Sueys weight for liquid calcium dosage

Question
QUESTION: Tracie,
Since I haven't got to the pet store yet (we live in a very remote area about 2 hours from any pet store), we have been giving Suey some things we had on hand today trying to get her feeling better.  Once we realized she couldn't move her front legs, I mixed up some ExoTerra Electrolyte and Vitamin D3 supplement and gave it to her and gave her a warm bath.  She is moving her front legs a little again (she couldn't move them at all earlier and they were so stiff) but one of them she still is having trouble with. The foot is bent back. Do you think she might have broken it, or is it just due to the MBD? I took all the things out of the tank that she climbs on, because I read that she could hurt herself if her muscles are weak (which I figure they must be since she is trembling so). I haven't got the light yet, just called around to pet stores to find the Repti-sun 10 UVB bulb you recommended and found it at a PetCo. about 3 hours from here, so we are going to go get it tomorrow along with the liquid calcium supplement.
Okay-Luckily I have a digital scale that I use to make shipping labels.  It is guaranteed accurate to .01 oz. Suey weighs 8.4 oz. according to the scale. You don't know how much I appreciate your help with the liquid calcium dosage. You have helped save SueSue a few times, and Tiny too!! Thank you sooooo much! Camille

ANSWER: Hello Camille,

I hope that her foot is not broken.  It is possibly sprained maybe, but it is most likely due to the weakened state she is in from the metabolic bone disease.  Good that she had a nice warm bath & supplementation that should help her out yet.  
HOLY COW!  You are driving that far?  Are you sure you don't want to order it online?  It is so much cheaper online, & it gets to you pretty fast, too.  The petstores will gouge you for the light.  
Try getting it here:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-rept

Ok, at 240 grams, or .24kgs she will need .13ml daily.  However, right now, let's do .13ml twice daily for 1 month & let's see how she does on that.  

Let me know how she is doing.

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Tracie,
I did end up ordering the supplements online-The place that I had called didn't have the calcium liquid at the store-you could only order it from thier online store, so I ordered it from Ebay. They did have the light at the Petco I went to, but you are so right...the price at the store was $39.90-so I am ordering it online too.
SueSue goes through stages with being able to move her front legs. In the mornings after being asleep all night, it takes her awhile to loosen up and be able to move them. When she first wakes up, her legs are like they were the other night and I get scared every morning that she is worse, but after she moves around for a bit, she can move them.  The right leg (the one that I was afraid she had broken) takes a little bit longer to loosen up, but once she gets it moving, she does great. I have been letting her walk around on the carpet so she gets exercise outside of her tank, and until the calcium liquid gets here, I am using the reptocal (which she won't really eat), the Exo terra Electrolyte & vitamin D3 mixed in water (which Uros don't drink as you know, so I am squirting a few drops in her mouth with a syringe) and the Zilla Jump-start Caloric Supplement and appetite stimulant because, even though she is still eating well, the supplement has .16 mg per teaspoon of the paste-she may be consuming a little bit of the calcium! Thanks for everything! I will keep you updated in the next few weeks and let you know how she is doing with the .13 ml-2 X per day.  I am very proud of Suey, she is a little fighter. You can tell that the problem with being able to move is annoying her and she is trying so hard!! She has had to fight hard all of her life-Do you think that I will ever get her to being a healthy Uro, or was she just in such bad condition as a juvenile (she was so pitiful at that pet store-little bones protruding in her hips and shoulders, not even able to hold her little head up, both her and her sister Tiny-who is much smaller due to stunted growth) that she won't ever be super healthy? Talk to you soon! Thanks again! Camille

Answer
Hello Camille,

Great that you got that ordered.  Hopefully you will get that very very soon!  Yes, unfortunately, the petstores do charge too much for the lights.  I hated to see you spend double when you could get it cheaper online.  
Does she like the jumpstart?  Most of them tend to like the flavor of it anyway so hopefully that will help her out as well as the liquid calcium.  It sounds like she is a fighter so she should pull through.  However, it will be a long recovery for her.  She will take awhile to get her strength back.
You can let her run around on the floor as much as she can tolerate being careful not to let her climb much of anything so she doesn't hurt herself in case her bones are compromised right now.
If you want to email my home my main email is:
Drache613@cfl.rr.com

As far as getting her to be a healthy Uro, it is going to take a lot of work, but, I think that you have caught her decline in time to pull her out of it.  I have a recommendation for her & that is for her to stay on liquid calcium, for life.  I always suggest that once a reptile has undergone metabolic bone disease that for optimal bone maintenance, liquid calcium is far superior to powdered calcium.  It absorbs much better.  Once she gets past this critical stage we can put her on a maintenance dose of 3 times per week.  For now we will stick with the twice a day, for 1 month.  We will see how to adjust that after a month's time.

Keep me posted on her.

Tracie