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Joined: Aug 28, 2004
Posts: 1095
Location: Texas
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First off, I am not a veterinarian, just a woman who has raised my share of animals with disabilities, so this piece is about my opinion, my experiences, and nothing more. About 4 years ago, my daughter Dana bought a bearded dragon from a guy who basically did not want her anymore. He named it Wilson, but as we discovered that he was a she, she became Wilsan (pronounced Wilsanne). She was just beginning to show signs of metabolic bone disease (MBD) and the former owner blamed the dragon and not his own poor keeping habits. Wilsan did ok with Dana in her tiny apartment at Texas Tech, but she really came out of her shell and thrived when she came home and visited Chibi, my son's bearded dragon. Wilsan would act lovesick and pouty when she returned to Dana's apartment. She even acted like she was trying to drown herself in her water dish. I am totally serious, as I saw the same behavior in her after Chibi passed away unexpectedly. Wilsan came to live with us and she really thrived in a more social setting.
The MBD signs we noticed were in her limbs. They were "floppy" and she would pinwheel her arms and basically wiggle to and fro, like a snake moves around. A very helpful woman with much reptile knowledge explained to me that her lack of calcium had left her bones thin and brittle, so the floppiness was caused by a number of little breaks in the bones of her arms and legs. Her front limbs almost look like they are on backwards and her back limbs just mostly hang behind her, unless she is wriggling her way across a floor. We changed her diet to more veggies and less protein, sprinkled with calcium daily and with multivitamins once a week. After a couple of nasty bouts with pinworms and coccidia, we took her off of live crickets. We still give her the can-o-crickets sometimes though. We also eventually got her, and her newest cagemate Matilda, a dual spectrum mercury vapor spotlight. I was amazed at how much their appetites increased, and how active they became after changing to this type of lighting. I still occasionally dust their food, but not as often since they get vitamins from the light source too.
My experience with a "crippled" lizard has been very positive. We laugh at her antics daily, especially when she exerts herself as the alpha female in the cage. Matilda is almost twice her size and weight, but she lets Wilsan get away with her aggressive behavior, and generally ignores it. Wilsan adores my husband Jeffy. If she had eyelashes she would bat them at him. Sometimes if Dana and I try to feed her, she goes to the corner and puts her face down in it. When Jeffy, her Grampa comes in and starts sweet-talking her, she comes out of the corner and eats. The more he praises her the more she eats. Twice when the girls were playing on the floor, Wilsan actually attacked Matilda for getting too close to Jeffy! She didn't hurt her, but she left no doubt that he was her personal territory and she was not going to share. The girls are played with daily, get frequent baths and anytime we leave for more than just overnight, they travel with us.
A few challenges come with a "handicapped" dragon, such as at bath time. I use a very shallow tub, and Wilsan always has a big washcloth underneath and supporting her upper body. She cannot hold her head up high for long periods of time. This means that she often drags at least her tail through her poop, so I use newspaper for substrate, as it is the cheapist and easiest to change out. I also cannot keep anything in the cage that she could get on top of and fall off, as she cannot climb either. I make sure that they get exercise out of their tank daily, usually running around the reptile room, supervised. These are small accomodations to make life as easy as posssible for Wilsan, and Matilda does not seem to mind. Wilsan adapts beautifully and can do anything Matilda can, except climb and run on all fours. They are our veterinarian's favorite patients, and he always kisses Wilsan and tells her how special she is. I hope that none of our tankers ever have to deal with MBD, but if that happens, I would be glad to reassure them that dragons with MBD can live long healthy active lives, and be a source of joy every day.
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~Matilda & Sparti~
Play on Chibi & Wilsan!
The beast in me is caged by frail and fragile bars. ~ Johnny Cash
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