Crested MBD...help

[HeatherRose]

Alright here goes:

Took the crested to the vet today, diagnosis was Metabolic Bone Disease, very severe.

This is due to lack of sufficient Uvb rays needed to absorb Calcium. <-- or thats what the vet says.

Some say they don't get that much sun in the wild anyway...<-- vet says: it's still there, it penetrates. Only plastic and glass will block the rays.

The vet gave me a very slim chance. He gave me 2 supplements:

Calcium Gluconate ....liquid, raspberry flavoured calcium stuff, 2 drops, or 0.2 cc's daily...( could this lead to an OD?)

I also have Lafeber Emeraid II.....a food supplement mixed with water and babyfood....no real directions are given just to be mixed in with food...

He's now under a reptisun 5.0 light.

ANY opinions on this treatment are gratefully accepted...
Just help me get my crested better.

I have 4-6 weeks before he goes back for another x-ray.

Thank you.

[Kurzix]

hope your crestie pulls thru, and i;ve always been told cresties don;t need the UV lamps, cuz they are nocturnal

[beth wallbank]

hi there ......... sorry to hear about your little crested. The vet knows patooties. Crested geckos do not benefit from UBV or UBA rays. They are strictly nocturnal. Like leos, they can and will develop MBD if not properly supplemented with artificial vitamins that they would naturally receive in their diet in the wild.
When supplementing cresteds, the biggest error that is made is over dusting of one vitamin and not enough of the other. Too much of a good thing can also be damaging. If the crested was receiving ample calcium and not enough D3 or vitamin A, his body is not able to absorb and use the calcium. This is usually how both leos and cresteds, along with other nocturnal animals get MBD. Hopefully the vet gave you proper dosages of D3 and A to absorb all that calcium or youre just defeating the purpose. Keep us posted please. Good luck.

[Emily-Fisher]

Just because a crestie is nocturnal, it doesn't mean that you get to take a break from sunlight. Instead of buying a UV light, try placing the cage near a sunny window. Try to keep the enclosure at a steady temperature though. Good luck!

[HeatherRose]

thanks beth...I know, I've heard that before :S

The light can't be hurting, I turn it off at night. The emeraid is the vitamin supplement. (I've decided one of the problems stems from the fact that there wasn't enough D3 in the dust I was using.....when I bought it, I made sure it containted it. Just not enough :S I feel horrible)

Even after one day of the treatment, and the new light on him, he's moving around more.

So, we'll see! I will definately keep you all posted.

[katev17]

Definitely Heather! Don't worry, he's not going to be a hockey-helmet gecko :p

Sounds like he's already making an improvement, too! You're right about the light... in the wild the sunlight still exists, but they'd usually be burrowing or hiding during the day... so actually you could be regulating more normal behaviour, as opposed to making it seem like it's always nighttime for him, y'know? Well we'll have to see what becomes of it, maybe you've made a crested gecko breakthrough ;) lol ... ok well maybe not but that would still be cool... anyway I'm going to get ready for a day of being outside in the 20 DEGREE WEATHER! :D :D :D ... I like the idea of putting him near a sunny window though.... Don't know how much it would actually do, but keep up with what your vet says, Heather... as you've stated before "They don't let just any kooks become vets, or I'd already be one!" :) You can always go back and make him give you money if he gave wrong info LOL! :)

OKAY Keep us updated :)

Kate

[DragnDrop]

Even though he's nocturnal, wild cresties don't hole up deep inside burrows or under rocks like leopard geckos as an example. The places cresties hide in can still get some weak reflected UV, so your vet isn't really wrong.

Is there any chance you can put his cage (or him in a critter keeper type container) near an open window? Since they're nocturnal, a little UV exposure goes a long way towards Vitamin D3 production.
There's logic here, just follow it through. You're around Ottawa, right? At this time of year, the sun is relatively weak at the lattitude of Ottawa (or all of Canada for that matter). The UV isn't as strong as it will be in summer. By putting him behind a screen, which filters out as much as 50% (depending on mesh size and composition), he's still getting a good dose of UV-B by nocturnal gecko standards, but not enough to 'shock' a body that's not normally exposed to it directly. If he's been eating a good balanced diet, he'll have all the ingredients he'll need to manufacture his own D3, the UV-B will just set off the chain reaction.
An hour or two a day, two or three days a week should help.

There's another angle to check though.... is his MBD from lack of calcium, or excess? MBD is generally caused by too little calcium, too much phosphorus, too little or too much vitamin D3, too little protein or a combination of these factors. Less common is MBD caused by disease of the kidneys, liver, small intestine, or of the parathyroid or thyroid glands. Let's assume his problem isn't with his organs, just the supplementation.
Are you feeding a lot of banana? They're high in Phosphorus - around 20 mg., Calcium 6 mg. per 100 grams of raw banana. That works out to over 3:1 P/Ca ratio. You'd have to supplement an awful lot of phosphorus free calcium to offset that inbalance. Too much D3 can result in calcium leeching out of the bones, causing MBD. These are just some of the things that could upset the Calcium balance and end up causing MBD.

[HeatherRose]

I'm not putting his cage (aquarium) near a window. To me, this seems simply irresponsible. Last I heard, cresties weren't that good with ketchup.

It's from a lack of calcium the mbd. I have always supplemented, I think that my dust doesn't contain enough D3.

I feed banana once in a random while, but I'm careful, of course. I usually stick to pear and peach. <-- any opinions on these, btw?

I was also told to check my dust for phosphorous, and it contains none.

Thanks for the replies, guys.