Rescued Beardie- Major issues! Help!

[Kayla Lay]

We rescued this bearded dragon last night. It was disclosed that it's hind leg didn't move properly. I originally thought maybe it's lighting was not sufficient, insufficient calcium, or even impaction.
I was told it was about a year old. The beardie is maybe the size of a 5 mo old and both hind legs are straight out and its front legs are like turned inward. He does this army crawl type thing on his belly, he has no control of its body, he tries to be active but when he moves he flips on his side and uses his tail to flip himself back over. It's pitiful to watch. I don't know what to do! I do have a video from last night but it isn't hosted to embed. I can do that this evening. I am scared for the little guy. Horrible to watch.

 

[MikePhoneJunkie]

Was he always like this? I would definitely start out giving him a brand new uvb light, a florescent bulb, not a swirly one. Even take him outside in the sun for 20-30 min. All in all, I would say he needs a vet that can do an x-ray etc. How is he eating? What was his old living situation?

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[Hdrydr31]

Sounds like a MBD issue due to improper husbandry before you. I would for sure get him seen by a vet. Even the worst cases ive seen do ok with special care.

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[Kayla Lay]

He was given to us in a box. The previous owner said he ate LARGE crickets and didn't like veggies. We bathed him and fed him fresh veggies and calcium powder. He ate them as if he was starving. They claimed he was a year old, but is tiny! Not that I am a super experienced beardie owner but i don't think its accurate information and i am not sure based on what i know that he was properly cared for previously.

 

[rdoyle225]

Wow he small. My 6 month old

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[PatsyB]

My heart breaks, why are people so freakin ignorant when it comes to pets???

Like already stated get a good UVB tube bulb. I would recommend a T5 size bulb and since he's still little but an adult, I would go with a high basking temp still of 105-107 at least until he gets a little bigger. Make sure the basking light and the UVB overlap. They need to be together for the body to process D3 into calcium.

You're going to need to get him to a vet to see how bad the damage is. Like Hdrydr31 said, we have seen cases where the dragon has lived a good life once given the right husbandry but it needs to be done with a vet in the picture. They can maybe give calcium injections and recommend a liquid calcium regime. The damage from MBD can't be reversed, but it can be stopped and your dragon can get stronger.

Also, remember that he can't walk well so make sure he doesn't have anything in his tank to climb real high. He can really hurt himself if he falls from a height. That's why I recommend the T5 bulb, it penetrates (especially if you get a 10.0 HO) deeper into the tank so that you don't need for him to climb high to get to the UVB.

 

[Kayla Lay]

Do you think he is actually 1 year old? We have the regular ReptiSun 10.0 bulb on him. Do you think he will be able to get around normally with proper care and vet intervention?

 

[PatsyB]

It is possible he is 1. It's really amazing the damage not having the right lights will do. I've seen 2 year olds the size of babies. He may get stronger and be able to control himself more and move around a little more but the damage done from MBD can't be reversed. He's always going to need a little extra care and patience.

 

[Dogdayz1215]

So sad. Glad you are taking him in and trying to help him out! Good luck!

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[puffthedragon]

That is so sad.