Toothless Vet News

[CarbonFiberSwan]

I took Toothless for his first vet visit in response to some odd behavior. He seems to be walking very strangely, and he is often resting with his front legs underneath him in odd angles. I was afraid he had Muscular Dystrophy or MBD.

The vet did a full checkup with X-rays and said they believe he was either born with MBD, or he was born with a higher risk of bone disease. They said he is a happy, healthy dragon, and that I have been doing everything right. Unfortunately they said it just happens sometimes with store bought dragons.

They gave him a dewormer and gave me a liquid calcium supplement to give him every day. They told me there is a 50/50 chance that he will get better, but as long as I make sure he is getting enough calcium/heat/UVB, he should not get worse.

I am sad that he has any issue at all, but I am relieved to know that I’ve been doing everything properly, and that there is hope for him to get better.

Here are some pictures of him resting in odd positions. In the picture with his food dish, he was about to fall over. I put him in a better position after getting the picture.

 

[Zontar’s Mom]

I took Toothless for his first vet visit in response to some odd behavior. He seems to be walking very strangely, and he is often resting with his front legs underneath him in odd angles. I was afraid he had Muscular Dystrophy or MBD.

The vet did a full checkup with X-rays and said they believe he was either born with MBD, or he was born with a higher risk of bone disease. They said he is a happy, healthy dragon, and that I have been doing everything right. Unfortunately they said it just happens sometimes with store bought dragons.

They gave him a dewormer and gave me a liquid calcium supplement to give him every day. They told me there is a 50/50 chance that he will get better, but as long as I make sure he is getting enough calcium/heat/UVB, he should not get worse.

I am sad that he has any issue at all, but I am relieved to know that I’ve been doing everything properly, and that there is hope for him to get better.

Here are some pictures of him resting in odd positions. In the picture with his food dish, he was about to fall over. I put him in a better position after getting the picture.

Aww poor Toothless but it seems there is still hope. So I hope he stays as is and not get any worse.

 

[Sadie]

I would get him off the slippery substrate and put some textured NON adhesive shelf liner down so he can get traction - or some slated ceramic tile- something that has texture but nothing real coarse

 

[CarbonFiberSwan]

I would get him off the slippery substrate and put some textured NON adhesive shelf liner down so he can get traction - or some slated ceramic tile- something that has texture but nothing real coarse

I had a textured plastic liner down and he didn’t like it. I will try to find something with more of a rubbery texture and see if it helps. I definitely have noticed that he can’t get any traction when trying to run after his bugs.

 

[Julee1971]

I took Toothless for his first vet visit in response to some odd behavior. He seems to be walking very strangely, and he is often resting with his front legs underneath him in odd angles. I was afraid he had Muscular Dystrophy or MBD.

The vet did a full checkup with X-rays and said they believe he was either born with MBD, or he was born with a higher risk of bone disease. They said he is a happy, healthy dragon, and that I have been doing everything right. Unfortunately they said it just happens sometimes with store bought dragons.

They gave him a dewormer and gave me a liquid calcium supplement to give him every day. They told me there is a 50/50 chance that he will get better, but as long as I make sure he is getting enough calcium/heat/UVB, he should not get worse.

I am sad that he has any issue at all, but I am relieved to know that I’ve been doing everything properly, and that there is hope for him to get better.

Here are some pictures of him resting in odd positions. In the picture with his food dish, he was about to fall over. I put him in a better position after getting the picture.

Hi; sorry to hear about your Beardie. We rescue & rehome & U need a new Vet. A Beardie is Never born with MBD; he gets it from improper UVB or No UVB or from people who dot replace the uvb every 6Mnths. He may be a happy Beardie somewhat but he’s not healthy. Have u been replacing his UVB light every 6Mnths? U can correct MBD & u need to do it ASAP!!! First of all, he needs proper UVB & lots of protein & Of course the greens/veggies everyday; the best UVB is the Reptisun 10.0 T5; the length u order should cover 70 percent of the tank. This UVB needs replacing every 6Mnths. Get him a hideaway to get away from the uvb also & a hammock; they love hammocks or u can use the hammock as a hideaway; place a soft terry cloth on top amd underneath a soft fleece blanket. I’ll post pics of my tank & the Uvb to order. U should never ever use coiled or colored bulbs & for heat use the zoomed basking bulb. The vet u went to should have given him calcium shots; try asking. Around or googling a very good reptile vet. But all u need is the Reptisun 10.0 T5 & sprinkle calcium pwder REPCAL 5times per week once per day after 7mnths of him getting better u can do 3-4 times a week. Also get Herptivite; this is sprinkled once per week/day on a noncalcium day. Lots of crickets & Dubias those are the best alongside a fresh plate of greens/veggies; plus he looks young; he needs to be fed proteins 3times a day, u feed till he stops eating get small or medium crickets the size should not be bigger than the space between his 2eyes. At about 7-8mnyhs old u can do larges. Never feed mealworms it’s horrible for their tummy & impacts them. Also please get a smaller feeding dish from a pet store; the dish of greens & veggies is to snack on all Day so it needs to remain in the tank on the cold side next to a small water dish, so it can’t be a human dinner plate. Typically u do 2fresh plates/replace after 4 hours or so cuz it gets wilted. The best & everyday greens/veggies are: mustard greens, collard greens, dandelions, endives, yellow squash( which has lots of calcium), butternut squash, green beans & snap peas. Do 2-3 of each maybe mustard greens, dandelions, yellow squash & butternut squash. Then try other ones and see which ones he likes more & stick to those 3-4 or mix them . Fruits as treats a few tiems a week; blueberries and papaya. When he turns a year u can give him superworms also; they are very good proteins but high in fat & hornworms maybe 1 or so a week. So order the Reptisun & get more proteins in his diet he needs it for his bones & in general he’s very thin/small; needs them for his bones to become strong along with the calcium powder & always the plate of greens/veggies especially the yellow squash. U will see major improvement; I promise. In the interim also find another reptile vet for calcium shots. Here are photos of what to order & my cage setup.

 

[Skybug]

I agree with julee, if he was born with mbd thatd mean the female was getting little to no calcium during her having eggs(which would be impossible cause either shed die, the eggs would of died) id definitely look around for a new vet (i can tell you from personal experience theres alot of bum vets out there)(had a vet tell me once he catches lizards outside and feeds them to his pets)(i guess parasites dont matter when ur the vet) it sounds like he was getting very little calcium and his lighting was bad wherever you got him(I rescued a on deaths door beardie from petco , shes now fat and healthy) im shure ur little guy will bounce back , he may be a little stunted but wuth proper care he should live a happy healthy long life, try to take him out and exercise him on your floor (after a couple days of rest)

 

[CarbonFiberSwan]

Hi; sorry to hear about your Beardie. We rescue & rehome & U need a new Vet. A Beardie is Never born with MBD; he gets it from improper UVB or No UVB or from people who dot replace the uvb every 6Mnths. He may be a happy Beardie somewhat but he’s not healthy. Have u been replacing his UVB light every 6Mnths? U can correct MBD & u need to do it ASAP!!! First of all, he needs proper UVB & lots of protein & Of course the greens/veggies everyday; the best UVB is the Reptisun 10.0 T5; the length u order should cover 70 percent of the tank. This UVB needs replacing every 6Mnths. Get him a hideaway to get away from the uvb also & a hammock; they love hammocks or u can use the hammock as a hideaway; place a soft terry cloth on top amd underneath a soft fleece blanket. I’ll post pics of my tank & the Uvb to order. U should never ever use coiled or colored bulbs & for heat use the zoomed basking bulb. The vet u went to should have given him calcium shots; try asking. Around or googling a very good reptile vet. But all u need is the Reptisun 10.0 T5 & sprinkle calcium pwder REPCAL 5times per week once per day after 7mnths of him getting better u can do 3-4 times a week. Also get Herptivite; this is sprinkled once per week/day on a noncalcium day. Lots of crickets & Dubias those are the best alongside a fresh plate of greens/veggies; plus he looks young; he needs to be fed proteins 3times a day, u feed till he stops eating get small or medium crickets the size should not be bigger than the space between his 2eyes. At about 7-8mnyhs old u can do larges. Never feed mealworms it’s horrible for their tummy & impacts them. Also please get a smaller feeding dish from a pet store; the dish of greens & veggies is to snack on all Day so it needs to remain in the tank on the cold side next to a small water dish, so it can’t be a human dinner plate. Typically u do 2fresh plates/replace after 4 hours or so cuz it gets wilted. The best & everyday greens/veggies are: mustard greens, collard greens, dandelions, endives, yellow squash( which has lots of calcium), butternut squash, green beans & snap peas. Do 2-3 of each maybe mustard greens, dandelions, yellow squash & butternut squash. Then try other ones and see which ones he likes more & stick to those 3-4 or mix them . Fruits as treats a few tiems a week; blueberries and papaya. When he turns a year u can give him superworms also; they are very good proteins but high in fat & hornworms maybe 1 or so a week. So order the Reptisun & get more proteins in his diet he needs it for his bones & in general he’s very thin/small; needs them for his bones to become strong along with the calcium powder & always the plate of greens/veggies especially the yellow squash. U will see major improvement; I promise. In the interim also find another reptile vet for calcium shots. Here are photos of what to order & my cage setup.

Thank you for all the info. I have all of those things, and have been following that routine since I bought him. I have only had him for a little over a month now.

I bought him from Petsmart, so it is very likely that he was not getting the proper diet/lighting there. They only fed their Beardies once a day! About 5 crickets every evening. I know not to feed mealworms. He refuses to eat dubia roches, so I feed him crickets and calcium worms. I have been dusting the crickets with Flukers calcium and repcal herptivite multivitamins daily since I got him. I also make sure he has greens in his tank. He wasn’t eating them for the first month, but he has been happily devouring them for the past couple weeks. I give him mustard greens, collard greens, and kale. (I know there are a lot of mixed reviews about kale, but I have done a LOT of research, and

I don’t use a dinner plate to feed him. It’s a small Armenian Coffe cup dish (5 inches across) The little plate is smaller than the watering dish I bought from the pet store, and easier for him to get on.

I don’t keep water in his enclosure because it was raising the humidity. I bathe him once every other day to give him a chance to drink.

I have other posts on here with pictures of his setup, but I’ll include some here too.

 

[Skybug]

How long has this behavior been happening? Was he like this when You first got him or has this happened since he got into his new enclosure?

 

[CarbonFiberSwan]

I agree with julee, if he was born with mbd thatd mean the female was getting little to no calcium during her having eggs(which would be impossible cause either shed die, the eggs would of died) id definitely look around for a new vet (i can tell you from personal experience theres alot of bum vets out there)(had a vet tell me once he catches lizards outside and feeds them to his pets)(i guess parasites dont matter when ur the vet) it sounds like he was getting very little calcium and his lighting was bad wherever you got him(I rescued a on deaths door beardie from petco , shes now fat and healthy) im shure ur little guy will bounce back , he may be a little stunted but wuth proper care he should live a happy healthy long life, try to take him out and exercise him on your floor (after a couple days of rest)

I’m fairly certain he was not being cared for properly at Petsmart. From what they told me, it seems they were only feeding their Beardies once a day, about 5 crickets each in the evening. I feed him 3 times a day, whatever he will eat, and I dust with calcium daily. I have a 36” Zoomed T5 HO fixture with a 5.0 bulb. I know the 10.0 is better, but the 5 came with the fixture, and I have read that it is sufficient as long as it is close enough to him and it isn’t on a mesh. The light is inside his enclosure, and it is 10” to 1’ high throughout the enclosure.

I had him in a 10 gallon aquarium for the first month, until I finished building his new enclosure. The new enclosure is 4 foot wide, 20 inches wide, and 20 inches tall. The UVB covers about 75% of the enclosure.

It’s good to know that they can’t be born with it. The vet said he took X-rays and that all the bones looked healthy. Is there another bone disease other than MBD? From my research, and from everything that people have been telling me on this forum, I have been doing everything right. According to how I’ve been feeding him and the lighting conditions, he should not be getting MBD.

 

[CarbonFiberSwan]

How long has this behavior been happening? Was he like this when You first got him or has this happened since he got into his new enclosure?

He was normal when I got him. He started to act a little odd about a week before I put him in the new enclosure, and it just got worse after I moved him over. He was also very lethargic for about a week after I moved him over. He has livened back up over the past couple days and isn’t lethargic anymore, but he still walks and rests in odd positions.

 

[Skybug]

He was normal when I got him. He started to act a little odd about a week before I put him in the new enclosure, and it just got worse after I moved him over. He was also very lethargic for about a week after I moved him over. He has livened back up over the past couple days and isn’t lethargic anymore, but he still walks and rests in odd positions.

If i may, what did you use to seal the wood? IM shure its not that but itd be good to rule it out, was it water or oil based? And you let it air out atleast a week? Im not questioning your care in anyway im concerned for the poor little guy aswell.

 

[Skybug]

Is it possible he may have jumped from his basking decor to the hard floor? My beardie did this when she was a baby and sprained her front leg , but that doesn’t explain ur guys back legs...

 

[CarbonFiberSwan]

If i may, what did you use to seal the wood? IM shure its not that but itd be good to rule it out, was it water or oil based? And you let it air out atleast a week? Im not questioning your care in anyway im concerned for the poor little guy aswell.

I believe it was an oil based epoxy clear coat. I did not let it air out as long as I should have... He was in such a small tank, and I wanted to get him in his bigger tank, so I rushed it instead of having patience.

The smell is completely gone from the tank now. Could I have poisoned him by putting him in there too soon?

 

[CarbonFiberSwan]

Is it possible he may have jumped from his basking decor to the hard floor? My beardie did this when she was a baby and sprained her front leg , but that doesn’t explain ur guys back legs...
He did jump off of my bed a while ago. He was exploring, and suddenly ran full speed to the edge and just jumped. He sat shocked for a few minutes before moving again after I picked him up. It was a couple weeks after that when he started acting strange though, so I don’t think that was the cause

 

[Skybug]

Theres a high chance you did,how many coats did u put on? Is the wood 1 inch plywood? Or was it “real wood”, i cant say For certain because I don’t know what kind you used ,a picture would help, if you didn’t let it dry for at least three days to a week then you definitely did, did you turn on his heat lamps for a couple hours prior to putting him in there(to burn off any extra chems) if most of the answers are no , then you might very well have poisoned him, im in no way trying to shame you , we all make mistakes, but i did tell you so on your build post, the best thing you can do cause idk how long hes been in there? When u put on your first coat? But get him out of it turn on the heat lamps full blast and really bake that sucker, im pretty shure lizards have superior smell to us so he could still be hotboxxing in there and getting hurt

 

[Skybug]

Lets hope at the very least ur lizard is just drugged from the smell of the chemicals.

 

[CarbonFiberSwan]

Theres a high chance you did,how many coats did u put on? Is the wood 1 inch plywood? Or was it “real wood”, i cant say For certain because I don’t know what kind you used ,a picture would help, if you didn’t let it dry for at least three days to a week then you definitely did, did you turn on his heat lamps for a couple hours prior to putting him in there(to burn off any extra chems) if most of the answers are no , then you might very well have poisoned him, im in no way trying to shame you , we all make mistakes, but i did tell you so on your build post, the best thing you can do cause idk how long hes been in there? When u put on your first coat? But get him out of it turn on the heat lamps full blast and really bake that sucker, im pretty shure lizards have superior smell to us so he could still be hotboxxing in there and getting hurt

Yes you did tell me. It was a very stupid mistake. I put 2 coats, and it aired in the sun for about 6 hours before coming inside. Then I let it sit for 24 hours before putting him in. The smell seemed to have dissipated when I moved him, but then the heat lamp caused it to smell badly again.

 

[CarbonFiberSwan]

Theres a high chance you did,how many coats did u put on? Is the wood 1 inch plywood? Or was it “real wood”, i cant say For certain because I don’t know what kind you used ,a picture would help, if you didn’t let it dry for at least three days to a week then you definitely did, did you turn on his heat lamps for a couple hours prior to putting him in there(to burn off any extra chems) if most of the answers are no , then you might very well have poisoned him, im in no way trying to shame you , we all make mistakes, but i did tell you so on your build post, the best thing you can do cause idk how long hes been in there? When u put on your first coat? But get him out of it turn on the heat lamps full blast and really bake that sucker, im pretty shure lizards have superior smell to us so he could still be hotboxxing in there and getting hurt

I am at work right now, but if I remember correctly, the floor is 1/2 inch birch plywood, and the walls and ceiling are 1/2 wood (the boards are made of a bunch of 2 inch strips glued together). I believe the wood is hardwood, but a friend of mine said it looks like pine. I knew not to use pine, so I intentionally looked for hardwood. I remember the Lowe’s tag saying “hardwood shelf boards”. I can take some close pictures when I get home and post them here

 

[Julee1971]

Thank you for all the info. I have all of those things, and have been following that routine since I bought him. I have only had him for a little over a month now.

I bought him from Petsmart, so it is very likely that he was not getting the proper diet/lighting there. They only fed their Beardies once a day! About 5 crickets every evening. I know not to feed mealworms. He refuses to eat dubia roches, so I feed him crickets and calcium worms. I have been dusting the crickets with Flukers calcium and repcal herptivite multivitamins daily since I got him. I also make sure he has greens in his tank. He wasn’t eating them for the first month, but he has been happily devouring them for the past couple weeks. I give him mustard greens, collard greens, and kale. (I know there are a lot of mixed reviews about kale, but I have done a LOT of research, and

I don’t use a dinner plate to feed him. It’s a small Armenian Coffe cup dish (5 inches across) The little plate is smaller than the watering dish I bought from the pet store, and easier for him to get on.

I don’t keep water in his enclosure because it was raising the humidity. I bathe him once every other day to give him a chance to drink.

I have other posts on here with pictures of his setup, but I’ll include some here too.

Hi, yes pet stores especially petco and Petsmart are notorious for selling Beardies with Coccidia & poor lighting/known to give wrong info & feeding horribly. Young Beardies need lots of protein from 1-9mnths of age feeding 3-4 times a day then slowing down to 2/day at about 8mnths and then after a year old, once per day (15-20) large crickets/day or 20 every other day. But always always the fresh plate of greens & veggies beginning as a baby or they will never eat them. At a young age u can introduce and get them to eat them, otherwise they will be ruined at an older age & very difficult to get them to eat them; so u are doing great. Just incorporate some veggies too, cut up to his size. Please use REPCAL calcium powder., it’s better than Faulkner’s. Also, calcium is to be given only 3-4 times per week/once per day only. The Herptivite u give only once per week/day on a Non calcium day. Baths: only give 2/week for 15min minimum in lukewarm dechlorinated water. Buy REPTISAFE if u dotm have a water filter system. Give more baths if he’s shedding & u can do a small water dish for drinking they sell small oval ones at petco or Petsmart u can place a few blueberries in their to get him to drink or place hai Dubia roaches in their or crickets on the feeding day with no calcium oalce them o. Water and he will dive for them & get his water intake. They love blueberries. The greens u are doing are great, mellow out on the kale & please add veggies yellow squash has lots of calcium & is a great everyday one along with butternut squash, snap peas, Green beans and endives.

 

[Skybug]

Thats definitely whats goin on in my opinion, you’ve had him a month you say? I dont think bad husbandry is the issue here (not that im accusing you) oil base takes way longer to fully dry, and you definitely soaked it with it being half inch, get him some fresh air and hopefully there will be no lasting affects.