poss mbd

[sidneysix]

hi there i put this in the health section also. i just wanted to know if anyone has taken on a rescue with MBD or weather they have dealt with this situation before? i took on a rescue a yr ago as some off you may no, and it been a yr of him being constantly up and down. we havent yet been confirmed wether he has mbd as the vets dont want to take blood until his mouth clears up. i myself think it is, i got my beardie from a owner who didnt have him in the correct housing conditions and we took him on not really knowing how ill he was. we have started vet treatment again this month after deciding we wanted a second opinion on his conditions the first vet told us it would heal on its own in correct husbandry its been 6 months and. to some extent he has improved he is more active and showing lovely colours and not as skinny. however he still eats barely at all, his poos are not consistant and messy and he has a crooked tail.
any info on this would be great we no wat it is just dont no the treatments available and how much he can stablelise?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What type of setup do you have?
Are you using a good UVB light? What type & brand are you using? A fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
Are you using calcium supplementation? If so, how often do you use it & how often?
What types of foods do you feed?
How big is he? He does need a blood test though, to determine his calcium levels. That will help with overall diagnosis & treatment. Did the vet not give you any liquid calcium to give him?

Tracie

 

[sidneysix]

the vet hasn't supplied liquid calcium yet no, it hasn't been comfirmed and it could be parasites, his set is a large 4ftx2ftx2ft6 enclosure he is only 14inches, we feed locust and he gets daily veg which is greens for staple and squash then we change the variety of other fruit and veg. He is calcium dusted on all foods atm because he just isn't eating so we can't garentee intake he also has nutrobol which i do 2x. The lamp uvb is a arcadia d3 12‰ and this is brand new a week old just replaced reptisun 10. He is within 8 inches wen basking temps are fine 104 basking 85 cool end

 

[AprilMayJune]

Just a thought. Have you looked inside his mouth at his teeth?

One of my rescues wouldn't eat and it turned out to be because the mdb had deteriorated all but 4 of his teeth. We now syringe feed him daily and he's pretty good at it and is as healthy as he can be.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How are things going?
Well, the Arcadia D3 12% bulb is certainly fine, no problem there. So, that alone should help him synthesize a good amount of D3 to help his levels increase. The liquid calcium would definitely be beneficial if he does have hypocalcemia. The 8 inches is perfect. Is there any screen in between him & the UVB, or not?
Is he eating pretty well right now?

Parasites & worms can interfere in calcium absorption which in the long run if left untreated can cause metabolic bone disease due to poor absorption, overall.
Let us know how he is doing. That is a great sized tank, that is the size of ours, also. So, he should have plenty of room.

Tracie

 

[sidneysix]

he is still very picky about eating to me it seems he is only eating when he needs to, he hardly eats its driving me insane! im still waiting for the vets next actions i think its going to be a poo sample but we have to wait to tues until the antibitics have left his body so it doesn't interfere with the poo sample takings, though as he is barely eating he barely goes poo so i dono how im going to collect a decent amount unless i start syringe feeding him small amounts?
the vet checked his mouth and she said it was preety healthy and if it was mouth rot tht he originally had it was very minor, this has all been cleared up now. i will double check but last time i caught a look his teeth seemed all there however i have never looked into a beardys mouth before so i wouldnt no if there was all the right amount of teeth?
the uvb is inside the cage, we have put a couple of fixtures in to allow it to hang within 8 inches whilst he is basking because fixing it to the top was too far away and lizardyman cannot climb very well.

the vets mentioned after poo samples (if they came back clear) then we would go to blood samples, as we want to rule out parasites. i think we will end up doing both because he has improved since we have had him however he still isnt right and he was in his poor set up for 9 months with the previous owners.

so i think we will just start to syringe feed him daily small amounts as well as offer his daily salad and locust, we then will no he is eating small amounts and hopefully can collect some poo.

 

[melissadiane7]

My vet did an Xray & could tell right away if it was MBD or not. My BD had an infection in her mouth & her tail was kinked. The Xray showed it was not MBD & that her tail had some sort of trauma to it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Please keep us posted on him. I hope you are able to get some food into him, as well so he will get some nutrition into him.
I think it is extremely crucial to get some x-rays done on him, in the very least, as well as a blood test, too. The sooner it is diagnosed, the better off he will be if it is confirmed then treated. If he does have MBD & it is not being treated, it will continue to get worse.
He needs the stronger liquid calcium, to boost his system.
A healthy mouth & gums should reveal a nice pink color, sometimes with yellow pigmentation in some dragons, but, most of the time, pink is the normal color. There should not be any white discharge or pus looking areas in the gum areas.

Tracie

 

[sidneysix]

il keep you updated, we are trying everything at the moment i dont think he has lost any weight, and he seems very active and happy still which is good, we have just bought a timer so we can get him into a better routine with lights o and off at the same time and also we are going to comtinue to give him salad/veg in the morning everyday but give him his locust in the evening about 6.30 and lights go off at 10pm we are hoping if he has a routine he might get use to wen he is going to eat his locust etc? as he is 18months now should i be offering him less live food? or shall i stick to everyday as he is not as healthy as he cold be? we are going to syringe feed him some baby food chicken or squash in small amounts also so we know he def is eating something. is there anything else we can be doing? im hoping the vets will be in touch with us by tues as its been a week nearly since i left a message on his progress.

 

[sidneysix]

he has been wormed and given metronidazole dose of 2ml weekly, i have ordered avipro plus which hopefully will arrive tomoro to take the strain of the antibiotics off his stomach as it a probioctics full of the good stuff. we are supplementing him baby food chicken/squash daily in small amounts and continue to offer veg/salad and locust. But he is off his food still really. poo sample in a few weeks once the antibiotics have cleared.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I hope things are going well. The Avipro is a good supplement/probiotic so that should definitely help out.
Did you mean .2ml of the Metronidazole? I hope so because 2ml would be too much.
Is he enjoying the baby food feedings? Since he is almost 2, he really only needs about 40-50 feeders for the week, along with greens & veggies, to maintain his weight. So, if you want to reduce his feeders accordingly that is fine.
I know you mentioned he is not really eating on his own, so hopefully once he gets to feeling better, you can get him back on track to a more stable eating regime.
It sounds like you are doing everything that needs to be done right now. Give him a little bit of time, & he should start improving here real soon for you. How much longer is he on the medication?

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[sidneysix]

i def have 2ml of it written on my prescription bottle to give weekly? Has she given me an incorrect dose? I terribly hope not! Oh dear now im terribly worried im at wrk wil double check thw bottle but im preety certain no . Was in front of it!

 

[sidneysix]

i checked the antibiotic it is def 2ml weekly, i recieved the avipro plus and made up 100ml of water with one scoop then syringe fed him 2ml as thts all he would drink. is this ok or does he need more or less of the avipro plus?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is fine to give the Avipro in that manner, it will help him a lot.
Please do check the dose of that Metronidazole, 2mls is an awful lot, unless it is highly watered down! There should be a concentration/strength listed on the front of the bottle.
How is he doing today?


Tracie

 

[sidneysix]

its 10% strength? and he is ok, same as usual at the mo, he lapped up the avipro so i think he might be dehydrated, he hasnt eaten any locust and he may hav ate a tiny bit of veg.