UVB light + D3 supplement?

[jwideman]

I rescued a bearded dragon with Metabolic Bone Disease. Not sure the age, but she's also stunted from being kept in a 20 gallon fishtank and only about 8 inches long. The MBD is bad enough that she can't handle crickets, but is mobile. Diet is superworms and vegetables. When the weather was warm, I took her outside and I've been giving D3 supplement. Now that it's colder, she's under a Zoo Med Reptisun 10 tube light. Should I continue using the D3 supplement?
Oh, and I should mention the top of the tank is a metal screen, but distance from light to beardie is only 12 inches.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, that is really nice that you rescued this poor little one ! First off, yes, continue with the calcium D3. Another thing, try to rig the UVB bulb so that it is closer to her, about 8 inches would be better, hung inside the tank so the screen doesn't block any of the UVB rays. Then one more thing, the superworms , even if small, may be hard to digest in her condition, and can cause impaction. You may be better off hand feeding her crickets or pulling the back legs off of them. By the way, it's a myth that an animal stays small because it's in a small tank, the only thing that stunts growth is lack of food. If she had been fed properly she could have grown to whatever her genetic make up allowed her to grow to , anywhere from 15- 20 inches or so whether she was in a 20 gal. tank or not. But then again if you don't know her age she still has a lot of growing to do. So, I hope she does well for you, she will probably be a sweet little special needs pet for you !

 

[jwideman]

Hi there, that is really nice that you rescued this poor little one ! First off, yes, continue with the calcium D3. Another thing, try to rig the UVB bulb so that it is closer to her, about 8 inches would be better, hung inside the tank so the screen doesn't block any of the UVB rays. Then one more thing, the superworms , even if small, may be hard to digest in her condition, and can cause impaction. You may be better off hand feeding her crickets or pulling the back legs off of them. By the way, it's a myth that an animal stays small because it's in a small tank, the only thing that stunts growth is lack of food. If she had been fed properly she could have grown to whatever her genetic make up allowed her to grow to , anywhere from 15- 20 inches or so whether she was in a 20 gal. tank or not. But then again if you don't know her age she still has a lot of growing to do. So, I hope she does well for you, she will probably be a sweet little special needs pet for you !

What I heard was that, with a Reptisun 10.0, 12 inches (it's actually 12 to the bottom of the tank, not beardie like I said) is great. Not sure how I'd suspend the fixture inside the tank while keeping the heater outside. It's a 40w infrared ceramic - gets the hot side up to 92F in the middle of the day.