what's MBD?

[smellmily]

my friend got a baby ig about 2 months ago. just recenly i went to go visit henry (henry's the ig) and he looks sick. he hasn't been eating much. his color is a little pail. he just does not look like himself. i have a feeling that he is suffering from MBD but i don't know what MBD is or what the symptons are. i was wondering if you guys could help me find out what MBD is.

[Merlin]

MBD (metabolic bone disease) Is actually a catch all term for several disorders as opposed to a single disease. It shows up in igs that are denied uvb light either from a special bulb or unfiltered sunlight. Essentialy the iguana is unable to metablolize the calcium in its diet. This forces the iguana's body to pull calcium from its own bones to survive resulting in the bones structure becoming weakened. Eventually the ig's body will become deformed, crippled and die.
It sounds like the ig needs to go to a vet! What type of caging , lighting and heat (temps etc) does the ig have?

[Tesa]

How big is the iguana?
If he's still REALLY small and your friend got him 2 months ago, chances are MBD wouldn't be visible yet.
Here's a link where you can read more about MBD.
www.iguanaden.com/health/mbd.htm

It sounds as tho he is probably starving himself and dehydrated. What is your friend feeding him? Does he have a dish of water in the tank? How high is the temperature?
If he's already looking ill, he needs help FAST or he won't survive.

[smellmily]

well his age is unsure but his length is about 5-7", not including the tail. the ig is keept in a ten gallon aquarim. the aquarium is located next to his window, but the blinds are always closed. he does has 1 UVB light bulb. when the light bulb is on (which is during the day) his tank becomes 80-90 degrees. inside the tank there is a plastic stick that the ig came climb on. when the ig climb the stick he is under the light bulb. on the oppisite side of the tank is a little wooden cave. if the ig wants to hide or cool down from the heat he can go in there (but the ig has never gone in the cave). as for his diet, the ig eats lettuce every day plus a diffrent fruit for each day (tomatoes, oranges, peach etc...). and of course the ig has water. One-last-thing we sometimes find mold on the bottom of the water bowl. when we find the mold we scoop up the dirty pellets and we clean the bowl. i believe it has molded about 2 times. maybee the mold is also. maybee the ig ate a peice of the mold and that is why he is sick.

[Merlin]

First it sounds like the bulb is a basking bulb not a UVb bulb. Is it a flourescent type or a regular looking light bulb?
Second the diet is awful. He might as well be feeding the ig cardboard. The lettuce is useless. It should be collard mustard and turnip greens. Check out IZ's diet page
webpages.charter.net/tesa64735/Revised2.htm

I don't understand what you mean about pellets in the water molding. What pellets. If there is mold growning in the water the water needs to be cleaned and changed much more often.

[Tesa]

Altho it's unintentional, this iguana is being abused and neglected. I understand that the owner doesn't know how to take care of him properly, but he can learn.
I guarantee if things don't change quickly, the iguana will die.

1) The temps are screwed up. He needs to have a place to bask where the temperature is constant. 80-90 won't work. They need proper temperatures in order to digest their food. (92 is good) It's not JUST to keep them warm.

2) As Merlin said, the light he's using is almost certainly not correct. The bulbs that are shaped like regular household bulbs do NOT produce UVB. The manufacturers package them to make them appear to be good for reptiles just to makke a sale. It is imperative that the iguana get UVB using either a flourescent tube or by direct exposure to natural sunlight (UVB rays do not pass thru glass) There are other UVB lights on the market, but for now I would suggest Reptisun 5.0. You can do a google search to buy online if you can't find one at a local pet store. They generally run about 20 bucks.

3) That diet is not healthy at all! Please look at the "Proper Diet" section. I tried to write it so that it's very easy to understand. This guy needs some collard greens, turnip greens and alot less fruit. (Oranges and tomatoes have too much acid anyway)

4) If there is mold growing in the water, it is not being changed properly. It only takes a few seconds DAILY to rinse out a water bowl and refill it with fresh water.

5) A ten gallon aquarium is WAY too small for this iguana. At 5-7 inches, his total length would be around 15-21 inches. He needs something like 4 feet high, 4 feet wide and 3 feet deep. If he lives he will soon need a house even larger than that.

6) I'm certain that the iguana is also dehydrated. Have your friend get a spray bottle and mist the cage and the igs food 2-3 times a day.

There's alot to learn. If your friend has internet access, please direct him to this site. We'll all be glad to help and answer any questions.
If he doesn't, please print out the page at the following link, as well as the food chart for him to read. It would be such a shame to let the little guy continue to suffer.

tesa.proboards24.com/index.cgi?board=basics&action=display&thread=1080226029

[IguanaKing]

smellmily said:

well his age is unsure but his length is about 5-7", not including the tail. the ig is keept in a ten gallon aquarim. the aquarium is located next to his window, but the blinds are always closed. he does has 1 UVB light bulb. when the light bulb is on (which is during the day) his tank becomes 80-90 degrees. inside the tank there is a plastic stick that the ig came climb on. when the ig climb the stick he is under the light bulb. on the oppisite side of the tank is a little wooden cave. if the ig wants to hide or cool down from the heat he can go in there (but the ig has never gone in the cave). as for his diet, the ig eats lettuce every day plus a diffrent fruit for each day (tomatoes, oranges, peach etc...). and of course the ig has water. One-last-thing we sometimes find mold on the bottom of the water bowl. when we find the mold we scoop up the dirty pellets and we clean the bowl. i believe it has molded about 2 times. maybee the mold is also. maybee the ig ate a peice of the mold and that is why he is sick.

1. The aquarium is definitely too small for an ig his size, a 10 gallon tank is only useful for a week or two with a brand new hatchling. If Tesa's STL estimate is correct(I'm sure she's right, but my brain is fried right now...can't really handle making estimates), even a 50 gallon tank is barely big enough.

2. If the "UVB lamp" is actually generating enough heat to significantly raise the temperature in the aquarium, chances are that it is not actually an acceptable UVB lamp. As others have said, the only effective UVB lamps are flourescent tubes, not incandescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs generate heat, flourescent tubes (the proper UVB sources) usually don't generate much heat at all. Although I can't officially recommend it, because its not "reptile approved" (but then again, there are lots of worthless items that are "reptile approved"), I have been using Sylvania "Sun Sticks" (standard 48" fluorescent tubes available at most larger hardware stores) for the past 7 years and my male iguana, Hercules, is now 8-years-old, weighs 14 pounds, and has always been (and still is) in perfect health.

3. The temps are definitely too low for day-time temperatures. The lowest maximum day-time temperatures the ig should have available should be in the mid-90's. The quickest way to heat the ig's body is to use an infrared heat lamp above the cage. These are available in a number of different types and wattages. I use a 250W infrared heat lamp, but, keep in mind that I have two adult igs who live in a 4'W X 8'L X 8'H enclosure which is well-ventilated and doesn't really have a door, so they can come and go as they please (its just a place for them to go so they can bask and be exposed to healthy lighting). For smaller igs, a 40W ceramic infrared heater will do a very nice job, but again, you must be very careful with how close the ig is able to get to it

4. The ig's diet is horrible and there should never be mold in the water. Like Merlin and Tesa have said, lettuce shouldn't be a part of the ig's diet at all. The tomatoes and fruit are okay, but only in very small amounts occasionally. What the ig needs is a diet rich in green (dark green) leafy vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens. Along with that there should also be a smaller portion of solid vegetables offered, such as finely chopped green beans, grated squash, etc., but carrots should be avoided (toxic levels of vitamin A are possible with carrots, they can make the ig very sick). Also, there is a whole list of fruits and vegetables that are known to have toxic side-effects on iguanas, but the dietary lists linked by Merlin and Tesa should tell you more about which ones should be avoided. The water should be changed at least once, every day, plenty of harmful bacteria can grow in old water that will make the ig sick.

4. A vet visit may be in order, and vitamin supplements should probably also be given with the food at least 3 times a week since the ig is apparently sick. I used T-Rex's carnivorous reptile vitamin supplement when my igs were babies, now they have a good enough diet and their health is well-established so the supplements are no longer necessary. The reason I used the carnivorous formula (I know...igs aren't carnivores) is because it doesn't contain any phosphorus, an ig should get plenty of phosphorus without supplementation, as long as he's getting good veggies to eat. Over-loading an ig with phosphorus can do him more harm than good, so concentrate on proper diet and giving him extra calcium and other vitamins until after he is back in good health, phosphorus doesn't need to be supplemented.

[IguanaKing]

Oh...I should have said this in my previous message.

Good job for taking the initiative to come here and look for advice, that ig is very lucky that his owner's friend took the time to care. ;D

Tell your friend to have a look at www.anapsid.org, that site will tell just about everything about iguanas and their care.

Sean