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metabloic bone disease

billysflower Oct 21, 2004 05:07 PM

my coworker recently rescued an iguana from a stupid guy and she was supposed to have it a new home that night but that fell thru anyway it has metabloic bone disease and she needs to fix it the vets in our area will charge over 300.00 and will except nopayments thru research on the internet i found that she could give him 3 doses of calcium gluconate to reverse this disease does anyone know where i can get this or of any other product that would help also rescues in va that might help thankyou

Replies (9)

Mike D Oct 21, 2004 07:12 PM

i would fork over the money to teh vet and get it done right instead of half assing it...

Geting calcium into the iggs system would be good.. adda little extra to the food will help.. and make sure you have a UVB light on the igg.. you can give it all teh calcium you want but without UVB it wont do a thing...
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alteredmind99 Oct 21, 2004 08:02 PM

MBB can be a really serious problem it can easily kill an Ig, i would just pay the vet. $300 actually doesnt sound that bad for it anyway. I wouldnt try to treat it on your own because you could end up making it worse
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billysflower Oct 23, 2004 08:49 AM

actually I think half assing it would have been to let the guy dump it in the woods somewhere like he was planning to do in 50 degree weather so it could die like i said our vets wont take payments and it wasnt a planned adoption or rescue the guy walked into the store said take it or i'll drop it off on the side of the highway so lets see take it and try to help it with limited money = half assing
leaving it with guy who will throw it on street to die is what? better? good?

agrrlandherguy Oct 21, 2004 09:26 PM

MBD is not something that can be "reversed", rather it can be halted. Upping the calcium intake and UVB lighting is the first step. I don't know where you live and if the weather is good enough, but if it is warm out try to give the Ig some time outdoors on a leash. Could you explain what symptoms of MBD the Iguana is exhibiting? I have some recipies that you could try syringe-feeding as well.....

I do not know what exactly he vet would be charging $300 for?! I am curious to know what their treatment plan would be because everything they would do you pretty much could replicate at home. Could I get more details about what they are charging for? I would like to help and might have some suggestions. At our sanctuary almost all of our reptiles have some form of MBD at intake and they don't go to the vet. We self-treat most all problems (some of the staff is livenced vet techs) and only get medications and surgerys performed by the vet.

The only way to solve the problem is through education.

billysflower Oct 23, 2004 08:45 AM

the iguana has plump legs and arms and a skinny body his face looks puffy and he won't eat or drink on his own kind of lathargic i have never seen him this is what the girl who has him says and she came to the conclusion of mbd from looking in books the vet charges 50.00 for an office visit then they test then three days of shots and tests so the four days of going in is already 200.00 in office visits alone then add in medicine costs and test cost. i have ordered over the internet calcium glubionate because one site said that could be done orally but it hasnt arivved yet. will try anything that will work or help thank you

PHFaust Oct 21, 2004 11:35 PM

>>my coworker recently rescued an iguana from a stupid guy and she was supposed to have it a new home that night but that fell thru anyway it has metabloic bone disease and she needs to fix it the vets in our area will charge over 300.00 and will except nopayments thru research on the internet i found that she could give him 3 doses of calcium gluconate to reverse this disease does anyone know where i can get this or of any other product that would help also rescues in va that might help thankyou

Neo-Cal is a prescription only thing. Have you checked both herp vet connection, arav, and anapsid.org to see if there are other vets that work with reptiles in your city?

MBD is something better left to vets unless you are SERIOUSLY expierenced. I have been rehabbing for 10 years now Iguanas particularly and at least 1 time a year I have an MBD Case that lands me into vet for assistance. And that is WITH Neo-cal at my house.

You can check rescue network for rescues in VA. I would suggest contacting VA Reptile Rescue and a lady named bonnie. She may be able to assist with finding a more reasonably priced vet...
Rescue Network.

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Cindy
PHFaust

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Alika Oct 22, 2004 10:46 AM

$300 is way too much... unless you're also treating for something else. I suppose if the MBD is really progressed, the ig might require other treatments?

We found out that Xander had MBD last summer when he broke his leg. We caught it very early, and he hadn't experienced any of the tell-tale deformations of MBD. We paid about $160, but we also had to pay for the materials to set the leg.

A good vet will probably want to do an x-ray to confirm MBD. Around here, that's about $80. You'll also have to pay for the appointment, which ranges between $20-$40, depending on your vet. And then you'll pay for the first treatment of calcium glubonate and the bottle of it to take home. But that's only about >$10, depending on the vet and how much you need, I suppose.

Xander wasn't all that bad off. He received a strong dose of calcium glubonate twice a day for a week, then regular calcium supplements twice a week after that. By upping his calcium intake and correcting the little husbandry issues we were a little off on, and also by allowing him at least one hour of sunlight a day (impossible now, since it's cold here), we did actually REVERSE his MBD. By reverse, I mean that his September xrays showed gained bone density, and he has been growing. He's still small for his age, but he's very healthy and our vet thinks he'll make a complete recovery with no side effects.

So find out exactly what they want $300 for, and if it's just for xrays and treatment of the MBD itself, maybe you can seek a second opinion. You should definitely go to the vet, but in the meantime you can make sure he's getting the things every iguana should be getting without endangering his health - good, strong UVB, dietary calcium, and mild calcium supplements at least once or twice a week. It won't be enough to save him, but it will help until he can get the vet booster.

Alika

bloodroses19 Oct 22, 2004 01:26 PM

when i first rescued ell she had mbd sooo bad. she has an s shaped spine and has a hard time walking and climbing. if your ig has it as bad as mine did 300 dollars sounds about right i dont really know how much we spent all together but it was alot.
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brandy

billysflower Oct 23, 2004 09:21 AM

there are very small signs of mdb nothing like the twisting of spine and limbs i've seen before but without care he will get worse or die i guess that since there is only one vet in our area that treats reptiles they can charge 300.00 for 3 shots and 2 tests if they want?

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