Worried about tail dent????

[bhunzz]

Hey ppl, recently got me a blue tongue..named "blue" lol....an as hes started shedding we have realised there is a slight dent when he walks (mainly climbing, when his body is above his tail) just where the tail joins to the abdomen..he doesnt have issues with anything else but we've just noticed this as being new owners are a little worried..we feed him a full variety(fruit, veg, worms an this specialised food)..he generally eats well...not always super hungry though...any help would be greatly appreciated..going to the shops tomorrow to get calcium for him

thanks

 

[AllThingsReptile]

MBD?

other than that i dont know...

 

[Trouble]

IMO it's the start of MBD - Metabolic Bone Disease.
Take him to the vet to get it double checked though, where are you located? People will be able to suggest a good reptile vet around your area.. or get in contact with Helikaon on here, he knows quite a fair bit about blue tongues.

Put calcium powder in his food every second feed, and he needs UV every day, or every second day at the least. What is in the specialised food? What fruit & veggies are you feeding him? As long as he's feeding, you shouldn't have a problem getting some calcium and vitamins into him.

Keep us updated

Trouble.

 

[Chris1]

i agree it looks like MBD, sunlight and calcium are ur friends,.....

 

[bhunzz]

we feed him bananas, tomatos, carrot etc..he prefers fruit over vegies..any suggestions on good vegies to try him with? "specialised food" is URS lizard food..bought from that pet superstore in capalaba...
He also hasnt darkened since shedding, staying a pale green/yellow???
we have the heat lamp an the artificial sun lamp an have them on constantly as the pet store told us about MBD an we didnt want that happening...its been like this for a couple weeks an we thought maybe he still young an everythings abit soft..we dont handle him during shedding incase something happend so i dont really understand?? could it maybe be the enclosure??? Are they meant to get out in the real sun??
We going to the pet store to get some calcium but other than that we dont know much....we live in carindale, r there any good place nearby??

 

[Chris1]

exactly what brand and type of 'sun lamp' is it?
alot of them only throw rays 30cms max, so from the floor your lizard would get no benefit whatsoever,...
and if the pet shop sold u something thats called a sun lamp that emits no UVB light, then youre also in trouble.

none of my animals have artificial UV lights, they all get regular time in the sun.

theres no better UVB source than real natural sunlight, take your lizard out today for half an hour - an hour of supervised sunning. (sit with him, dont chuck him in a box in the sun as he may overheat. I use mesh sunning cages, half sun/halfshade)

UVB is expecially important in the growing stage since bones are still forming/growing,.

oh and re food, leafy asian greens, bok choy, chinese broc, etc, rocket, endive, finely shredded are good healthy natural sources of calcium, mine get no suppliments either, just a very healthy diet.

 

[hornet]

As said its MBD (Metabolic bone disease). Luckily its not all doom and gloom like some people light think, it can be reversed as long as its not too advanced. IMO its probably more to do with an incorrect diet rather then lack of uv as they can live just fine without uv as long as they are provided with a varied diet. I feed my blueys cat food (no fish) mixed veggies such as beans, carrot, broccoli, mushrooms and insects (Roaches, worms, mealies etc etc). I dust every 2nd-3rd feed with calcium and vitamin powder.

 

[bhunzz]

we got all the reptile one gear when getting the enclosure..its got a 18w uvb lamp we had to buy seperately..i think mainly it would be the diet we feed him..usually just fruit..feel so bad, poor little man..been calling him "bent" instead of "blue"...bit of a bad taste joke...thank you all so much, hopefully we can mend the little guy with changing up the diet an regular sun baking
thanks everyone!!!!!!

 

[Trouble]

The diet of a blue tongue should consist of only 10% fruit, and then split between veggies and meat after that. mine love cat food (no fish) .. when they get older they can have pinkie mice/rats and snails as treats. I've just tried mine on woodies and meal worms, and my bluies go absolutely nuts! over them haha.
It seems you've caught it early, so with the right diet, and an hr every couple of days in the sun, should help it from advancing.

 

[snakeman478]

brisbane bird and exotics veterinary service on cnr kessels road and springfield street, macgregor Ph. 34206773. dr melinda cowan or dr deborah monk are both fantastic. give them a call, fantastic service

 

[Trench]

can someone please tell me what is wrong with fish?, as i have feed it to five different blue tongues and they all loved it and had no ill effect from it.

 

[chickensnake]

One of my blueys had the exact same thing as a bub plus a pretty bung leg. I suspected MBD and changed up the diet took out in the sun every day ect. Now you cant even tell what it use to be like

 

[bhunzz]

thanks people, awesome advice..we have now written up a diet(all the advised vegies etc) an r now getting out in the sun a little with him....he goes nuts for mealworms but apparently no nutritional value???