Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Click here for Dragon Serpents
https://www.crepnw.com/
Click for 65% off Shipping with Reptiles 2 You

not sure what is going on........

jrquinn Oct 04, 2005 09:19 PM

I had to leave town for a few months for work and left my 1 1/2 month old leopard in the care of a friend that didn't/forgot to give her vitamins and calcium. She has grown faster than I would have expected, but is not walking right - she scoots on her belly and wiggles her back way too much. She dosen't ever stand up right, and is very lethargic, but she's quite chubby (not overweight, just well fed) - I'm betting it's the dreaded metabolic bone desease. I got home yesterday, and gave her a mix of water, calcium and vitamins thru a syringe, and plan on doing this once a week, but I wonder if it's too late? She's under a flourcent light only, with an under tank heat pad. Should I add more light for UVB? I have three bearded dragons in the same room, and available sun has done fine for all three.

Replies (3)

Gilbery007 Oct 05, 2005 09:19 AM

Ok for a start scrap the Fluorescent leo's do not need any sort of UV light! It sounds like MBD to me i have had a similar case with a very young leo. I bought some of the calcium drops that you put into the leo's water dish and my little one perked up within about a week! Seeing as your leo is much older it will take more time so i suggest a trip to the vet to see what he suggests but for now id get some of those calcium drops, i think zoomed makes it and they call it moondrops. Hope this helps and that your leo gets better.
Click here to go to Gilbery's Gecko's!
Click here to go to Gilbery's Gecko's!

AlteredMind99 Oct 05, 2005 10:38 AM

Leos dont need UVB light as they are nocturnal. Your beardies, on the other hand, definately need it, so i would give it to them.

Giving oral calicum is good, but more extreme measures may be needed. contact a good herp vet and bring your leo in, xrays can determine bone density, and the vet will be able to determine how aggressive your therapy should be.

Watch for defecation too, as leos lose calcium the peristalsis (wave like muscle contractions of the intestines) decrease (muscles need calcium to contract) making it hard or impossible for your leo to defecate. If this occours its an emergency and calcium injections may be needed

-----
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
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
1.0 Blood Red Corn (Virus)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)

lisa_cristin Oct 05, 2005 01:21 PM

I agree that it does sound like your gecko has MBD. I would definately take your gecko to a vet and make sure it's a vet that has experience treating not only herps but geckos as well, I made that mistake once and it only made my gecko much worse. The vet actually reccommended putting a UV light on him 24/7 and that I take out all of his hiding spot "shakes head", I can't believe I listened to him.

Check your vitamins, it's unlikely, but they may have expired. Also MAKE SURE that your calcium dust has D3 in it, that is the most important part when you are giving calcium. Besides using UV lights there is no other way besides D3 that the gecko can absorb the calcium. Is she still eating? If so she most likely still has a chance, if not it will be really difficult, but she could pull through. If she is not eating you can make a mixture for her to eat through a syringe (but be careful, feeding through a syringe can be extremly stressful for your gecko and she could even choke). I think Marica from Golden Gate Geckos has an excelent mixture, e-mail her on her link above. Otherwize just blend together the vitamins, some crickets, baby food if you want, and a little bit of water. When dealing with a sick animal the most important thing you need to remeber is to keep it hydrated with water. If she is not drinking you need to syringe feed her water.

Good luck, sorry if this is all old news to you.

Lisa

P.S. as the other poster said bearded dragons NEED UV (I don't know if it's UVB or just UV) lighting. Sunlight from a window is the worst thing you can do if it shines on their enclosure. The window filters out all UV and the heat from the sun can be damaging as well (I know there are other reasons but I can't remeber at the moment). MBD can take a very long time to present itself (months to a year ) and once it does it is often too late.
-----
0.1 Hypo Leopard Gecko
0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko
1.0 Blizzard Leopard Gecko
1.0 Albino Pacman Frog
1.0 Lovebird (Tony)
1.0 Elkhound Cross (Otto)
0.1 Malamute Cross (Paris)
6.0 Bettas

Site Tools