Okay so today me and my girlfriend picked up a new beardie. Definitely wasn't a planned thing but it's our 3rd little guy now lol. Well this little guy is damn near the size of a hatchling. Probably only 4 inches. Real small. Real skinny. Not only that but her head seems to jerk a lot when looking around, when she walks she kinda stumbles, when she eats.....well. she basically throws her whole head into the floor and can't seem to grab the food....it's really depressing to watch. Her spine has a slight upward curve to it and humps up right at the tail. I'm pretty sure it's MBD bUT I'd have to have a vet determine for sure. Can they even do anything for a little guy like that? Also what are your guys thoughts. I'm pretty worried about this one.
Yeah that sounds like it could be MBD. It can be managed if it hasn't progressed too far. A vet visit is a good idea. You may want to administer liquid calcium. I definitely recommend using a high powered UVB light like this http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ to optimize UVB exposure and try to turn things around. It's also a good idea to keep everything low and easy to access as it might be quite strenuous to climb if her arms and legs don't have much strength. Can you post some photos of her?
Hi there, poor baby definitely has MBD as well as deformity of the spine that may be caused by a combo of MBD and impaction. Her lack of control with her head movements is a sad neorological symptom . You may be able to help her a bit with calcium, vitamins and good uvb exposure ASAP. If it's warm where you live you can take her out in the sun, just set her in the grass if it's warm enough or on your lap if the temp. is lower than 75.
Has she pood yet ? And yes, please post some pics. Hopefully you can help her some but be prepared ....at that size + with those symptoms she might not recover much. Best wishes though !
Nope. No poo poo yet. But her legs seem to be okay. We got her in a 12" tall tank right now so that she's closer to the UVB. she seems fairly erergetic so I don't think it's gotten too bad yet to fix. But she turns her head like shes throwing it. When she tries to eat she basically flops into the floor. I realised that she was probaby straining herself trying to get the crickets so we got some bsf larvae knowing that they're high in calcium and they'll be easier for her to catch and digest.
I agree, he looks pretty alert!
If you are catching it in early stages then he will recover with basically no ill effects at all.
He is practically a hatchling, just about, not much older!
Keep us posted on him.
I agree she looks nice and alert which is encouraging. She is so tiny that this is very early on so you have a good shot at early treatment and she can thrive and grow up to be big and strong with proper care =).
Hey guys, the little guy didn't make it. I just don't get it. He was fine this morning. Then we come home to him dead and his spine all bulged up. It couldn't have been impaction because its a lot worse than that. I don't know what happened. But it's really upetting.
Oh no, I am so sorry to hear that she didn't make it! Her body must have just been too weak but at least she had you trying to help her & I know she appreciated you.