Need help getting my baby to get calcium

[Kathy_D]

Heihei is about 6 months old and has MBD. She apparently had it when we got her and not knowing, we didn't do enough to correct it. The vet gave me calcium to inject daily for two weeks, which I did. She also said to add calcium to pedialyte or a slurry and feed that way because she wasn't getting enough just dusting her roaches. Over the past few weeks, she has been mostly refusing the roaches but will gobble up her BSFL and occasional superworms. So last week I tried feeding her calcium fortified pedialyte and she was so not interested. I think maybe a drop or two got in her mouth and the rest got all over the towel. Over the weekend, I made some slurries (greens, squash, a bit of apple or blueberry with calcium) and tried those. She has done better with those but I still feel like the majority of the liquid ends up on the towel and not in her body. I have noticed an improvement in her tremors with the injections, but I am worried that she is not getting enough calcium. Does anyone have any tricks? Slurry recipes that no beardie could refuse? Should I get liquid calcium? Of note, she also has been being treated for worms and her appetite comes and goes. One day she ate almost 50 BSFL, 1 superworm and 3 roaches. She is about 90 grams right now.

 

[Canicke]

you might try injecting liquid calcium into the worms ? syringe feeding is difficult. duh. ive just been through a bit with my girl - she doesn't seem to hate carnivore care. I've been mixing up a paste with some probiotics and bee pollen. I drink my coffee and she gets fortified c-care. I use an oral syringe (for dosing kids liquid meds - ask your pharmacy) kind of slide the tip into the edge of her mouth and squirt in a tiny bit. you might try some cooked squash or cooked mashed carrots. I've been using coconut water to make a thin-ish paste. oh - my baby (who is about 8 yrs old) is about 525 gms!)

 

[PatsyB]

What Canicke said! I inject worms with calcium and feed them to Dexter. Hornworms work the best. You could also feed her silk worms, they are high in calcium.

 

[Draeju's_world]

BSFL are already loaded with calcium. If they are eagerly eaten by her, then dusting them with powder should be enough.

 

[Hdrydr31]

BSFL are already loaded with calcium. If they are eagerly eaten by her, then dusting them with powder should be enough.

Since BSFL are already loaded with Calcium you don't need to add additional powder to them

 

[Draeju's_world]

That's my take on it as well, really. I never dust mine but my beardies never had mbd. If higher doses of calcium than normal are being given to reverse it, then dusting them should be more than enough without additional supplementation with injections/slurries, etc.

 

[Kathy_D]

Since BSFL are already loaded with Calcium you don't need to add additional powder to them

I did try dusting them, she won't touch them. She really is a finicky little bugger! With her having MBD, I worry that she still is not getting enough calcium if I don't supplement, even though she is eating BSFL. She is also inconsistent about how much she eats, some days she will eat over 60 other days maybe 10 (combined total for both feedings). I just received liquid calcium and small needles to inject worms to make sure that she gets a consistent dose.