Bearded Dragons

BugMom · Bearded Dragons

Just took in 2 Beardies from a friend of a friend. One of my many "So I heard you adopt unwanted creepy critters" type scenarios.

Oh it's bad. The male seems energentic enough. A little skinny, but eating and running around and just having a great old time. Both eyes were oozy and the right one seem swollen and tended to stick shut. The vet diagnosed as infection maybe caused by bad substrate. (That was even before I told him the previous owner kept them on walnut shell).
But the female is really bad. Can't really walk or lift herself up she's so weak. Softened jaw bone, fibroid-like swelling on forearms and no muscle tone what-so-ever. I knew the verdict already, but the vet confirmed metabolic bone disease and severe malnutrition. She's still eating, however, and she does move her limbs, just doesn't have much strength. I think because the previous owner kept them together, the male was getting the majority of the food (and it was poor food at that) and the girl was basically being starved to death. I've got her in on papertowel now with fresh greens and soft bodied prey dusted with calcium. Her boyfriend is in a separate tank. The vet gave me prescription calcium drops that she seems to like. There is no furniture in her cage at all because her bones are so weak even a tiny fall could do big damage. Of course they both have proper heating and UV lighting now, a "luxury" they didn't previously enjoy.

Does anybody have any experience with this disease? What I'm really looking for is encouraging "It was a tough road, but Lizzy is fine now" kind of stories. Gotta keep my spirits up for this little girl. It will be a long hard road and she may never regain full use of her limbs. Did I mention I actually paid an "adoption fee" for these poor souls? I'm a sucker for a cold-blooded sob story. Crying or Very sad

Celeste

Hey, at least they *asked* you if you wanted the Beardies, instead of just leaving them on your front porch with no note like one neighbor did with a Leopard Gecko when we first moved in...

Here's some good info on MBD:
http://www.anapsid.org/mbd.html

The good news is that she *can* recover, but she may forever have some skeletal deformity.

-- Celeste

Jules

Hey Christy,

Good for you for taking these little ones! Smile

I worked at a vet hosp that treated exotics, including reptiles for many years. Back in the early 90's it seemed like iguanas were all the rage that you see now with beardies.

Unfortunately, we treated way too many of these poor guys with the same problem. People are complete morons when the acquire a lot of these animals without even properly researching their needs first or they just get lazy!

The good news they can improve a lot. As Celeste said, she will most likely always have some level of deformity. However, she can recover to be much more functional again. It does take a long time to see the improvements so don't let the slow progress discourage you.

They are both very lucky to have ended up in your care. I can't even tell you how tempted I am to get a bearded dragon or two. I've been wanting one for some time now and don't think I can hold out much longer! Wink

Keep us up to date on their progress!

Jules

~Abyss~

They do seem to grow back fast when I was away from home nobody fed my dragons and when i saw them they were as flat as pancakes and very week and now they bulgy and running around my room like crazy (i'm switching them over to Natural sunlight now). In fact i think one of them is TOO fat now.

Krawll

I've never kept lizards but i always liked them and i know what a bearded dragon is and they are awesome . I'm glad those two finaly found a good mom to take care of them Smile

Good luck with your new pets .

I think people who want pets just cuz they look cool but are not ready or willing to take the time to actualy take care of them should never consider keeping them. I'd rather not try and think how many animals are suffering right now , at this very moment simply because their owners are too lazy . People should realy try and see a difference between wanting a pet and wanting to take care of a pet. It gets me realy pissed off when i hear stories like yours but at least those two will know a good ending Smile

Cheers to you bugmom Smile

BugMom

I know what you mean Jules, I was cravin' a beardie forever. I wouldn't let myself buy one though because I knew it was a matter of time before somebody would offer me a pathetic dying one. Well, can I call em or what? I feel the same about ball pythons. One day someone will send one my way who really NEEDS me. Only my box turtle Bubba was purchased by me in a pet store, but I was only 8 at the time, so that's my excuse.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. My vet said he believed I could do it. Last year I brought him a half-dead Russian tortoise and we were able to save him, so why not the dragons? I'll tell you this much, she won't go down without a fight.

The dragons names are Nigel and Amelia, by the way. My dog P-Nut has decided he wants to be Nigel's best friend. I will have to get some pics of that and post them. You won't believe it till you see it!

Krawll

Sure i would definatly like to see the pics of your dog and Nigel Razz

they're probably realy cute together Razz