Is he deformed?

[Parkersfinest]

Hi just after some advice my dragon Larry seems to have a dent in his back just behind his head and always seems flat.. Is this normal? Thanks

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Can you post a picture of the dent you are referring to? Could he have hurt himself?

Tracie

 

[Parkersfinest]

.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Parker....can you get a picture from the side ? And is his tail a bit crooked ? It looks like he has MBD [ metabolic bone disease ] that has caused some disfigurement. Besides that, he appears to be a dwarf....very short body, almost no neck. Being a dwarf does not necessarily make him unhealthy, but the MBD is a problem with bone development. What type of UVB do you use ? [ be specific about exact brand ] Do you use calcium powder ? You might try getting him in the sun every day for 30 -40 minutes to help his bones, but keep a close eye on him....never put him out in a glass tank, maybe just sit with him in the grass.

 

[Parkersfinest]

Hi, had some advice to post some more pics of my boy.. What's up with him? Just don't look right

 

[CooperDragon]

He looks to have a bit of MBD. What are you using for UVB lighting? Can you give a rundown of his current diet and supplements?

 

[Parkersfinest]

Going to sound really stupid now,, it's a uv tube not sure what it is. Right I'll start from the beginning, brought him from the pet shop just over a year ago he was tiny and had the dink in his tail then,he's shredded a few times but latly noticed the mad dent in his back and he always seems flat!!!
Anyway he's never seemed to eat much even though we put food in he has morio worms( his fav) crickets , dandelions, carrots, and lettuce that's it no supplements, we also bath him regularly
Hope this help thanks

 

[CooperDragon]

He'll need some supplements for a protein diet of morios and crickets. They should be dusted with calcium powder once a day 5/7 days and dusted with vitamin supplement 2/7 days of the week. Since he has some MBD from what I can tell, you may want to look into using liquid calcium supplement. There are specifics on the dosages that someone else will need to help me with, but it may be helpful for MBD. Can you post a photo of the UVB bulb? They usually have a logo on them to help identify. Has it been replaced within the last 6 months? The combination of proper UVB exposure and proper calcium in the diet is important for all dragons, but especially those with MBD, so special care should be taken in those areas for him as much as possible.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. I would make sure that is basking spot is not to high as having mbd is bones are not as strong as they should be and can break easily.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Parker...I got your p.m. That is pretty severe MBD actually, and all the advice given was excellent. MBD affects every beardie differently....he does have some deformity in his back, and although his tail is twisted it's better that than his back. From the pics it doesn't seem to have affected his arms or jaw, so that's good, too. Some beardies develop crippled arms and move by doing an " army crawl" and or lose their ability to move their back legs and develop severe jaw problems.

How is his mobility ? As was mentioned, be sure he has a good UVB bulb and calcium [ liquid would be best ] and get him out in the sun. Be careful he doesn't fall or get dropped, he can fracture bones more easily than healthy dragons, and keep his basking spot low. You might want to ask one of the mods. to merge this with your other thread about his dented back. He also looks like a dwarf. He's really cute, I hope he does reasonably well for you.

 

[KarenInCA]

Parker-if you currently feed him inside his enclosure, I would change out the loose substrate to tile so he can see the crickets easier, being that he has trouble eating currently. Or feed him in a large plastic tub outside of his enclosure. That kind of loose substrate, the worms and crickets can burrow down into easily.

Do you feed him greens of any kind? He should be eating some greens, such as dandelion greens, turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens which you should be able to find in your local grocery store.

Lastly, if you are in an area that gets sunshine this time of year, putting him outside and sitting with him, is another good way to get UVB, in addition to basking in his enclosure.

 

[Parkersfinest]

Thanks for all the replies so I'm going to get a new uv lamp (any recommendations) and some calcium powder then see how we go from there

 

[Brezzy99]

Most of us use the repti-sun 10.0 tube, not the coil one. You can get the light fixture from Walmart, it's an under the counter fixture. It can be mounted with command hooks or heavy duty Velcro, so it can be mounted inside the tank.

Your guy is super cute!

-Sabrina

 

[Drache613]

Merged by Moderator

 

[diamc]

Oh poor thing, hope a new UVB & the supplements will really help him out as well as some sunshine.

Looks like his basking spot is right under the flood light, correct? If so, is there a way that you can move the UVB over closer to the basking light so he can get the benefit of both bulbs at the same time? Also, when using a fluorescent tube, your beardie should be able to get within 6 to 8" of the UVB light so it looks like you will need to make an adjustment with the basking area once you move the UVB over.

Are you using another thermometer besides the round gauge (dial) that is stuck to the wall of the vivarium?