help with my bearded dragon!!

Question
QUESTION: hi there i have a female and male beardie in the same tank they are just over 6 months old, the thing is the female has lost her appitite the last few weeks and is looking very flat, she lays under the lamp for hours and will not eat her fruit and veg and only eats a few locusts every other day, this eve i was quite worried so my partner gave her water from a syringe as they do not drink from the water bowl and she laped it up so could she just be a bit de-hydrated? I've noticed a slight twitch just below her tail, but above her left leg what could be wrong with her?? she used to run about and have a healthy appitite but now she just lays under the light does not eat or have any life in her so to speak. any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated many thanks charlotte (uk)

ANSWER: Hi Charlotte, I need to ask you whether you have been supplementing your dragons' diet with a calcium and vitamin D3 powder added to their insects and salad. Also if you have a UVB producing bulb in their enclosure. Exposure to UVB triggers the synthesis vitamin D3 in your beardeds.This vitamin allows the body to effectively absorb calcium from the diet. The lack of movement and the twitch can both be symptoms of metabolic bone disease (MBD) which is often caused by calcium deficiency.  At 6 months your dragons are going through a period of very high demand for calcium for their quickly growing skeletons. With a deficiency the bones begin to become soft and the animal can no longer support its own weight. They will stop moving around and climbing, often laying flat rather then standing raised up on their legs. You may also notice trembling or twitching in the extremities at first but this can progress to seizures. I have included three good links that discuss the condition, it causes and treatments options.

There are of course other conditions that cause beardeds to lose their appetite and grow lethargic such as intestinal parasites. Pinworms and coccidia are both very common with beardeds. Runny stools are also commonly noted with these infections.

http://www.repvet.co.za/health_metabolic_bone_disease_mbd.php

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1603&S=4&SourceID=56

http://www.anapsid.org/mbd.html

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

QUESTION: hi there, i just received your reply and it was very helpful, you asked if zoom (my beardie) has vitamin powder and uvb lighting, well they have their heat lamp and uvb lighting on for 12-13 hours a day but we only got the vitamin powder on monday, she is not even attempting to eat so it's hard to give her that, we're giving her locusts today and will put them in vitamin powder before hand, but she is not attempting to even touch the fruit or veg! also i read somewhere that we can give 25% natural juice diluted with 75% water, the natural juice is that freshly squeezed? many thanks, charlotte

Answer
Hi Charlotte, Thank you for the follow-up info. I really think that a calcium problem may be what you are dealing with then. To keep it simplified, dragons need more calcium in their diet then phosphorous in about a 2 to 1 ratio. If the phosphorous intake is higher then the calcium this will interfere with the metabolism of calcium and lead to deficiency. Some greens like collard and kale have a good calcium to phosphorous ratio but most insects do not. Their skeleton is mostly phosphorous and little calcium so the dragons diet has to be supplemented to correct this ratio. The lighting helps produce vitamin D3 which allows absorption of calcium but the calcium must also be present in the diet in the proper amounts and in the correct ratio to phosphorous. You probably didn't think feeding dragons involved this much chemistry did you!!
What you need to concentrate on is calcium with vitamin D3 rather then a multivitamin type supplement. The multivitamin powders include some calcium and D3 but you will end up overdosing the other vitamins trying to get enough calcium from that type of supplement. I would suggest you mix some cal/D3 into some veg or chicken based baby food and try to get her to take some of that. Sometimes dabbing some on their snout will trigger them to lick it off. A vet who is versed in reptiles will be able to administer a shot that will really help reverse this situation more quickly and that is really the best option at this stage. Don't forget your male who is also likely in some stage of calcium deficiency as well. Good luck with her recovery.