Lump on his back!

[SpikeHazel]

My beardie has been growing a lump on his lower back and it is crooked. He walks funny too. He drags his legs sometimes but not always. He eats crickets regularly and veggies too. He drinks alot of water, too.
I have been giving him calcium all over everything! I make sure he eats at least one little thing a day. He doesn't poop but once a week or so. Sometimes longer than that!
Help!

 

[Mama2mc]

Mbd?
What kind of lights are you using?

 

[Beardednoob]

Can you give pictures and enclosure set-up details?

 

[SpikeHazel]

We have been using the Zilla lightbulbs from the pet store. It says on the box they are UV bulbs.
I have pictures I will send in just a minute. Thanks

 

[Mama2mc]

What are the cage temps?

 

[SpikeHazel]

We keep his temp at 95-96 degrees during the day and at night its probably 73-75 degrees. I cannot seem to get the photos to load to this site. I have them in my email. ???

 

[Mama2mc]

You'd have to upload them to photo bucket to post them. How old is your beardie?

 

[SpikeHazel]

 

[SpikeHazel]

My beardie is 1 year old this month. His name is Spikey.
Thanks, Shelly

 

[AHBD]

Hi Shelley...your poor boy has severe metabolic bone disease. Even though you use calcium powder, the type of bulbs that you have are not effective in producing UVB that he needs to absorb the calcium. Your basking temps. should be about 10 degrees higher , just on the hot side. The wood chips are kind of dangerous as a substrate, he could easily eat one and become impacted. But as for the hump, he is deformed from mbd....you need to get a Zoo med Reptisun 10.0 bulb and let him get within 8- 10 " of it, right alongside his basking bulb where the hot spot is. Sorry that your beardie is in such condition. He is cute though, and he's not real thin or anything. If it's not super hot outside, the sun is good for him as well. Just set him in the grass with you for 1/ 2 hour at a time or so if you can.

 

[SpikeHazel]

Hey thanks! Those pix are a few weeks old and I have changed his bedding to the calcium sand like stuff. I forgot the name of it. Will he ever recover from this mbd?

 

[AHBD]

He may be impacted as well, has he had trouble going to the bathroom, and how long has his back been that way ? I should have asked in my first reply. It may actually improve a little bit if it's partly from impaction and you can get him to go to the bathroom. Guess what, the calci sand causes impaction as well. He's best off on newspaper or shelf liner.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am sorry about your dragon. He does appear to have severe metabolic bone disease. While he can recover his health & begin to move around, etc, I don't think his bones will straighten much. He may have the hump on his back permanently as his bones have grown incorrectly.
As suggested, it is possible it could be an impaction since you mentioned that he does not go to the bathroom often. However, if he is hypocalcemic, then, that affects the ability of them going to the bathroom, also.
The Zilla T-50 bulb is a UVB light, yes. However, it is just plain garbage. The wavelength of the UVB produced is not proper & does not allow for the D3 synthesis to occur, meaning, he is not able to absorb his calcium or vitamins.
The best UVB you can purchase for him in the US is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb and you can get it from petmountain.com
Do not get a compact or coil light though. The tube bulb needs to be 6-8 (no further) inches from him, placed alongside a bright white basking light for him. It shouldn't have any plastic or screen in between him & the light & needs to be mounted directly overhead.
Perhaps you can get some liquid calcium for him, instead. Are you using powdered calcium? What brand do you use?

You can start doing some water therapy on him to help strengthen his muscles & joints again. If you have any time, try to take him out in the direct sun for a short stint, not letting him get overheated. He can still get UVB in the shade, also or on partly cloudy days.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[GeckoGarden]

Hey thanks! Those pix are a few weeks old and I have changed his bedding to the calcium sand like stuff. I forgot the name of it. Will he ever recover from this mbd?

Any lose substrate is bad for dragons, please move him on to paper towels, slate, tile, non adhesive shelf liner, any of those is much healthier for your dragon

 

[AHBD]

Poor little Spikey....it's sad that the pet stores sell many products that are useless and even potentially harmful for pets.To help him go to the bathroom more often, you can get a syringe and give him a few cc's or ml. of olive oli or mineral oil. Some people use canned pumpkin or baby food prunes. If he won't take the oil on his own, try mixing it with a little chicken or squash baby food. If you try any water therapy , be sure to never leave him unattended, and the water should be only a couple of inches deep. Just very short sessions at first to let him get used to it and see how he does.