i have a female dragon i know that she aint egg bound but she is very dormant and her 2 limbs on her left side are swollen at the joint and is very hard has any body seen this before
thanks
moostadon
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i have a female dragon i know that she aint egg bound but she is very dormant and her 2 limbs on her left side are swollen at the joint and is very hard has any body seen this before
thanks
moostadon
Swollen limbs and lethargy sounds like MBD. MBD is a general term for a bunch of different conditions that arrise from one (or more) of several factors. They can cause a variety of symptoms...and the ones you are describing sounds like a low blood calcium level. When calcium is not provided or is not being metabolised properly the blood levels will become low...in order to sustain the blood calcium level the body will draw calcium from reserves such as the bones. The arms become swollen as the bones soften and the muscles swell to accomidate. These dragons are often lethargic as well.
What type of lighting do you have for your beardie? Do you have a UVB bulb - what brand of bulb is it? How old is it? Do you supplement the diet with calcium and vitamins? How often?
Treating MBD requires a few different things...whichever factor in the husbandry that was causing the issues initially needs to be corrected. The basking spot needs to be made of a bright, white bulb that provides a basking temperature of 100-105degrees (there should be a large wide branch or some other structure that reaches up to a few inches below the bulb), there should also be a high quality UVB such as a repti-sun 8.0 or 10.0 or a Mecury Vapor bulb (www.reptileuv.com). This bulb has to be less than 6mo old. Pure calcium supplements should be used 2-3times per week and a multivitamin should be given once a week or every other week - for a healthy dragon. If your dragon is begining to show signs of MBD you should be supplementing pure calcium daily on everything she is eating and be using a multivitamin 1-2x a week. RepCal is a great brand that sells a pure calcium supplement, and one with D3 and a multivitamin containing D3.
If there are any things in your set up that are not in line may cause a condition like this and should be quickly changed to help her start to get healthy.
However, your dragon should alsovgo immediately to a good, qualified herp vet who has experience treating these cases. They will probably want to do an exam and maybe take some x-rays. They may prescribe an oral calcium supplement that contains a higher concentration of calcium. They may provide other treatments if they find them necesseary.
Is your dragon eating at the moment? Is she defecating?
It would really help if you provided a detailed explanation of your set up and husbandry techniques, as well as her behavior - over all and lately. What is her usual diet and how has it changed lately?
I hope this information helps
(There is a lot of good information on bearded dragons - and on this condition as well at www.beautifuldragons.com)
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0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
2.1 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo,Jeffrey Nothing, Louise)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
1.0 Blood Red Corn (Virus)
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx (Scuttle)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)
ive been running a zoo med 10.0 and a zoomed powersun murcury vapor .i had been force feeding her baby food she auctually ate crickets the other day .ive been giving her the repcal blue label along with the exo terra electrodize with d3.where would i find some pure calcium to give her i hate to loose her she was mean and a biter when i got her now shes a sweet heart
hmmm....a 10.0 AND a mercury vapor might be too much uvb.....
I would recomend going to a good herp vet immediately...if she is lethargic with swollen arms and not eating then something is wrong and it needs to be addressed asap
I hope your beardie is ok!
What size tank is she in and what are the temps in the basking spot? How are you measuring the temps? I would think that maybe you are overdoing the UVB, go with either the mecury vapor or the repti-sun (as long as they are newer than 6months).
I really cant stress enough how much this dragon needs to see a good herp vet
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0.1 Bearded dragon
2.1 Leopard Gecko's
1.0 Tokay Gecko
0.1 Mexican Black kingsnake
1.0 Ball Python
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
1.0 Blood Red Corn
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
0.1 Bullmastiff
3.1 Cats
i have her in a 24 wide by 48 long by 18 high she looks a little better tonite im gonna call my vet and have him look i have some miner all the guaranteed analysis per kilo
calcium min 34% max 36%
vitamin d3 4,400.00 i.u
manganese 453.66
zinc 544.39
iron 136.10
copper 113.42
iodine 36.29
cobalt 3.63
magnesium 453.66
selenium 11.023
What are the temps in the cage?
Im glad you are going to talk to your vet - they should be able to get to the bottom of this 
Also, if you are using soley a supplement with Calcium and Vitamins you want to quicly get a pure calcium supplement. Many vitamins, including D3 are fat soluble, which means excess amounts are not passed out through the urine but instead they are stored in the body, making an overdose possible. D3 and vitamin powders should only be used 1x weekly or once every other week...unless directed otherwise by a vet due to a specific issue
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0.1 Bearded dragon
2.1 Leopard Gecko's
1.0 Tokay Gecko
0.1 Mexican Black kingsnake
1.0 Ball Python
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
1.0 Blood Red Corn
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx
0.1 Bullmastiff
3.1 Cats
I agree that vitamin supplements should be used no more than once a week. But, I have to disagree that Calcium without D3 should be used unless your dragon has regular access to unfiltered sunlight. The Rep-Cal Calcium with D3 is formulated for use with this species when MVB or Fluorescent lights are used. Otherwise, Rep-Cal sells a Calcium Supplement without D3 designed for reptiles in an outdoor enclosure or nocturnal reptiles. D3 is produced by UVB in sunlight interacting with the dragons skin. The amount of UVB in sunlight is substantially more in the shade than both your MVB and Fluorescent bulbs together. If your worried about it maybe have both Rep-Cal products and switch off days. I have always used the Calcium with D3 at every live feeding (but 1 for vitamins) and never had a problem. I highly doubt that excess D3 is your problem.
D3 is needed to metabolize calcium. So you need the rep-cal with D3. Sounds like that's what you have.
I also think that you should see a herp vet right away. They can give calcium shots that will make a difference very quickly.
Also be sure that you're not feeding spinach, cabbage, broccoli, or kale. All of these contain oxilates that block the absorbtion of calcium. Also carrots contain too much vitamin A to be fed more than rarely. Make sure your multivitamin has no vitamin A too. The rep-cal vitamins contain betacarotine instead of vitamin A. Not sure about the brand you are using since I never have.
http://www.arav.com/
Above is a link for reptile vets.
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