Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've read the recent posts on the poor dragons that have MBD and I just want to ask couple of questions. I'm not concerned about my own set up but I wanted to know if its is completely curable and how do you deal with it? How long does it take for a dragon to get as bad as the ones posted recently? If its not completely curable then if you get the dragon more 'healthy' do they have a shortened life expectency? Like I said, not worried about mine, he's getting silkies (i switched from crix) that are dusted with calcium and d3,,, and a multivitamin once a week and his heating temps are fine and he's got a uvb bulb. Just curious about this disease since its been mentioned here recently. Thanks,L.
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Eddie)
2.0.0 Dogs (Black German Shepherd-Nicholas, Black Lab-Cooper)
1.1.0 Budgies (Kia and Simon)
0.0.1 ?Fiddler Crab (Crusty)
0.0.25 Various Fishies (Freshwater)
2.1.0 Hubby and kids (Boy and a Girl)

I can speak for my own expereience with a rescue dragon with severe MBD. Irwin was very deformed and he never looked normal again (I wish I had digital pictures, but no digital camera at the time. Maybe someday I'll get a scanner so you can se how he looked). He did regain the ability to walk although not completely up on his feet like they should. He regained a good level of bone density (as evaluated on radiograph, we did not do a biopsy.) I acquired him at 1 year old and I am convinced he did not receive proper care from te onset. It is hard to get history from some people because they feel guilty and tend to lie. He lived to be nine years old. He was a very active and amazing dragon that I owe a great deal of gratitude to. I loved him very much. GREAT! Now you made me cry! I am going to play with my dragons and feel better.
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Stacey

As far as the length of time it takes to get that bad.... it varies. I have seen a 6 month old dragon that looked horrible, and I have seen dragons kept without proper lighting for up to 2 years before showing symptoms. The disease relies mainly on four different factors... access to UVB, calcium, vitamin D3 and phosphorus. Sometimes you see dragons that had lighting but lacked in one of the nutritional areas. And then there are the ones that had nothing they needed from the start, like Staceys, which speeds the process dramatically. Check out this link. It goes into alot of detail about it!!

thanks for all the info. Glad to see that if caught in time they can still live a long life (sort of),,,, and sorry if i made you cry Still amazes me that people cheap out on there pets,,,ie. not getting the proper lighting or vitamins... why bother even getting a pet??? I'll stop now before i get "preachy" LOL.. thanks again L.
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Eddie)
2.0.0 Dogs (Black German Shepherd-Nicholas, Black Lab-Cooper)
1.1.0 Budgies (Kia and Simon)
0.0.1 ?Fiddler Crab (Crusty)
0.0.25 Various Fishies (Freshwater)
2.1.0 Hubby and kids (Boy and a Girl)

I forgot to add the link!! That was smart!! Hehehehe. Here it is!! And I agree. It breaks my heart too. I manage a GOOD pet store... one of the few. And we see it everyday. People come in with a herp they bought at another store with nothing but a plastic Kritter Keeper cage and some crickets!! AHHHHHH!!
Link

Actually i had read that link but found, although it gives lots of information, it didn't answer the questions that i had,,,, but i got my answers on this forum which i thought i would. Thanks ever so much again. L,
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Eddie)
2.0.0 Dogs (Black German Shepherd-Nicholas, Black Lab-Cooper)
1.1.0 Budgies (Kia and Simon)
0.0.1 ?Fiddler Crab (Crusty)
0.0.25 Various Fishies (Freshwater)
2.1.0 Hubby and kids (Boy and a Girl)