Please help me with my little Armstrong!

[soonerfanbethanne]

I have had Armstrong for 7 months. I bought him from when he was a little baby from PetSmart (which I won't ever do again). I had read up on beardies and their needs, but after a few weeks it was obvious something wasn't right. Once or twice he fell off things in his viv--luckily I never had anything too high. I suspected his back legs were not working right. I maintained his temps correctly, gave him his calcium, and loved him to death. He seemed to be doing better. He ate well, drank well, loved to be held, etc. However, I noticed his back was deformed a bit as he grew. The vet said confirmed MBD, gave him a shot and some oral calcium to take for a week.

He continued to look more deformed and now he hasn't pooped in a couple of weeks. I bathe him, massage his belly, have tried mineral oil, applesauce.... After he hadn't pooped for a week, I stopped feeding crickets, but continued his salads. I was worried about impaction. I took him to the vet a couple of days ago and she says he doesn't feel impacted at all and to keep feeding him, but I don't see how. I walked into the vet crying, thinking that my baby was going to have to be put to sleep but she just said he needs more calcium. She said that he was a little underweight at 66 grams, so he needs more food. How can he not be impacted if he hasn't pooped in two weeks???

Please help me. I love my baby. I never dreamed I would want an animal to poop so badly! (hehe)
Thanks,
Beth

 

[twinmommy]

It would really help if you could go over your set -up. Brand /type of lights, size of viv, what and how much are you feeding, substrate, etc.
temps are really important, too. Basking spot, cool side, and hot side. And how are you measuring your temps?
66 grams us rather small for a 7 month old.
If you answer all the husbandry questions, I bet people here can help you.

 

[soonerfanbethanne]

I'm pretty sure it's too late. I think I'm losing him. My heart is breaking for my beardie.

Thanks anyways.

 

[RockHound]

Unfortunately the pet store beardies are sold way too young and don't get a good start in life in terms of care. Sometimes they simply do not have a chance due to pre-existing problems. Not necessarily anything you did wrong. You have a good UVB source, right? I think you should go over your setup with us regardless. Even if you lose him, we can make sure everything is right and ready for your next try at having a beardie baby. With beardies, it's always best to be prepared, because it's hard to fix problems once they occur.

Sounds like just pumping him with calcium isn't doing much good. He needs a UVB source for his body to make vitamin D3 so he can metabolize the calcium. Otherwise, it's useless. That's why we ask about husbandry first thing. There's usually some issue with husbandry that allows such problems to arise.