Baby breardie- swollen tongue, not very active

Question
QUESTION: Hi Tracie, My little girl has a baby beardie, about 7 months old, and it's been great up until about 3-4 weeks ago. It suddenly stopped eating (mealworms, chopped spinach, collard greens, shredded carrots, occasion unsweetened applesauce) unless we handfed him. He will only drink if we pick him up and drip water into his mouth. His tongue is swelling up and it's hard for him to swallow the worms, although he seems to want to. I was told to only use a white light all day and a red bulb at night so as not to disrupt his sleep. Please help. My daughter is in love with this little guy and it's so hard to take care of him this way..Thank you so much.

ANSWER: Hello Rhonda,

Sorry your baby is not doing well.  I noticed that you did not mention using a UVB light?  Do you use one, or just a white basking light all day?  
The red light at night really is not necessary.  The red spectrum can be seen by them, so it can affect their sleep patterns.  If you need any nighttime heating you can use a ceramic heat emitter which just gives out heat but, no light.  They like it dark to sleep.  They can go down to the upper 50's to 60 ranges at night, & tend to sleep better at those temps.
Mealworms are not recommended as a staple feeder.  They are too fatty & are not very nutritious so better choices would be crickets, roaches, silkworms, hornworms, phoenix worms, or butterworms.  Superworms can be used but they need to be around 15-16 inches in length before they should eat them.
As for the greens & veggies, spinach should not be used on a regular basis because it contains oxalate which bind calcium absorption.  Carrots are ok, but should not be fed daily, maybe a few times per week.  They too, have a mild amount of oxalates.  The collard greens are fine, & you can use mustard or turnip greens too, as well as butternut squash.  The unsweetened applesauce is ok, but too much fruit is not recommended because it can give them diarrhea so maybe limit that to a few times per week.
Here is a good feeding chart for you to look at:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

How long is your dragon & how much does she weigh?
Do you use calcium supplementation 5 times per week?  She is still growing & needs calcium to support her bones.  
Can she support herself up on all fours?  Has she been having any balance issues?

Tracie


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

QUESTION: Hi Tracie, Thank you for your reply. No, we've only beeen using a basking light, until yesterday. Gosh, I really recieved bad information on the care of this little guy/girl. Pancake is about 7 inches long from head to tail; I don't klnow how much he weighs. I just bought calcium (to dust the food) yesterday, along with the UVB light. The guy at the pet store told me only to dust his food two times a week? After reading stuff on the internet, I'm afraid Pancake has the metabolic bone deficiency disease. He's not eating on his own, and he doesn't climb or walk like he did a few weeks ago. He kind of hobbles around instead of being up on all fours. We thought he might have fallen off one of his branches or was going into a hibernation type of state since he wasn't active like before..but he seems to have the symptoms of MBD- his tongue is a little swollen too. I have an appointment to see a reptile vet next week, but I'm wondering if it's too late. I don't want him to be in pain. Is there hope that the vet can help us get him healthy or is this condition irreversible and progressive? Thank you for the food chart and for getting back to us so quickly! ps- He has never eaten crickets- he doesn't like them. I'll switch to one of the other worms today. Any more advice is so much appreciated! Waiting anxiously, Rhonda and Jaida

Answer
Hello Rhonda,

Oh man, he is 7 months old & only 7 inches long?  Wow, poor thing.  He has not grown at all.  He is way too small to go into brumation, also.  
I am sorry that you got such terrible advice at the pet store.  It happens quite often.  
Which UVB light did you buy?  Please look on the base of the bulb & tell me the brand that it stayes.  Is it a flourescent tube bulb?  
Yes, he does have metabolic bone disease, most likely.  If he is hobbling around, his bones & muscles are weak.  Well, let's see what we can do for him, before giving up.  They are pretty hardy creatures so let's give him a chance.  If he is still trying to get around & eating then he has the will to live.  It can be stopped but if he has any bone deformities, that probably will not go back to normal if the bones have grown crooked.  Unfortunately, this hits "all of the sudden" but his calcium serum levels have been dropping off slowly for awhile you just were not aware of it.
You will need to get the liquid calcium as that will immediately help along with the UVB light.  If you are using the powdered calcium, you will need to use it 4-5 times per week right now.  They need that while they are growing, & once they become adults, they still need it 2-3 times per week.
Ok, if he doesn't like crickets, then you can use worms.  The phoenix or butterworms are great so do try them.  I am glad that the feeding chart helped you out.  There is a good variety of feeders out there.
Please let me know the type & brand of light you bought.  I hope you did not get the Reptiglo 10 because if you did, it is not a good light.  
If he is not eating on his own, you will need to start assist feeding him.  You can get some brewer's yeast, bee pollen & chicken or turkey food along with some squash babyfood.  Mix that all together & use a plastic dropper or a plastic syringe & get some food into him as soon as possible.  Also, try getting oral fluids into him as well, on a daily basis.  

Tracie