Today, is a fairly sad day. After living 3 months in harmony, I am forced to seperate my 2 females. Unfortunately, she seems to be suffering from MBD. I don't know if anyone has had to go through this, but it is by far the most stressful thing an amateur breeder can run into. To see something that was such a spaz when I first got her, turn into a jittery, swelled up, just, beautiful creature. Now, I have heard that when an animal becomes unalert, and will not accept food that MBD has pretty much ran its course and there is nothing else you can do. Fortunately she is still accepting wax worms (the only thing her poor jaw can handle), and she definately is alert, just not active. Since I've moved her it's easier for me to observe that she is drinking water, and accepting her calcium from her dish. I currently have her under a ReptiSun 5.0 a ZooMed 100 watt basking bulb to hopefully help her heal her bones. Is this the right thing to do? Also, I have heard that mercury vapor lamps were used to help cure MBD. How accurate is that?
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Leo Suffering from MBD, need help since vet still doesn't think that's what it is...
Replies (12)
BTW, she is extremely gravid...
are you sure waxies are the only thing she can eat...and not just that she won't eat anything else... How often had you been feeding waxies before? Usually with MBD you can tell when its really bad because they become deformed. How fat is her tail? She also may not be eating because she is gravid. How far along is she? I would think a vet could easily diagnose MBD...especially since it is fairly common...
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Christina
Leopard Gecko Morph Descriptions
2.3 leos
-0.1 tangerine het rainwater albino w/jungle background (Blinkers)
-0.2 jungles (Vahz & Skissor)
-1.0 tremper albino (Spitfire)
-1.0 tangerine rainwater albino (Bronx)
-ignorance is not to be punished when one is trying to gain knowledge...what scares me is the vast number of people who, when given the information to gain knowledge, choose to ignore it.
What kind of calcium supplement are you using? If the supplement contains phosperus (calcium phosphate etc) it is possible for your leo to get MBD even with supplementation. UV lights help reptiles produce vitamin D3 which is necessary for calcium metabolism, but since most leos don't like to bask they are often not very helpful.
I use and recommend rep-cal which is phospherus free and contains vitamin D3. I successfully rehabbed two geckos with very severe MBD using this supplement. The two leos I rehabbed were willing to accept food from my hand so I hand fed them generously powdered pre-killed crickets. During the first month of feeding I had to hold the crickets while they tried to "chew" so that it wouldn't slide out of their mouths. Since gutloaded feeders such as crickets and mealworms are better nutritionally I'd really work at trying to help her eat these.
Good luck!
Alice
That sounds like a pretty good idea. But she hasn't ate food from my hand in a long time. Anything is worth the try.
That brings up a really good point and was something I overlooked until recently. I had been using Fluker's, which is full of phospherous and calcium. I recently just switched (started this week) to Miner-All, which I'm pretty sure is phospherous free. I will only offer her waxies once a week now. I am only going to use only Miner-All I since it has D3. Do you think the UV light should go?
You can leave the UV light...it won't hurt...as far as the waxies...they shouldn't be fed more than two or three every 2-3 weeks. They are VERY addictive to leos and if they know they're gonna get 'em they won't eat anything else.
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Christina
Leopard Gecko Morph Descriptions
2.3 leos
-0.1 tangerine het rainwater albino w/jungle background (Blinkers)
-0.2 jungles (Vahz & Skissor)
-1.0 tremper albino (Spitfire)
-1.0 tangerine rainwater albino (Bronx)
-ignorance is not to be punished when one is trying to gain knowledge...what scares me is the vast number of people who, when given the information to gain knowledge, choose to ignore it.
I think that the leo will only make what it needs from the light, but I know that when I lighted my tanks the geckos just never came out. So if you're gecko is just hiding when you turn it on, it's probably not helping much. I think that proper supplementation is much more important. I've never used miner-all so I'm not sure what all is in it.
The calcium phosperus mix supplements are really meant for herbivores. Insectivores get a lot of phospherus from their prey items, but very little calcium. So in order to have the proper calcium to phospherus ratio they need a supplement that does not contain phospherus.
-Alice
Oh wow, that fact completely blew over me. I always thought to myself, how could there be a positive phospherous ratio/negative calcium ratio. I feel terrible, but will feel much better when/if she gets better. Miner-All definately has no phospherous in it. I am also planning on getting lobster roaches by the beginning of next month. I heard that these have a really high calcium percentage. What is the best method to kill a cricket w/o too much of a mess? tee hee(???) Or a roach for that matter?
I do this all the time because my older leo is a bit "slow" at catching her food and i hate having to catch the crickets again in her cage.
easiest way i found is dust the crap outta your crix first, in a plastic bucket/container (this partically blinds them). Then take a spoon and catch them right between the head and the rest of the body and well push down. it will crunch and fluid will ooze out but most of the time the won't die completely and will still twitch and attract your geckos attention.
Yum eh?
Good luck
I just squish the heads. ANYWHO... be careful of the waxies, because they too are VERY high in phosperous. They are kind of a rotten reptile food...but an occasional treati is ok. I have also heard of using lamb baby food too. This may smell appetizing and be easy to eat as well. Make sure to mix the calcium into this well. and the uvb light isnt a bad idea, just make sure that it is 12" away from the animal. Get some calcium into her as fast as possible, or else she will become egg bound, or break her pelvic bone., Calcium injections are a good idea.
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1.0 ball python- Azazel
1.0 columbian boa- Brooklyn
1.0 JCP-Milton
1.0 borneo blood-Hiss
1.0 peach phase thayeri-Sancho
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
1.1 hognose- Pricilla and Odd
0.1 russian tortoise- Manja
0.1 leo- Boji
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.0 BTS- Griffon
0.1 Iggy- Sunny
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
2.4 ratties- Willard, Rizzo, Bree, Blitzkreig, Raisin, and the Runt
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or supers, mealies waxies and or other stuff.........somethings must die for others to thrive......
its the way of life...
do you eat beef or chicken? because you would be horrified how they are slaughtered prior to them being processed
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-robin struck
R2 Reptiles
You need a flourescent with UVB emission. I recommend two four to six hour session, with a two hour break.
