Juvenile with MBD

[Nifflerstorm]

So I used to have reptiles before I joined the military. I got rid of most of my equipment and pets at that time. I'm out now, and my coworker had a friend who had a rental property. Well the tenant of the property abandoned her four tanks of fish and one juvenile bearded dragon with no lights or heat. As far as I know, he/she hasn't had food or heat or UVB in months and right now it is the middle of fall in Pennsylvania.

I have it in a 20 high for now because its all I had. If he makes it past Christmas I will move him into a 20 long. He has a heat lamp and heat pad on one half of the tank. I had a brick of coconut bark left from when I had geckos, so I mixed it with water and squeezed out the excess really hard. (I am watching the humidity with a hygrometer).

I chose coconut bark because their back legs don't work. I know it's MBD but the nearest herp vet is two hours away and I didn't even plan on a pet just yet, so I wasn't ready, especially for this situation. They can't move their back legs at all to walk, so when he/she was crawling across the driftwood to get more comfortable under the light, they could barely do it. So I chose coconut bark to hopefully give more traction than tile or slate.

Their back legs twitch every so often, so I hope its a good sign. I never had a reptile with MBD before, so everything I know is from other forums. Right now, they will drink from a pipette, so when I get liquid calcium, I hope to dilute it with water and see if he will take it orally.

I have a mealworm culture that my college professor lent to me. They currently sit on oatmeal and I have been throwing in carrots or potatoes for moisture. I feed the mealworms on top of shredded kale (dusted with calcium) to hopefully trick them into eating plants. Right now he/she has no interest.

On the way (from Amazon) is a ceramic heat bulb (75 watt) so they can get heat throughout the winter, day and night, a 24 inch 5.0 UVB bulb, juvenile bearded dragon pellet food, and liquid calcium. Will be here Tuesday. (I know the 10.0 is better for beardies, but with the height of the tank, I didn't want to hurt his/her eyes


If anyone has more experience with MBD, I would appreciate it.

 

[Eavlynn]

You don't want to feed mealworms or kale as a staple. The high oxalates in kale and high chitin in the mealworms could pose some serious issues. Crickets and roaches are good insects, and collared greens, mustard greens, turnip greens and dandelion greens are the best staple veggies. Dusting all insects with calcium and multivitamin powder will help a lot.

Keep the temps up, with a hot spot of about 105F. With the MBD being as severe as it is, you'll want the 10.0 bulb. They need all the UVB they can get right now.

Reptile carpet is a pretty good substrate to use, especially with MBD. If I may inquire, where in PA are you located? I happen to be a Pennsylvanian myself, with a dragon recovering beautifully from MBD.

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[Nifflerstorm]

I am in the Wilkes barre area. I believe that the height of the tank limits me to just 5.0, because the 10.0 needs to have 8+ inches between it and the lizard and I can't achieve that.

When I fed crickets, he couldn't catch them
He/she kept missing and eventually gave up. Kale is what I had in the house.

 

[Eavlynn]

You can find fresh collared and mustard greens pretty much anywhere now. Even Walmart has started carrying fresh greens, which is great. If the UVB is filtered through a screen top, you can use a 10.0, the screen reduces the UVB that penetrates through.

You can tong feed crickets to compensate for the lack of mobility. It's also a good way to bond with your dragon.

It takes a lot of work to help a dragon recover from MBD, but it can be done! We're only a couple hours away from you. My boyfriend went to college in Wilkes Barre.

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[Nifflerstorm]

Well the uvb is already purchased, I dont think I will be able to get a new one until I return the old one. Will be more than a week and I wouldn't want him to go that long.

I can get the right greens tonight and start tomorrow. Crickets will have to wait until Monday, at the earliest. Though I do have the tongs somewhere from when I had snakes.

He stopped eating today and I think its because he can't digest his food without uvb. Really making me worried.

 

[Eavlynn]

Proper husbandry (temps, UVB) are crucial right now with his/her current state. And nutrition is going to play a big part in a successful recovery. The lack of appetite may well be from the lack of UVB, and also the stress of relocation.

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[Nifflerstorm]

I would've gotten the light sooner but Petco charges 40$ for the light whereas amazon only charges 23. U think he won't make it another week? Just so that I can return it.

 

[Eavlynn]

He'll make it another week, but the sooner he gets proper lighting, the better. It stinks that it's getting chilly outside, otherwise you could supplement with natural sunlight. Amazon is definitely cheaper than big box stores. And Amazon prime is a godsend if you order frequently.

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[Nifflerstorm]

Thats who I got it from, amazon prime. I hope I can cancel the order once I get out of work tonight and then just reorder the right size. Might only delay it until Wednesday instead of having to return it.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Good for you for taking this sweet one in..soo sad that it's in the shape it's in...If you take a look at the links below several of our comments we've put together info for new comers it has all the info you will need to help him.. it has links for food items, lighting etc..
good luck and keep us posted and keep those temps up..just don't use any colored lights at night or heat pads/rocks as they can't sense heat from their bellies and can burn themselves..and the colored lights don't allow them to really sleep and it keeps their eyes from dilating and constricting..

 

[Nifflerstorm]

Good for you for taking this sweet one in..soo sad that it's in the shape it's in...If you take a look at the links below several of our comments we've put together info for new comers it has all the info you will need to help him.. it has links for food items, lighting etc..
good luck and keep us posted and keep those temps up..just don't use any colored lights at night or heat pads/rocks as they can't sense heat from their bellies and can burn themselves..and the colored lights don't allow them to really sleep and it keeps their eyes from dilating and constricting..

Thank you for the info, but I've had beardies before. But they were adults and they didn't have MBD. I found a rescue near me that will take her in.