Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hiya gang,
I have this gargoyle baby (about 9 weeks old) and I looked in on "him" today and found a disturbing visual. His lower jaw was flapped all the way back to his "chest". I took him out and found that the jaw is rubbery and really flexible.

My fear is that he cannot even use his tongue to eat or drink.

Any suggestions?

do u use calcium?sounds like mbd/rubbber jaw they need alot of calcium when young.Take to vet! should make visual inspection evry day not just glance at his tank once a week...
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0.1.0. Green Iguana (Ziggy)
0.1.0. Bearded Dragon (Dina)
1.0.0. Mali Uromastyx (unnamed)
1.0.0. Crested Gecko (Ilik)
1.0.0. Leopard Gecko (unnammed)
1.0.0. Veiled Chameleon (Bonzaii)
0.0.1. Eastern Painted Turtle (Piccasso)
0.0.1. Common Snapping Turtle (Spike)
0.0.11. Hermit Crabs (unnamed)
0.0.2. Goldfish
0.0.2. African Dwarf Frogs (unnamed)
0.0.8. Assorted Tropical Fish
0.2.0. Dogs(Brandie & Molly)
1.1.1. Birds

i should mention that i just got the little guy and i do check him out every day. he was fine and eating last night. can a vet do anything or should i freeze the little guy?

Sounds like metabolic bone disease. This is caused due to a lack of calcium in the diet. The body needs calcium to do many things besides build bone so when it's short it tends to leach the calcium from bones, making them weak, brittle or rubbery. A vet can inject calcium directly into the little guy and save his life.

Calcium needs to be added into the babyfood you feed him or dusted on his crickets. The gecko diet by T-Rex has calcium in it as well. This is a way to ensure he doens't get MBD but now that he has, taking the gargoyle to the vet is the best thing to do to ensure the best chances of recovery.

Yeah, that is the problem! He eats the Gecko diet by T-rex. I mix up a new batch every day. I thought about freezing the little guy tonight but if the vet can give him a calcium injection and that will make his jaw harden up and go back to the way it should be, I will do that....

Can the vet really do that?

My bad.. Was he like that when u got him? U can try calcium shot if the vet recommends im not sure exactlyt anyone else?
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0.1.0. Green Iguana (Ziggy)
0.1.0. Bearded Dragon (Dina)
1.0.0. Mali Uromastyx (unnamed)
1.0.0. Crested Gecko (Ilik)
1.0.0. Leopard Gecko (unnammed)
1.0.0. Veiled Chameleon (Bonzaii)
0.0.1. Eastern Painted Turtle (Piccasso)
0.0.1. Common Snapping Turtle (Spike)
0.0.11. Hermit Crabs (unnamed)
0.0.2. Goldfish
0.0.2. African Dwarf Frogs (unnamed)
0.0.8. Assorted Tropical Fish
0.2.0. Dogs(Brandie & Molly)
1.1.1. Birds

At least give the little guy a chance, and if not get it put to sleep at the vets,to kill an animal by freezing it is very cruel it takes a while for them to die their organs crystalise its a horrible way to die.

I don't think that a nine week old animal could suffer from metabolic bone disease that quickly. I would think it was a deformity or was injured somehow. What have you been feeding this animal?

MIKE
Rhacos.com