MBD. He also has the twisted spine (it is only slightly twisted) and the kinked and lumpy tail. Please read my thread about Papa Smurf. I asked for advice and I got a lot of advice on here and from other people. I posted daily for a while with everything I was doing for him. Since he has stabilized some I haven't been posting daily.

Here is Papa Smurf's thread: http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=162368

This will give you an idea of what it will take to get your dragon healthy. His spine isn't going to straighten out and neither is his tail, but at least you will know what you are getting in to. To do right by Valentino, you will now need to call yourself a Lizard Nurse. WARNING it is a lot of work. I spend over 2 hours on Papa every day and I keep a journal and give him everything he needs in a specific order and with very specific dosing. I'm just telling you this very HONESTLY just so you know.

I did NOT know what I was getting into when I rescued this guy. My entire daily routine has changed. I can't go out after work and have to come straight home every single day to care for him. Everything I do for him is for the specific purpose of giving him every chance to try and recover the best he can.

GOOD LUCK and if you need any advice please ask me. I am not an expert but I have applied myself 100% to try and learn and I'll gladly share any knowledge with you.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Okay I just remembered I had a thread begging for help with him that I started before Papa's thread. Here it is: http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=162237

I did get a lot of advice here and I eventually started Papa's own thread and more advice came over there.

 

[chasndave]

thank you shannybeard i did look at your info with papa smurf another member actually sent it to me and it was so helpful valentino is very happy in his soft enclosure by him self. I have been going by what you did just started today i do have one question where he has MBD will he grow cause he has been 10 in for a long time now i really hope im doing the right thing i would hate to find out he is suffering i love him so much well any other advice please let me know everyone this site is fantastic and im so glad someone told me about it...