sick beardie.

[theduclos]

hey all. my juvy beardie has been a bit up and down lately. when i first got him he ate quite heavily, and slept really well. lately that has been diminishing. he gets quite cranky at times and doesnt trust me grabbing hold of him when he is in that mood. his eating has also diminished quite badly. from hunting down 15+ beardies he doesnt even really look at many any more. i think the problem lies in calcium as i have only been dusting his crix once a week because i have been feeding him juvenile dragon pellets from herp shop. so he has gone from eating crix every day to only getting the 2-3 times a week. he gets fed no salad because he is yet to show any interest in it. the main problem he has is that he lies quite close to the ground instead of "standing up" also he seems to lie with his 'hands' rolled up underneath him. another problem is his back legs sometimes staying straight, he can bend them when he wants to move but when he is lying down as if he is scared his back legs are dead straight. has anybody got any ideas how i make my my little dude happy again?

specs

90 x 30 x 30 tank
20w nec blacklight
80w phillips par38 partyglobe
43 degree hot end 25 degree cool end
1 hide he doesnt get into, 1 redgum small log and 1 sandstone rock to bask on.

[theduclos]

bump

[xander]

Does he get UV?Its probably MBD.Whats his temps?

[Armand]

it cant be calcium i dont even give my dragon that and he is great.. i also know of 5 other people that dont give them calcium.. must be lighting..

[Dan123]

43 degree hot end 25 degree cool end

i have never herd of MBD occuring so early in life due to lack/absence of UVB but it does sound like metabolic bone disease. a good idea would be to take him outside for a while if theres sun and let him bask in unfiltered sunlight until you get a light that provides UVA&B. also start dusting his food with calcium powder.

[theduclos]

his uvb is given courtesy of a 2 month old 20w nex blacklight. sold to me by the herpshop. i took him outside when i got home today. it has simply been too cloudy lately to even bother. tommoro if its good again ill take him outside.

edit: wow. it really does sound like mdb. ill be doing all i can to sort it out. do you too much night time heat and light could affect mdb? eg going to a ceramic and turning the heat off at night time? atm i have the party globe and 24 hour heat. ill pull him off the pellets and only offer fresh food.

is it fatal at this stage?

[xander]

how close does he get to the UV?They have to be at around 30cms or so to get any benifit.I got a little beardy that someone had dumped.He obviously had MBD.I personally think sun is the best way to help beardys with this or mercury UVs.You can also get vit D3 drops that you put on their back and it absorbs into the skin.Also calcium (phosphorus free)

[mines bigger]

it doesnt matter if it is cloudy UV still gets through...

[theduclos]

he sits around 30-40 cms away from the uv globe. ill take him out into the sun tommoro he is happily asleep right now. i just wanna get rid of his sluggishness so he can run around like he used to.

again is mbd fatal at such an early stage?

[Dragoness]

Sounds like he has slowed down for winter to me, though Im no expert. My juvs have slowed down to eating once or twice a week and sleeping most of the time (one always sleeps with his front legs curled over). Just make sure you dust all is food with calcium and Im sure once the days start getitng longer again he'll get more active.

Cheers

[theduclos]

the question is however why would he be slowing down for winter if his baskin spot is a continuous 41-43 degrees? i really like that explanation though dragoness. do you supply 24 hour heat to your dragons?

[hornet]

all my 3 do that same, they are just cooling for winter, when they warm up they come fine. If it is mbd, i have never saved one after it started showing signs. If he can move hic back legs it doesnt sound like mbd

[hornet]

they can slow down even with heat, they can sense air pressure i have heard so they can still know itswinter

[theduclos]

ah thanks hornet. he can move his back legs when he wants to. he is just doing alot of sleeping and not much eating. first time reptile keeping issues lol. ill be expecting it to come next winter. cant wait for it to heat up. e is really showing lovely yellow colours. cant wait to get him on the lawn outside and have him hunt down flies and other insects..

[hornet]

when they have mvb they will exibit paralasis of the rear legs, in the very final stages they have a little spasm, i lost a tawny a few months back, it was so hard to watch, legs locked over its back, mouth locked open