Hello,
Some of you may have read my posts in the past about my bearded dragon Liz who has MBD and often struggles to lay her eggs. Unfortunately she's also prone to laying many clutches of eggs (her record was 8 in a row in 2019) and it just takes such a toll on her. Right now it's been a little over two weeks since she started showing signs. Sounds really bad, but she has gone this long before. Still, I'm starting to get very worried about her so I scheduled an appointment with a specialist (Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine in NYC) this Saturday. I'm not quite sure if she is egg bound yet because she's still very active. The issue is that with her MBD she often flips on her back and has trouble flipping herself back, so I basically have to monitor her completely during the day, which is incredibly difficult to do while also taking care of a 6 month old baby. I'm constantly washing my hands (which sucks as someone who has eczema) and often once I'm done washing my hands she'll have flipped herself again. I'm so exhausted and so is she. I'm wondering if having her spayed might be a good option for us. I know it's risky, but I feel the way she struggles with laying is also risky. I would love to hear thoughts on this.
Also, is there anything I can do for her before her appointment this weekend? I'm trying to let her spend some time in her tank to get UVB before she goes in her lay box. I feel like she's so weak from being in her lay box so often. Is there a liquid calcium someone would recommend?
One thing that is hard for me to admit is I honestly feel her MBD has gotten worse over the years. I've been trying my best but she never used to struggle this much while laying and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Tank specs:
40 gallon tank
UVB: Arcadia D3 12% UVB T5 Bulb - 22"
Basking spot: 101 degrees F
Cool side: Just checked and it's only ~75 degrees, which is too cold. Any tips? The middle of the tank is in the 80s. My apartment is kind of cool so right now I use a 100W bulb and another 100W heat bulb that does not have light to bring it to that temperature. Do you think putting a 150W bulb on the hot side and moving the 100W bulb with no light might work?
Humidity: 32%
Some of you may have read my posts in the past about my bearded dragon Liz who has MBD and often struggles to lay her eggs. Unfortunately she's also prone to laying many clutches of eggs (her record was 8 in a row in 2019) and it just takes such a toll on her. Right now it's been a little over two weeks since she started showing signs. Sounds really bad, but she has gone this long before. Still, I'm starting to get very worried about her so I scheduled an appointment with a specialist (Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine in NYC) this Saturday. I'm not quite sure if she is egg bound yet because she's still very active. The issue is that with her MBD she often flips on her back and has trouble flipping herself back, so I basically have to monitor her completely during the day, which is incredibly difficult to do while also taking care of a 6 month old baby. I'm constantly washing my hands (which sucks as someone who has eczema) and often once I'm done washing my hands she'll have flipped herself again. I'm so exhausted and so is she. I'm wondering if having her spayed might be a good option for us. I know it's risky, but I feel the way she struggles with laying is also risky. I would love to hear thoughts on this.
Also, is there anything I can do for her before her appointment this weekend? I'm trying to let her spend some time in her tank to get UVB before she goes in her lay box. I feel like she's so weak from being in her lay box so often. Is there a liquid calcium someone would recommend?
One thing that is hard for me to admit is I honestly feel her MBD has gotten worse over the years. I've been trying my best but she never used to struggle this much while laying and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Tank specs:
40 gallon tank
UVB: Arcadia D3 12% UVB T5 Bulb - 22"
Basking spot: 101 degrees F
Cool side: Just checked and it's only ~75 degrees, which is too cold. Any tips? The middle of the tank is in the 80s. My apartment is kind of cool so right now I use a 100W bulb and another 100W heat bulb that does not have light to bring it to that temperature. Do you think putting a 150W bulb on the hot side and moving the 100W bulb with no light might work?
Humidity: 32%