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Mali Uro developed big chin & underbite

22 11:52:00

Question
QUESTION: We have a female Mali, almost 2 years old - approximately.  She's never had much of an appetite, but she really enjoys the occasional small meal worm.  She plays well, is curious, loves to climb onto our heads and survey her domain.  

Recently she has developed a big chin, and it seems to be creating a bit of an underbite.  She doesn't eat much anyway so I can't tell if it's interfering with her ability to eat.  We keep her basking area at 117 - 120 degees for 12 - 14 hours a day.  I'm wondering if this is normal or indicative of a problem.  Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi. I'm a bit concerned about ur uro. Her appetite should voracious  she should want to eat every time she comes out of her hide spot unless she is basking. Her food should consist of mixed greens and the occasional bug every now   I think ur little girl may have metabolic bone disease. This is a calcium deficiency. Without seeing her.  I can't tell u for sure. If she stops eating she will quickly decline. Please try to get her to a vet ASAP. Also try to sprinkle her food with calcium dust. U can find this at petco or petsmart. Good luck

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

QUESTION: thank you for your reply!  We have been feeding her mixed greens from "Spring Mix" salads, rinsing and cutting the leaves and dusting them with calcium dust that was recommended from the breeder.  She also gets one big tortoise pellet that has been soften by soaking in warm water which is also dusted with calcium powder.  We give her thawed frozen petite peas, also dusted, and dry lentils which are always available and also dusted. Her substrate is millet which she likes eating.  We also offer mixes of re-hydrated veggie mixes from PetSmart, also dusted with calcium powder.  Sometimes we add a veggie powder as well or to alternate.  However she ADORES small mealworms and seems to be creating her own evolutionary trail of becoming an insectivore!  

She has a lovely basking rock with doubles as a hiding spot (there's an opening on the side for her to get into the dark cozy space.  She comes out to bask once a day, sometime between 11 am and 1 pm.  She'll bask for about 30 minutes or so, maybe explore and nibble her food, and then go under her rock.

When she's out from under her ruck she's alert, inquisitive, active, sometimes scratching to get out of her enclosure!  when we're handling her (my boys are 8 and 10) she's curious and climbs everything (mostly just us)  After a while she'll calm down a bit - just a bit, and we can hold her and pet her and she closes her eyes and flattens her body.  

We just love her, her antics and awesome fireball attitude (if you pet her under her chin it's a toss up of whether she'll like it of fuss at you and shake her head.  She's so awesome!!  But most of all, we want to make sure we do for her what she needs.

How would I go about finding a good vet who understands the unique needs of reptiles, specifically lizards?

thank you for your time and help!

Angelique

Answer
Hi Angelique,  I responded before and i hit the send button and it erased everything!!!  Frustration--Anyway.....It seems as tho' u r doing everything right.  Ur little girl should not have a calcium deficiency.  Just like humans, these little creatures get sick.  Tumors and growths are fairly common.  Perhaps she smacked into something in her enclosure and broke her jaw??  If u can, please get her to a herpetologist veterinarian.  Just look in the yellow pages in your area and make a few phone calls.  Don't be embarrassed to ask how much this is going to cost you.   Please let me know what happens.  

Thank you
Cathy