clearlyjoyful
Hatchling Member
As some of you might be aware, I have a 5(ish)-year-old bearded dragon (named Itchy). He went to the vet in June... I think it was, and he was diagnosed with MBD. This was probably caused from the first 3-4 years of his life being without a proper UVB source. He has since had his bulb replaced and was doing much better.
Now, I'm starting to notice slight twitches in his right leg. I don't know for sure that it's MBD-related because about a month ago, he somehow managed to rip his entire toenail out leaving only the quick behind. I'm pretty sure it's healed up, but I thought it was worth mentioning, just in case it's possible it was some sort of nerve damage since I haven't noticed twitching elsewhere and it's not necessarily the type of twitching I've heard of being related to MBD.
Anyway, some background info:
He's 5ish years old and I've had him since he was a few months old. He's a Petsmart baby.
He's around 16" long and he's a male.
He's in a 40 gallon breeder, which I know is on the smaller end of the spectrum for beardies, but he's never had an issue with space (thus far). He's got placemats as a substrate right now (I couldn't find any non-holey shelf liner) but that's being replaced with tiles. He was on them before too, but they were natural stone which have holes in them and they were too small and I fear that's how he ripped his toenail out.
He's got a UVB fluorescent tube light (Reptisun 10.0) that's mounted inside the tank. It's not very old, perhaps going on a month and a half. He can get about 6" from it. He has a separate basking bulb - it's a Zilla 150w bulb. His basking temps are generally around 90 (but they've been higher today because I JUST replaced his bulb this morning and for some reason it's running really hot- I'm getting a lower wattage tomorrow). The cool side is around 80.
Temperatures are taken with a digital thermometer with a probe and the basking temps are taken on top of his half-log that he sits on.
He gets veggies in the morning at around 8:00 AM, and his meal lately (for the past 3 weeks or so) has been consistently escarole, carrots, and a grape cut up. He also gets his bugs in the evenings usually 10-15 crickets and 6 or 7 worms. The crickets and worms are gutloaded.
He gets vitamin supplements 1x per week (Rep-Cal Herptivite with Beta Carotene) and he's been getting all his crickets/worms dusted with calcium everyday (Repta-Calcium Dietary Supplement from Fluker's).
He has regular bowel movements, usually one in the mid-morning and one in the afternoon. They're normally kind of runny, but not excessively so. He has been tested for parasites and he has none. He gets bathed at least 1x a week, if not more. He does get misted but only when he's shedding.
I know that MBD can be caused by either having TOO much calcium or too little, and it was determined (by the vet) that he'd had too little before. Is it possible that he's getting too much calcium from having his crickets/worms dusted daily? Should I cut down to the recommended 2x a week? If you don't think that's the problem, any idea what else it could be? I'm at a loss, and I thought I was doing everything really well but now his twitching has me very concerned. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
Now, I'm starting to notice slight twitches in his right leg. I don't know for sure that it's MBD-related because about a month ago, he somehow managed to rip his entire toenail out leaving only the quick behind. I'm pretty sure it's healed up, but I thought it was worth mentioning, just in case it's possible it was some sort of nerve damage since I haven't noticed twitching elsewhere and it's not necessarily the type of twitching I've heard of being related to MBD.
Anyway, some background info:
He's 5ish years old and I've had him since he was a few months old. He's a Petsmart baby.
He's around 16" long and he's a male.
He's in a 40 gallon breeder, which I know is on the smaller end of the spectrum for beardies, but he's never had an issue with space (thus far). He's got placemats as a substrate right now (I couldn't find any non-holey shelf liner) but that's being replaced with tiles. He was on them before too, but they were natural stone which have holes in them and they were too small and I fear that's how he ripped his toenail out.
He's got a UVB fluorescent tube light (Reptisun 10.0) that's mounted inside the tank. It's not very old, perhaps going on a month and a half. He can get about 6" from it. He has a separate basking bulb - it's a Zilla 150w bulb. His basking temps are generally around 90 (but they've been higher today because I JUST replaced his bulb this morning and for some reason it's running really hot- I'm getting a lower wattage tomorrow). The cool side is around 80.
Temperatures are taken with a digital thermometer with a probe and the basking temps are taken on top of his half-log that he sits on.
He gets veggies in the morning at around 8:00 AM, and his meal lately (for the past 3 weeks or so) has been consistently escarole, carrots, and a grape cut up. He also gets his bugs in the evenings usually 10-15 crickets and 6 or 7 worms. The crickets and worms are gutloaded.
He gets vitamin supplements 1x per week (Rep-Cal Herptivite with Beta Carotene) and he's been getting all his crickets/worms dusted with calcium everyday (Repta-Calcium Dietary Supplement from Fluker's).
He has regular bowel movements, usually one in the mid-morning and one in the afternoon. They're normally kind of runny, but not excessively so. He has been tested for parasites and he has none. He gets bathed at least 1x a week, if not more. He does get misted but only when he's shedding.
I know that MBD can be caused by either having TOO much calcium or too little, and it was determined (by the vet) that he'd had too little before. Is it possible that he's getting too much calcium from having his crickets/worms dusted daily? Should I cut down to the recommended 2x a week? If you don't think that's the problem, any idea what else it could be? I'm at a loss, and I thought I was doing everything really well but now his twitching has me very concerned. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
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