MBD in Geckos

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Kristy_07

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I know it seems like a redundant question; geckos shouldn't get MBD, right?

Nonetheless, I have a young asper at the moment that is exhibiting exactly the same symptoms, and we're trying to figure out the problem. Paddling motion, dreadful flexibility in the joints, swollen joints, and two broken legs - one wrist, one femur - without having experienced any noticeable trauma.

Can anyone else tell me whether they've experienced anything similar, or add any info? If not MBD, do ay other possibilities come to mind? Fungal issues?

Poor ikkle Gammy the Gecko and his floaties/wing suit :(

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Sounds like MBD symptoms to me. Do you dust with calcium? Did you diagnose the breaks or did a vet?
 
I have heard/seen a jaw on a Bynoe gecko that had nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (a form of metabolic bone disease) had a rubbery jaw, wonder if this could be the same deal. Hope the little one sorts itself soon :/

Obviously a trip to the vet is worthy.
 
Yes, obviously I'm working with a vet on this one ;)

Thanks for the advice, Smithers. No rubber jaw on this one - I still have to pry the damn things apart to get meds into him! Do you know what happened to the Bynoes? How they treated it? If it was successful?

Mummabear - yes, he's had dusted food, and is now on oral calcium. The vet found the break to the back leg quite easily (I had missed it, as I was looking at the bigger picture, so to speak, of none of his legs working well), and a front wrist appears broken by its angle, also. He was xrayed, but at 4 grams, his bones don't show up. Interestingly, a 15g gecko's bones show up quite nicely.
 
I have sent you a pm, and have messaged the owner of the gecko to get a follow up. ....didn't mean to sound rude on the obviously bit soz.
 
I have no useful advice or opinions to offer, but i just wanted to say that he is a little cutie, even with his 'wings'. I hope he 'gets better' & lives a long happy life with you! Goodluck, all the best!
 
Thanks, Bel :) We're doing our best for the little tucker! I'll keep the thread updated with how he's going.
 
We've had these guys about 6 weeks, and the mate that purchased some with me had them at her place for the first 3 weeks. They have been getting fed every 2-3 days, and being that they're small, I've found they're eating 1 medium woodie in a feeding (dusted). My mate said she didn't dust them about 5 of the feeds she gave them at her place. The other 2 clutch mates we have between us are eating/pooping/hunting okay, but one has died, and obviously my one has some pretty serious issues.

I'll now start supplementing the clutch mate I have with oral calcium, just in case.

Any ideas, Danny?
 
I think what it would be is his body itself has a problem with absorbing the calcium. He us getting enough but his body isn't. Functioning properly
 
A common scenario that is often not considered is that if we dust EVERY feed we are stimulating mechanisms for the gut uptake of calcium and the excretion of excess BUT we are not forcing the body to switch on mechanisms for storage. It is not uncommon to see heavily (regular) supplemented young juveniles with MBD for this reason i.e. the body thinks"i have all the calcium I need, why store it" and then they go through a growth spurt and the proverbial hits the fan as their is no stored calcium to use. I have always advocated dusting in 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 5 feeds to try and encourage storage of calcium in the body.
 
A common scenario that is often not considered is that if we dust EVERY feed we are stimulating mechanisms for the gut uptake of calcium and the excretion of excess BUT we are not forcing the body to switch on mechanisms for storage. It is not uncommon to see heavily (regular) supplemented young juveniles with MBD for this reason i.e. the body thinks"i have all the calcium I need, why store it" and then they go through a growth spurt and the proverbial hits the fan as their is no stored calcium to use. I have always advocated dusting in 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 5 feeds to try and encourage storage of calcium in the body.

This is great, I had no clue at all why my young Bluey Was getting mbd cause i did nearly every feed give him calcium supplements and i could never figure it out
Thanks
 
Thank you Danny I've not heard, read or thought of this before. Not that I have an issue with mine touch wood.

All the best Kristy ;)
 
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