Please help!!!!!!!! MBD

[TheTeguGurl]

ok here is the deal, this is going to be alittle long please help me.... ok my local reptiles guy got back one of the tegus he sold to a guy over a yr ago he said he couldnt keep him no longer! so when i went over there like i do everyday just to help out or what ever i looked at this tegu! HE HAS MBD for sure.. he cant walk due his front legs are bent in and he isnt eating very much, plus he was so dry and going trough a shed it was sad. the first thing i did was soaked him for an hour and helped remove his shed. he drank alot of water. we placed him under a uvb/uba light and he just lays there.. now here is my thing my local reptile guy plus he is a great friends wants me to take him home and try to nurse him back to health! i need some advise where to start with this guy...im going to be bring him home torrow and start caring for him.. he in bad shape all... WHERE DO I START WHAT DO I DO?



when my friend called this guy up to tell him that this tegu he brought to him had MBD he didnt know what to say or think he said he was giving him all the prper care! BULLSHIT! IM IN TEARS...PLEASE HELP ME HELP THIS TEGU AND TO SAVE HIS LIVE!

 

[chelvis]

First thing to do is make sure that you have a good UVB bulb. The florecent bulbs are good for maintance but right now you are trying to treat the animals. Somthing like a solar glo, a mega ray or power sun. The put out heat and a good amount of UV as well. Fallow the directions on the box, putting it too close can give burns to far away and he'll rescive no UV.

Second (ok maybe this should be first) make sure he is hydrated becuase he will be basking alot.

Third stock up on some hi calcium foods things like small rats or apporpiate sized rodents. Also get a calcium dust, becuase of the hi amounts you will giving do not get one with D3 as it is possible to over dose of it. Make sure every meal is dusted.

If possible take him to a reptile vet. They can see how much damage has been done and what the best options for treatment are. They can also give you liquid calcium to give the gu. Also nothing is better than natural sun light, if its still warm out take him outside for an hour or two its the same as 8 hours under one of the UV lights.

Now it takes along time for reptiles to fully recover so be patiant, and i hope its not too late for the guy.

 

[TheTeguGurl]

thank you for the advise...alittle question about the calcuim without d3 where can i get this cuz i have minerall and it has d3 in it, may it be used at all?

First thing to do is make sure that you have a good UVB bulb. The florecent bulbs are good for maintance but right now you are trying to treat the animals. Somthing like a solar glo, a mega ray or power sun. The put out heat and a good amount of UV as well. Fallow the directions on the box, putting it too close can give burns to far away and he'll rescive no UV.

Second (ok maybe this should be first) make sure he is hydrated becuase he will be basking alot.

Third stock up on some hi calcium foods things like small rats or apporpiate sized rodents. Also get a calcium dust, becuase of the hi amounts you will giving do not get one with D3 as it is possible to over dose of it. Make sure every meal is dusted.

If possible take him to a reptile vet. They can see how much damage has been done and what the best options for treatment are. They can also give you liquid calcium to give the gu. Also nothing is better than natural sun light, if its still warm out take him outside for an hour or two its the same as 8 hours under one of the UV lights.

Now it takes along time for reptiles to fully recover so be patiant, and i hope its not too late for the guy.

 

[TheTeguGurl]

We are going to see if the local reptile guy has funds to see a vet, but more then likey im this tegus only care provider right now!

 

[chelvis]

any reptile store should sell a clacium supplement without D3, i know my local petco and petsmart do. It can be used just not too much, its not known how much is too much and next thing you know liver and kindney problems happen.

I figured a vet visit would be a long shot considering the situation, but hey i always put that in there. Well good luck and if u can putting pics up will help with determining how much damage is done and how much can be done to fix it.

 

[Guest]

I agree with everything chelvis had to say.

Definitely get him under either natural sunlight, or a damn good MVB. A lot of the MegaRay bulbs are on backorder at the moment, so I'd perhaps just shell out the money for a ZooMed Powersun. Here's a great site to get them on the cheap:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-mercury-vapor/11442-107801/zoo-med-powersun-uv.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.petmountain.com/product/rept ... un-uv.html</a><!-- m -->

You'll also want to make sure he's kept nice and warm, because he's going to be going through a healing process, and will need the extra toastiness for it.

In addition to that, you're going to want a good calcium powder. This is the stuff that we use:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm#Calcium" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm#Calcium</a><!-- m -->

We dust EVERY meal (even the pinkies, as their skeletal system hasn't fully calcified yet, but it sounds as if your guy will be full grown, so any adult mice/rats you feed him will be perfect without additional calcium dusting). We use the calcium WITH Vit D3 once or twice a week (as they're housed indoors), and the calcium WITHOUT Vit D3 for the rest of the other days. We also use their multivitamin once or twice a week as well.

You can also add a liquid calcium to his water dish, though I'm unfamiliar with which one to use, or how much of it is needed.

I've read a story of a member here whose tegu developed severe MDB. They turned it around within a matter of weeks by feeding their tegu chicken necks. They were cut up into the appropriately size (to allow for easy swallowing), and fed quite a few times a week. I would DEFINITELY recommend going to your local butcher or grocery store and stocking up on these.

If he won't eat, then you're going to need to force-feed him something. It's stressful, for him as well as for you, but he's going to need the nutrients to keep his strength up. You can feed him with the feeding syringes found on this page:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bug-de-lite.com/Products%20Page.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bug-de-lite.com/Products%20Page.html</a><!-- m -->

It might also not hurt to pick up some of their probiotics, to help replenish his "good" gut flora, as I can only assume they've been compromised by the stress he's under.

Keep up with the warm baths. I'd recommend giving him one every day if you can, for at least 30 minutes. It's going to help with his shed, as well as help keep him hydrated, as I'm sure he needs it. You can also try to get him to drink watered-down Pedialite, as it'll replenish any lost electrolytes.

That's about all I can think of for now. Nothing beats an official reptile Vet, so I'd get him into one ASAP if at all possible.

And please keep us posted!!

 

[Chuey]

Hey just wanted to let you know, we have a UVB meter at home right now. Solar Glo, Power Sun and Mega Ray are all having manufaturing issuers in 2010, and they are still mid process of fixing them.

We have tested all of these lights and they are prone to failure and not emitting any UVB. The compact flourescencts suck, the regular tube flourescents are just ok. However Fluker started making a vapor bulb and we've had it burning for several months now and its still putting out 100NM or equivalent to a morning or afternoon natural sun output.

Go with Flukers right now.

For more info just hit up beardeddragon.org. There's several UVB researchers on the site.

 

[Chuey]

Hey just wanted to let you know, we have a UVB meter at home right now. Solar Glo, Power Sun and Mega Ray are all having manufaturing issuers in 2010, and they are still mid process of fixing them.

We have tested all of these lights and they are prone to failure and not emitting any UVB. The compact flourescencts suck, the regular tube flourescents are just ok. However Fluker started making a vapor bulb and we've had it burning for several months now and its still putting out 100NM or equivalent to a morning or afternoon natural sun output.

Go with Flukers right now.

For more info just hit up beardeddragon.org. There's several UVB researchers on the site.