Hey all. Long post will be long.
Long story short, I inherited an adult girl Leo from a hoarder. They weren't an animal hoarder, but a hoarder nonetheless. I point this out, because I know she has not gotten proper care for YEARS and there are some issues. Herp expertise includes anoles, cornsnakes, and a ball python, so when I saw the little lizzy being neglected (literally her terrarium was covered in junk and when I asked the last time she was fed the answer was "IDK some time last week" with a dry water dish) my heart went out and I had to save her.
I know she's an adult, older (guy said around 10 years, IDK if that's accurate). She is on sand with one hidey and a water dish, a temp and a barometer sticking on ONE side, and a purplish/bluish lamp.
Physically, she seems bright, underfed but not horribly skinny, but the real reason I am posting: her front legs are bent inward and are purplish. My first thought was a shedding problem (I had a sneek that had a notorious tail tip issue) but as I was reading more in the forums it sounds exactly like MBD. When I asked the brother of the hoarder (the brother is a friend of mine) he said her legs have been like that since he's known her (4 years). When I first took her, she seemed to just drag herself around in the front and barely lifted herself up, but as I've been feeding her the last two weeks on a regular basis it seems that she can lift herself more now into more of an army crawl on her elbows?
So, here come the questions:
1. Should I switch from sand? I know that there are a lot of sand impact fears, but I'm wondering in her condition, being older, when it's what she's used to, if I should keep her on it? Maybe it's easier on her front legs since she's kind of walking on her elbows? Thoughts? I bought a new bag of calci-sand (again, noob) but I haven't opened it yet to change out her substrate, so I can take it back if something would be better. I've seen no sand in her poo.
2. I don't know what the bulb is in the lamp. It sits on top of her cage and emits a soft blue/purple light and emits heat. Is that the correct kind, or should I get a different kind? (I'm used to white and red so the blue has me scratching my head.)
3. MBD. I've been reading up on it in here, and see calcium is a thing she will need so I need to go grab some dusting materials for her crickets. I saw mention of a calcium dish: should this just be dust, or should I add it to her water or what?
4. Is there any hope, when she's suffered from MBD for so long, that she will recover, or is it just a permanent thing now that I have to monitor to make sure it doesn't get worse? Is there a chance she regain the use of her feet, or walk all stubbly like she is now? (Poor thing, I wouldn't love her less, but I'm trying to see what to expect.) Is there anything else I should be doing to help her with MBD?
5. Feeding her crickets for the first time was heartbreaking. She was so lethargic and could barely move, but she got them, and is getting stronger. She seems to have no interest in freeze dried mealworms, and I'm going to try large live ones tomorrow, but is it a big deal if she's just like all crickets all the time? Should I keep trying, or just let her have her way? Speaking of food, how much should I feed her? She's about 8in long tip to tail.
6. I've gotten stuff to make her a moist hide. This should be in the warm part of the tank, correct? (Thankfully she's got a whole 30G all to herself, so I can have some room to play with the temps.) Should this be in all the time or just when she's ready to shed?
7. She shed the first week I got her (week and a half ago, because I think she was finally getting food on a semi-regular basis). How often will she end up shedding as an adult, just so I can keep an eye on her health?
8. Is the barometer necessary? Should I be monitoring something with it or just nix it?
I was sure there were more questions, but my brain turned into a pumpkin (it's midnight here). I'll probably think of them again, but I think this probably is the most of my "help I have a troubled lady" ponderings.
Thanks everyone in advance for the help!
Long story short, I inherited an adult girl Leo from a hoarder. They weren't an animal hoarder, but a hoarder nonetheless. I point this out, because I know she has not gotten proper care for YEARS and there are some issues. Herp expertise includes anoles, cornsnakes, and a ball python, so when I saw the little lizzy being neglected (literally her terrarium was covered in junk and when I asked the last time she was fed the answer was "IDK some time last week" with a dry water dish) my heart went out and I had to save her.
I know she's an adult, older (guy said around 10 years, IDK if that's accurate). She is on sand with one hidey and a water dish, a temp and a barometer sticking on ONE side, and a purplish/bluish lamp.
Physically, she seems bright, underfed but not horribly skinny, but the real reason I am posting: her front legs are bent inward and are purplish. My first thought was a shedding problem (I had a sneek that had a notorious tail tip issue) but as I was reading more in the forums it sounds exactly like MBD. When I asked the brother of the hoarder (the brother is a friend of mine) he said her legs have been like that since he's known her (4 years). When I first took her, she seemed to just drag herself around in the front and barely lifted herself up, but as I've been feeding her the last two weeks on a regular basis it seems that she can lift herself more now into more of an army crawl on her elbows?
So, here come the questions:
1. Should I switch from sand? I know that there are a lot of sand impact fears, but I'm wondering in her condition, being older, when it's what she's used to, if I should keep her on it? Maybe it's easier on her front legs since she's kind of walking on her elbows? Thoughts? I bought a new bag of calci-sand (again, noob) but I haven't opened it yet to change out her substrate, so I can take it back if something would be better. I've seen no sand in her poo.
2. I don't know what the bulb is in the lamp. It sits on top of her cage and emits a soft blue/purple light and emits heat. Is that the correct kind, or should I get a different kind? (I'm used to white and red so the blue has me scratching my head.)
3. MBD. I've been reading up on it in here, and see calcium is a thing she will need so I need to go grab some dusting materials for her crickets. I saw mention of a calcium dish: should this just be dust, or should I add it to her water or what?
4. Is there any hope, when she's suffered from MBD for so long, that she will recover, or is it just a permanent thing now that I have to monitor to make sure it doesn't get worse? Is there a chance she regain the use of her feet, or walk all stubbly like she is now? (Poor thing, I wouldn't love her less, but I'm trying to see what to expect.) Is there anything else I should be doing to help her with MBD?
5. Feeding her crickets for the first time was heartbreaking. She was so lethargic and could barely move, but she got them, and is getting stronger. She seems to have no interest in freeze dried mealworms, and I'm going to try large live ones tomorrow, but is it a big deal if she's just like all crickets all the time? Should I keep trying, or just let her have her way? Speaking of food, how much should I feed her? She's about 8in long tip to tail.
6. I've gotten stuff to make her a moist hide. This should be in the warm part of the tank, correct? (Thankfully she's got a whole 30G all to herself, so I can have some room to play with the temps.) Should this be in all the time or just when she's ready to shed?
7. She shed the first week I got her (week and a half ago, because I think she was finally getting food on a semi-regular basis). How often will she end up shedding as an adult, just so I can keep an eye on her health?
8. Is the barometer necessary? Should I be monitoring something with it or just nix it?
I was sure there were more questions, but my brain turned into a pumpkin (it's midnight here). I'll probably think of them again, but I think this probably is the most of my "help I have a troubled lady" ponderings.
Thanks everyone in advance for the help!
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