MBD? Can't be. Any suggestions?

[melissadiane7]

I have a Bearded Dragon who is about 1 year & 4 months old. She appears to have MBD to me. She has always been slow in growth. Her mouth is open all the time with a little bit of her tongue out. Her tail is starting to get crooked. I have the Repti-sun 10 bulb & it is not 6 months old yet. I do change the bulb faithfully every 6 months. Every day I feed her & my male Beardie dusted crickets with RepCal w/ D3. & a small amount of Rep Cal Herptivite multi vits. I do the exact thing for each of my dragons. They are in separate cages. He is thriving & doing very well but she isn't. She does eat very well for me. I give them a small salad every day (endive, squash, on occassion sliced carrots, peaches, grapes, strawberries, & apricots). They each get two Superworms daily & a bunch of dusted crickets.

It just doesn't make sense to me that she would have this. Any idea's or suggestions? Should I start the liquid calcium? She weighs 307g.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Buggsy]

How close an she get to the bulb?

Also can she see the male at all?
HAve you had her tested for parasites to explain the lack of appitite??

Some bulbs do need changing just before 6 months so i think the best thing to do is get a new reptiSUN 10 tube (not coil- you didnt mention if it was a coil or tube you are using) and make sure she can get 6-8" from it.

 

[Toyguy]

I believe you can also give too much calcium. Is dusting with calcium and vitamins daily too much for an adult, I wonder?

 

[melissadiane7]

She is within 6 to 8" of the bulb. She does have a good appetite. The bulb is 4 month old. It's not a coil & it's 24" long. The length of the cage is 34". The one thing she does is hide in a corner of her cage quite often. I've removed the paper towels & her hammack so she does not hide under them. But even with her hiding she is getting her calcium through rep cal (doesn't expire until 2011) so that should help as well. I have not had her tested for a parasite.

She can not see the other Beardie. Their cages have always been on top of each other since she has been with us a year ago. I am not sure if she has too much calcium.

I am thinking I will need to take her to the vet but alot of my vets around here aren't up on reptiles :study: so usually I can find more info on the forum

 

[Buggsy]

what temps are you getting, and what are you using to take them? If shes hiding out alot it could either mean shes too hot or the UVB needs changing. I know this sounds condacending, but just check the writing on the bulb to make sure its a reptiSUN. A member bought one after a few months started seeing some issues and it was because the bulb in the box was not the reptiSUN.

 

[curlygirl467]

i think my beardie has mbd too how kinked is the tail

 

[melissadiane7]

Very good point about the bulb not being the reptisun. I just checked it & it does say, "zoo med Reptisun 10". Tonight I came home & she was just laying under her log cave with her tongue sticking out. I picked her up & put her on the sofa. At that point, it dawned on me that she may be dehydrated. Her skin would not go back to normal. So I decided to soak her in some warm water for about 30 minutes. She didn't mind that one bit. Then I gave her cage a good cleaning. Even after her bath she just layed on the sofa. Eventually she started to walk around & she looked good (good strength) in her legs.

I do believe the bath was a good idea. I did take some pictures. I will try & post them in a few minutes.

 

[melissadiane7]

- Kinked tail

- Tongue out

- This was taken about a month ago

 

[melissadiane7]

- Their home

- Here she is all puffed up - Her foot is fine. That was just the position she left it in when I approached with the camera.

- Zoey - my big boy.

- Zoey's tail.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sometimes they can have problems absorbing calcium, or sometimes it is just a nutrient or vitamin imbalance.
Do you give calcium powder daily, & vitamin powder daily? Which brand do you use?
Are the feeders heavily powdered or lightly powdered? Do you supplement your male the same way but he doesn't have any issues?
Does she seem to have any strength issues when she walks, or climbs?
She appears healthy otherwise, just based on looking at the pictures though.
The bulb should still be good for a couple of more months unless for some reason you got a bad one possibly that is not or has not been emitting much UVB.
The UVB tube is it installed directly on the back of the tank or directly overhead?

Tracie

 

[melissadiane7]

I give both dragons the same. I dust the crickets everyday with repcal w/ d3 & repcal multi vitamins (a smaller amount of this). I would say, sometimes heavily powdered & lightly powdered) The Reptisun is installed directly overhead. When she walks she has good strength in her legs. She's not shakey.

I have a 40 watt house bulb in her tank. Perhap the temps are too high but they are the same for both dragons. I don't see how I can keep the one side cool & the other over 100 degrees. The tank is about 34 or 36" long & about 20" high.

I will be making her a vet appointment today but unfortunately, he most likely won't know any more than I do but I will try.

 

[melissadiane7]

Today Ruby had her vet visit. Turns out it is not MBD She does have tonsilities. She has a yellow discoloration in her mouth & her glands are swollen. The kink in her tail came from trauma of some sort. I have no idea what though. The vet did an xray & it is not MBD.

She is on an antibiotic twice a day & a pain medication once a day.

All is well

This vet was the first one who I have found who knew what she was doing with a reptile.

 

[lizard43]

i am happy to hear that everything turned out alright, it sucks about the tonsillitis but it could have been worse. my girl has just recently started to sit with her mouth open too and that is how i came across your post. i want to get her to a vet because i just rescued her and i dont think she was taken proper care of prior. i did want to tell you however, that your girl is BEAUTIFUL!!! where did you get her? after i move Bindi into her larger enclosure, i wanted to get a juvenile boy for the old one and would love a beardie with markings like yours

 

[melissadiane7]

Thanks. I received her from Tamara. Here is her web site. http://www.rainbowbeardeddragons.com/

I was like you in that I was looking for a second one & I wanted her to be different. Tamara has the most beautiful dragons at a reasonable price that I had found when I was searching for Ruby. I was leary having to have her shipped but Tamara assurred me that she packages them very well & that when they are covered up they go to sleep anyway. Ruby arrived in great condition.

I wish you the best of luck with your dragon. It's very unfortunate when they are mistreated. I am glad you rescued him/her. Let me know how you make out.