MBD?

[AliCooper]

Hey, I could use some advice about my bearded dragon. He’s 12 years old and has always been very healthy, but recently he’s been walking on his wrists a lot. When I looked this up I read that it could be Metabolic Bone Disease and that he could be missing some important vitamins. He eats a fresh salad (mixed veggies and fruit) every day with herptivite multivitamins as well as some fortified bearded dragon pellets. He’s stopped eating crickets completely since last month, and for the last year it’s been fairly rare that he’s eaten them (I offer him crickets regularly but he wouldn’t eat them most of the time, last month he just wouldn’t eat them at all). He has a UV light and heat lamp, and I make sure he drinks water regularly. Is there something else he’s missing? Is there anything I can do to help him? Could this have something to do with his age? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[CooperDragon]

At 12 years old (that's a great old age!) it's not likely MBD all of a sudden. It could be arthritis perhaps. How old is your UVB light? How far is it above his basking area? If he has proper UVB lighting and a good diet that should put him in good shape. You must be providing him with good care if he has had such a nice long life so far. Can you post some photos of him and his enclosure? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

 

[AliCooper]

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Here’s some pictures, hope I uploaded them right! He spends most of the day on the log near the lamps and usually evenings in the hammock at the other end of the tank. He gets at least 6+ hours of basking under his lamps, I keep them on for 12-15 hours a day. I also bring him out to get some sunlight whenever possible!

 

[CooperDragon]

That looks like a good setup. You might want to replace the sand but if he has been OK on it all this time it's not likely to cause much issue now. That looks like the ReptiSun T5 hood for UVB which is a good option too. He looks outwardly pretty healthy to me. Have his eyes always had that bulge to them or is that recent? Some of them just have bulgier eyes than others due to genetics and it's not necessarily a sign of a problem. It looks like his back is about to shed which is a good sign of health as well.

 

[AliCooper]

I just bought some new sand today! And he is mid-shed right now! His eyes have always been like that, although sometimes they do seem a bit more puffy than most days. Do you think that could be a concern?

 

[CooperDragon]

It's probably not a concern if they are always like that. Most likely genetic in that case.