Please help, sick & old adult male

[saru]

I've had Slick for almost 5 years now (We got him Christmas 2010 and he was estimated to be 3 years old back then)
He's never had any issues with fruits and veggies, like at all. Recently, well in January, we introduced superworms to him (I'd read that they're good for helping the lizard gain weight; he'd gotten very thin at that time because my mom hadn't been buying his food very much at all.
After we introduced the superworms, he stopped eating vegetables completely and over the course of 6 months stopped eating crickets as well. When I found out why he stopped eating them, I stopped getting him the worms, but he still refused the food I offered him, even after a week of not being offered the worms.
So now I'm only feeding him worms and making him eat baby kale. (Usually I just wait until he goes for a worm then put a piece of kale where the worm is, but he stopped falling for it and I started sticking the kale in his mouth for him, which I feel really bad about)
He hasn't gained any weight since June, and I know he's extremely underweight because he looks nothing like the heathly beardy pics I've seen.

Recently, early June I think, he started swallowing air. I didn't think much of it at first because I thought he was constipated or something, gave him baths every other day, and even after he 'went' he kept swallowing air.
Starting a couple weeks ago, he's been puffing up and pushing his beard out, and it looks like he's in pain when doing it. Full onyx-colored beard and all.
And today I noticed his hind legs twitching, which was when I realized he might have Metabolic Bone Disease.
I've read about it before, but never thought about it.
I should have.
When we got him, he had a twisted left arm, and the people we got him from claimed that it was caused by a vitamin deficiency he got when he was a baby, from his first owners not giving him a UVB light or smth.
Also, I recently (two weeks ago) noticed he wasn't using his left lung to breathe, which freaked me out.
I told my dad, and he said we could take him to my uncle (he's a very good chiropractor. We did last Friday, he used a tool thing to adjust the joints in his neck, and he started breathing with that lung a few hours later. He's still using it, just not as much as the other one.
The bad lung is on the same side as his gimpy leg btw
I don't know what's going on, and it's killing me just sitting here, but we can't afford a vet right now.

Edit;;
His poo looks rotten now, too.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

So sorry your boy isn't doing well right now. You estimate him around 8 or a little older then?
Can you review your tank setup with us, just so we can be sure everything is good for him there?
What type & brand of UVB light do you use is it a compact/coil light or a long tube bulb type?
Do you know what the temperatures are for him & what type of thermometer do you use?
How often are you giving calcium? Being an older adult, he still does need calcium, at least 3 times per week.
Can he climb/walk normally also or does he have trouble with walking?
Is he coughing or wheezing or just blowing his beard out? He could be getting a respiratory infection but not sure. Could he be getting ready to shed his beard area?

Tracie

 

[saru]

Hello,

So sorry your boy isn't doing well right now. You estimate him around 8 or a little older then?
Can you review your tank setup with us, just so we can be sure everything is good for him there?
What type & brand of UVB light do you use is it a compact/coil light or a long tube bulb type?
Do you know what the temperatures are for him & what type of thermometer do you use?
How often are you giving calcium? Being an older adult, he still does need calcium, at least 3 times per week.
Can he climb/walk normally also or does he have trouble with walking?
Is he coughing or wheezing or just blowing his beard out? He could be getting a respiratory infection but not sure. Could he be getting ready to shed his beard area?

Tracie

Well up until after I posted this my parents didn't know he needed at least a 40 gallon tank so he has a 25 or something right now. I'd have told them, but I thought they knew and were going to get him a new one at Christmas. Now we're getting him one within a month, probably this weekend.
He has one of those Reptile grass mat things, some pebbles, and a log about six inches long and four inches tall with a hollow inside (it's semicircle shaped)
His log is on the cool side of his tank, which is around 85 during the day and 75 at night, and the pebbles are on the warm side, which right now hasn't getting very hot for some reason, only 95 degrees. I use a Zilla thermometer, this one: http://ep.yimg.com/ay/entirelypets/r-zilla-humidity-temperature-gauge-20.jpg
I dust his worms with calcium powder sometimes, not three times a week, more like once a week.
He wheezes sometimes, but hasn't been coughing. He walks as normally as he can with his gimp arm. He actually likes to run around outside and on tile, it's cool that he's learned how to walk with it. I can upload pics sometime this week of him.
Also, he doesn't shed very much, but he did shed his entire head and back/belly area over the summer.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing tonight?
So he does not have any UVB source, correct?
If not, he absolutely needs one. We recommend either the Reptisun 10 tube bulb or the Arcadia D3 12% tube as they are both very good bulbs. Your basking light, is it a bright white light, too?
The thermometer that you use is likely off by a good number of degrees. Those types have a coil type of mechanism & usually don't register real high temperatures. You will need to try & get either a digital probe type or a temp gun for better accuracy on measuring the temperatures. The temperatures are crucial to their health.
He needs a basking spot/temperature or around 95-105 for an adult with a cooler end of around 78-82.
He will still need calcium 3 or so times per week, at his age. Though he wont be able to absorb it properly without UVB exposure to help with absorption.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[saru]

Hello,

How is he doing tonight?
So he does not have any UVB source, correct?
If not, he absolutely needs one. We recommend either the Reptisun 10 tube bulb or the Arcadia D3 12% tube as they are both very good bulbs. Your basking light, is it a bright white light, too?
The thermometer that you use is likely off by a good number of degrees. Those types have a coil type of mechanism & usually don't register real high temperatures. You will need to try & get either a digital probe type or a temp gun for better accuracy on measuring the temperatures. The temperatures are crucial to their health.
He needs a basking spot/temperature or around 95-105 for an adult with a cooler end of around 78-82.
He will still need calcium 3 or so times per week, at his age. Though he wont be able to absorb it properly without UVB exposure to help with absorption.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

He's a little better now, not twitching so much. I have a florescent lightbulb; I don't know if it's UVB or not, I lost/threw away the box it came in. His basking light is a colorless ceramic one that we just leave on 24/7, is that bad? I'll be sure to feed him calcium more often now, thanks.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

If you are unsure whether or not it is a UVB, you can check the base of each end of the tube bulb. If it is a UVB, it should have the brand stamped on the bulb. If it isn't a UVB then it will not have anything stamped, or may just say daytime bulb, etc.
The ceramic heat emitter is ok for nighttime heating & sometimes during the day if you need extra heating. He does however, need a nice bright white light for heating/basking during the daytime.
Do you know what the temperatures are? He needs a basking spot of around 95-105F on one end where he basks with a cooler end of around 78-82. The temperatures are absolutely essential for proper health.
Have you gotten another thermometer yet?
I am glad he is not twitching right now. Please let us know whether or not the tube bulb is a UVB or not.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[saru]

Hello,

If you are unsure whether or not it is a UVB, you can check the base of each end of the tube bulb. If it is a UVB, it should have the brand stamped on the bulb. If it isn't a UVB then it will not have anything stamped, or may just say daytime bulb, etc.
The ceramic heat emitter is ok for nighttime heating & sometimes during the day if you need extra heating. He does however, need a nice bright white light for heating/basking during the daytime.
Do you know what the temperatures are? He needs a basking spot of around 95-105F on one end where he basks with a cooler end of around 78-82. The temperatures are absolutely essential for proper health.
Have you gotten another thermometer yet?
I am glad he is not twitching right now. Please let us know whether or not the tube bulb is a UVB or not.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

I'll check it when I get home later.
I won't be able to get him a new thermometer until Friday at the earliest, which is when we're supposedly taking him to the vet (although now that he isn't twitching, my dad says he's fine).
The thermometer I have now says it's around 95 in the basking area, but you said the other day that it's inaccurate, so I think it's actually around 100-105. The cooler end was 80 or so yesterday evening.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Just because he has stopped twitching doesn't mean that he is automatically cured. Reptiles are experts at hiding their illnesses. I hope you are able to find out the brand on the bulb for us.
Let us know what you are able to find out.
I hope you can find a better thermometer also. Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[saru]

Hello,

Just because he has stopped twitching doesn't mean that he is automatically cured. Reptiles are experts at hiding their illnesses. I hope you are able to find out the brand on the bulb for us.
Let us know what you are able to find out.
I hope you can find a better thermometer also. Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

I found out that he has MBD because since my dad wouldn't take him to the vet, I did a lot of extensive research on it and found a picture of a bearded dragon who looks exactly like him (Except a bit thinner and smaller in length)
My dad still thinks that nothing's wrong with him, but I'm pressing harder now and I'll keep doing that until he agrees to take him to the vet.
At this point, since he's so old, I'm not sure if it'd be better just to put him down.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh don't put him down, if he is not too bad it can be improved by the proper UVB lighting & supplementation. Did you find out if you had a UVB light or not? That alone would make a tremendous difference.
Are you considering liquid calcium for him, that would help out also. Don't give up on him
he could pull through for you.

Tracie

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree with Tracie. Your guy is sick and needs some changes and improvements as quickly as possible but it's not a lost cause. Can you post some photos of him so we can get an idea of his overall condition? If it comes down to it, rather than euthanization, would you consider adoption? Where are you located? These guys can be really tough and bounce back from a lot more than most people think.

 

[saru]

Hello,

Oh don't put him down, if he is not too bad it can be improved by the proper UVB lighting & supplementation. Did you find out if you had a UVB light or not? That alone would make a tremendous difference.
Are you considering liquid calcium for him, that would help out also. Don't give up on him
he could pull through for you.

Tracie

It's a UVA & UVB at the same time, dunno if that counts. It's a weird looking spiral light bulb, we used to have a long thin one, but something happened to the lamp part.
I offered him superworms with powdered calcium this morning, but he wouldn't even look at them. Maybe he's just not hungry though, I heard that some of them only eat every other day on average.
He's actually gained a bit of weight since I posted this thread. Just a bit, but it's enough to be noticeable. I might have a picture on my facebook that I can post here, but 'm not sure if any are full-body.

Sorry they're so big, I don't know BBC very well.
I might consider adoption if we can't afford to give him the medicine he needs. I live in the Houston, Texas area.

 

[CooperDragon]

He does look to be a decent weight but I do see signs of MBD in his jaw and his left hand (assuming it stays curled a bit like in the photo). If you're in Houston the weather should still be nice for a while. He would benefit from natural sunlight so if you can take him outside for a while and let him sit on your lap and enjoy some sunlight that would be a great idea. The more time the better but even half an hour per day would probably help.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there...I agree with Cooper that taking him out in the sun may do him a lot of good. [ Not in a glass tank, it would bake him ! ] Since he can't get away from you, just sit in the grass with him or on your lap. And his weight does look very acceptable, nice thick tail and back legs.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

A spiral type of bulb wont give off both UVB & UVA or if it does it wont be nearly enough. I highly highly recommend getting an acceptable UVB light, or else he wont make it. His health is still seemingly good & his body condition looks nice right now, but if he goes much longer without UVB he will greatly decline. They need very specific lighting in order to be able to absorb their calcium & vitamins as well as promote a healthy appetite. That is a primary reason he doesn't have much of an appetite also.
Please consider getting one of the mentioned UVB lights we have recommended. Being an older, family pet, he deserves it.
I agree, if you can get him outside in the sun daily, for at least 1 hour, that would greatly help out right now.

Tracie