Testing for Malnutrition

[Tintin1945]

Hi y'all,
My Bearded Dragon Nellie hasn't grow to an adult size and she is 18 to 19 months old. Is this normal? She has MBD(we are working on fixing) and has recently recovered from parasites. Is there anything to test for malnutrition? She has Pepers (yellow and Red are her favorite) everyday and I alternate days of applying calcium. She also eats 5-10 mealworms a day. Thanks for your help!

 

[AHBD]

Hi Tintin, I'm sure you care very much for your girl Nellie and that's why you posted here. Are you feeding her regular sized mealworms or are they superworms ? Mealworms would not be nutritious enough for a growing dragon, [ neither would supers ] and there should be several other insects to give her every day to help her to grow properly. Get some crickets, dubia poaches and large Phoenix worms for her. Peppers can be a part of a good salad but add greens like turnip, mustard , collard, dandelion ,endive.

What exact type + brand of bulbs do you use, be specific ? Can you post pics of her as well as her set up ? Here's how :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

 

[Tintin1945]

Hey ABHD,

Thanks for getting back to me! We just moved her to a 20 gallon tank because of the cold weather and holiday traveling. We are feeding her Super worms medium. We use one heat lamp 100 watts Zoo med, one mercury vapor bulb to provide UVB,UVA and other vitamins, and a Zoo Med repti safe UVB 5.0 (The long narrow bulb). I am buying new bulbs today since one just burnt out. I will try giving her a more varied diet of worms and others but she can't chase anything because of her back injury/ MBD recovery.

 

[AHBD]

She looks well proportioned, I don't see any outwawrd appearance of MBD thankfully. What is her length ? She looks adult size, they don't all get to be over 20" long, some are adult size at 18". As for insects you can try dubias in a shallow bowl for her for some variety. Other than that everything seems fine.

 

[Tintin1945]

Her body is 7 inches and her total length is 12 inches. However her tail is short so that's probably where the extra inches are. Thanks for your help!

 

[AHBD]

She would probably be about 16" with a full tail so that's on the small side but not terribly. She still has some growing to do so get her some other feeder insects like I mentioned and try not to worry too much. BTW, is her 5.0 uvb a t5 or t8 ? The t5 is much stronger and may be more beneficial in her condition. Also, how old is the mercury vapor bulb and what brand ? I just realized that you have 2 heat bulbs, that will probably be too hot in a 20 gallon tank. The MVB is usually 100 or more watts.

 

[Tintin1945]

The UVB tube is a 5.0 5t and the mercury bulb brand is lucky Herp. It does get warm but we have to midst because of the low humidity which keeps it cool. The warm side is 100f and 80-86 on the cool side.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I think overall she looks pretty good! Sorry to hear of her spinal injury, can she get around
on all fours at all right now or does she scoot more?
Are you in Australia?
I have not heard of Lucky Herp MVB which was why I inquired on your location. Do you have
a way of getting that light tested with a UVB meter? I am afraid that it's likely made in China
& is poor quality without good UVB emissions.
Can you get hold of a Reptisun 10 tube bulb?

Tracie

 

[Tintin1945]

Hey Tracie!
Nope I am in the USA. I just ordered replacement bulbs because it has been 4 months on one and 6 months on the other. We found Lucky herb on amazon because it was highly recommended by the bearded dragon specialist in our area. Nellie is really good on her front legs and kind of swings her hips to move. Because of her back and MBD she has issues with pooping which we think plays apart in her inability to move them. She still has feeling in her legs and can straighten and flex them but she won't use them to move. I don't have a UV meter To test the bulbs but I will look into it.