Bearded Dragon with Strange Symptoms

Question
QUESTION: I am trying to discover what is wrong with a 8 month old male bearded dragon I care for at my workplace (a retail pet shop with no vet budget). The symptoms started to appear about 8 days ago when he was transferred back to our store from another retail location. His ankle and foot on one side was noted to be swollen. We were initially thinking a sprain or fracture, MBD that sort of thing. However his jaw was/is strong and his tail was/is completely straight (and in cases where I have seen limbs affected both limbs always matched). So then we thought wait and see on sprain or fracture (ie. change in use of limb or decrease in swelling). He reacted if we pinched his toes so we thought this was a good bet. Then he stopped eating. He would sit and watch the bugs but not chase. Pain, we thought, was stopping him so we gave him a big dish with some kingworms and legless crickets for two days to make it easier for him to eat - still no interest. At this point I asked my co-worker if she could call the local exotics vet. He spoke with her for about 20 mins. but still nothing definitive without an X-ray for the ankle and he recommended hand feeding him. My co-worker started hand feeding him 2-3 times a day since then. He started to get worse after that. He stopped supporting his upper body the majority of the time and refuses to open his eyes for hours. The day after was worse still where he'd try and move but give up part way through and slide down his rock ramp onto his face. The day before yesterday my co-worker found him lying on his back, too limp to flip himself so he has been moved to a smaller, simpler tank. He also has started a strange behaviour that he now does every other minute or so with his eyes shut where he opens his mouth all the way and tries to swallow while letting his mouth close (tongue stuck out slightly). His throat skin moves out to the sides quite dramatically like he is swallowing something huge. There is no sound, no rasping, no bubbles, no spit, nothing to indicate a respiratory infection. And his ankle is still swollen! His stool is dark and well formed with no unusual colour or texture. His abdomen is soft with no bumps or lumps detectable.

Temps. at 105F. Being hand fed 'Duk Soup' by Marshalls (with added warm water and liquid calcium) - he loves the taste thankfully. Here is the Duk Soup breakdown (since we don't have the vet recommended Critical Care formula on hand):

Ingredients:
Chicken By-Product, Desiccated Chicken Liver, Primary Grown Yeast, Norwegian Kelp, Flaxseed, Micro Pulverized Bee Pollen, Garlic Concentrate, Cod Fish, Lecithin, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Niacin, Biotin, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Iron Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein, not less than       34%
Crude Fat, not less than:          16%
Crude Fiber, not more than:        5%
Lactobacillus acidophilus (min) not less than 9 billion CFU/lb

If you have any idea what the issue is and any care suggestions it would be very appreciated. I just lost two of my personal pets today and I am not eager to watch this beautiful beardie die as well :(

ANSWER: Hello Mila,

Well, it is most likely going to either be Metabolic Bone Disease or Gout.
Has he had any UVB on him for at least half to three quarters of his life, can you find out for me please?  If not, then, that is probably going to be the problem.  
However, Gout ranks up there also, if he has not had adequate heat or light, & too high of protein in his diet.  Chronically dehydrated states can cause gout, over time, & too low of temperatures contributes to gout conditions, as well.

That meal replacement looks pretty good, actually.  If you can get hold of some extra liquid calcium, that would help.  However, if you do not have any UVB lighting over him, the calcium or vitamins wont do him much good since they cannot adequately absorb their vitamins & calcium with no UVB exposure.

If you are using a UVB light, what type & brand are you using for him?  Is it a tube bulb or a compact/coil light?  What are his temperatures at & are you using a digital probe or a temp gun?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your reply Tracie,
Gout had occured to me as well but he had been eating his entire salad greens before he stopped eating (I am not sure about fresh daily greens at the other store but they have a huge water dish there I know). He has had UVB over him his entire time with us. We are using the 24" double T5 type lighting - was a coralife brand bulb till they discontinued it and was recently replaced with the Zilla UVB equivalent in the past few weeks. At the other store location they are using an all-in-one Exoterra Solarglo 160 watt self-ballasted. It's possible that the SolarGlo is not hot enough but I don't work at that location so I cannot check easily. Before we added a higher wattage heat bulb we did notice his temps were not above 85F but that was corrected within 4 days of him coming to the store. The increase in heat (to 105F) has so far not obviously changed anything. He is physically a very big boy but I think he still has some growing to do. He didn't look wrinkly or dehydrated till he stopped moving properly, but his back skin now shows wrinkles where he is loosing muscle mass. If his leg is swollen due to gout what kind of care can help with that?

ANSWER: Hello Mila,

Well, unfortunately I hate to say that the Coralife brand tube light is only an aquarium light but it does not have UVB emissions to it, only UVA.  The Zilla T-50 UVB tube light is not a good light, because it does not have the proper wavelength of UVB so it does not encourage D3 synthesis.
The Solar Glo mercury vapor bulb is actually a good bulb.  Can you get hold of one like that, at your store?  The requirement though for a 160watt mercury vapor bulb Solar Glo is that it does need to be used in a tank that is at least 40+ gallons & it should be mounted 16 inches from him for safety.  It has good UVB emissions for him.
If he was kept at too cool of temperatures for too long then it could possibly be gout.  It could still be metabolic bone disease also, due to the lack of UVB lighting.
I am sorry that the industry puts out such horrible lighting & good people get sold junk.  It happens all of the time.
We need to get it figured out, because if it is gout, he will need to be on medication, for life to control the situation for him.  
Can you post a picture of him for me?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The bulbs in the coralife fixture were the ESU desert bulbs (which have been discontinued by Cralife - same company different brand name) not aquarium lights, sorry for the confusion. There is no room for a 16" space for a Solar Glo bulb to be fitted and have room for the lamp fixture holding it unfortunately. Every feeding with crickets is liberally coated with the ReptiCal brand calcium dust with D3. I was starting to wonder if D3 poisoning would be a possibility with the Solar Glo light and daily calcium with D3 use.

The beadie passed away this afternoon so I will be taking his body in for a necropsy. Hopefully it will shed some light on what happened (his skin was smooth and full, no more wrinkles, but his eyes looked puffy - fluid build up?) :(

Answer
Hello Mila,

The ESU desert bulbs are virtually just as poor in quality, I hate to say.  They emit basically next to zero in UVB emissions.  
Well, that is a possibility of hypervitaminosis D with using a Solar Glo & D3 supplementation.  I still think he had some form of metabolic bone disease though, but it is not your fault whatever happened.  I am really sorry that he did not make it, that is so sad.  
If I can help you out anymore, just let me know.  If you want to share the necropsy results with me, I would be happy to review them as well.

Take care.

Tracie