MBD?... second opinions please

[petergunga]

Ok... So i have been posting a lot in the last few days because I have been concerned about a few things. I may just be overly paranoid because I love my iguana. Today, I noticed something particularly troubling that may be a sign of my worst fear. Here is the rundown: My iguana has some weird eating habits. He/she eats kind of sporatically, and never very much at a time, but he/she does eat every day, and is not underweight or dehydrated at all. All he/she seems to want to eat is collard greens and carrots, tough. He/she will hardly touch anything else I put in his/her dish, including wheat bread, raspberries, and other treats. He/she also does seem to be growing slowly. I have had her over four months, and the growth seems minimal - maybe 4 inches in total length, slightly more pronounced spines, and marginally thicker limbs and tail (which may just be because he/she wasn't fed well at the pet store). The first day I got him, he jumped out of my hand and broke his hand at the pet store. It was a fall that really shouldn't have caused injury, but, because of this breakand because I feared early MBD, I started a high calcium diet and supplied proper UVB and heat. I have monitored the foot quite closely and it healed in about 4 weeks with no noticeable problems. I hadn't really considered MBD as the cause behind the foot, weird diet and possibly slow growth. The thing I noticed today, however, made me believe that these issues are all potentially symptoms of MBD. I have paid very close attention to all potential signs of the disease since the beginning, and today I noticed that his lower jaw seems slightly recessed. It isn't much at all - hardly noticeable if you weren't me - but i spend a lot of time examining my lizard and I can definitely see a difference. I know that the jaws used to be perfectly flush and today I could tell tat the lower one is a hair shorter.


Is it possible that the slight overbite is just how he/she is growing or are all these observances potential signs of MBD? I called the local vet for her opinion on this. She is supposed to call me back later today to discuss. I would really like to hear anyone's opinion on this issue because I trust all of your advice, expertise and insight.

[petergunga]

I decided to make a vet appt. with the local reptile specialist tomorrow afternoon to address my concerns...

[Jen]

That would be the best thing to do. Have tests done to make sure the body is functioning and not lacking anything. Good Luck Please let us know how it goes.

[petergunga]

Ok, so I talked to the vet on the phone... She said that it doesn't sound like a huge problem yet, and that I should wait for some major signs. The jaw thing may just be something I was imagining, cus I don't seem to be noticing it anymore. When an iguana has a rubbery jaw due to MBD, what does the jaw feel like? How mobile is it? Is it really flexible?

I don't think my iguana has shed in over a month. Little bits and pieces from parts of his/her body come off here and there, but I haven't seen a full shed in weeks. Could it be possible that it shed and then ate it? (My leopard geckos used to do that all the time) I also haven't seen a lot of growth. I have had my iguana almost 5 months now and have seen very little growth... almost none. Does anyone know what could be causing the slow growth? Could it be the weird diet?

Lastly, I noticed something REALLY REALLY REALLY alarming today... My iguana's right forearm has developed this large black patch... It was not there yesterday, or over the weekend to my knowledge. I don'y think it is a burn, because it is like individual scales are all turning dark.... I read in someone else's post that this is a potential sign of MBD... Uhhhhh, this is soooo frustrating, please help!!! I need my iguana to get better I feel sooooo badly.

[Merlin]

She said that it doesn't sound like a huge problem yet, and that I should wait for some major signs.

Find a different vet!
Allowing a suspected MBD problem to advance until it is more noticeable is ridiculous and will be all that much harder to overcome!
The black spot on the leg puzzles me. I have never heard of that in regards to MBD, MBD affects the skeletal structure not the skin coloration.

[Jen]

Yes definately fnd another vet. Blackening of the scales could be a fungal infection. Merlin is right waiting to see if there really is an issue, will just make it harder to treat what ever it is if it is anything at all.

[petergunga]

yeah, I agree. I guess the point the vet was making was that if it is MBD, it is a really really early stage, and all she would do is tell me to get this calcium powder and use it on the food, which I did yesterday. With regard to the black spot, I can't remember what forum I read where someone said that black spots are a sign of MBD; it may have been this one, or it may have been herp center.... I think what I will try to do is to put an anti-bacterial cream on it today. The local pet store has this powder that is supposed to treat bacterial infections if you put it on the iguana's food. Does that sound legitimate?

[Merlin]

I guess the point the vet was making was that if it is MBD, it is a really really early stage, and all she would do is tell me to get this calcium powder and use it on the food

Again,...find a different vet! This one is not treating the possibilty serioously.
MBD is a serious, life threatening, condition. Without an examination there is no way to tell just how advanced it may be. And the treatment would most likely be calcium injections , not telling you to just toss some vitamins on the food! Also the exact cause of the problem would need to be determined.
Black Spot is a disease usually caused by fungus and will require a veterinarian supplied anti fungal cream. If that is what it is.

Do not just haphazardly administer antibiotics! All that does is create strains of infection that are even more difficult to combat. Sort of like what happened with penicillin in humans. They gave it out hand over fist until the disease organisms became immune to it!

[petergunga]

I'm currently in the process of finding a new vet in my area to help me with the MBD issue. Good news, though - the black spot is gone! Literally, overnight, it just disappeared... I do hope this is a good sign Also, my most alarming signs of MBD (slow growth, lack of shedding, and slight overbite) have all slightly disappeared... The slight overbite I saw was caused by a loose piece of shed - you know the big scale that sits right in the middle of the top lip? well that thick scale was shedding and giving the appearance of an overbite ;D ;D I also looked up the shedding issue and growth issue on Melissa Kaplan's site (she's so great). My iguana's growth does appear normal compared to her standards... I think I was thrown off because every care sheet warning ignorant people about iguana growth makes it sound like they grow like a foot every month... I also did some research to see what other peoples' iguana's look like that are mine's age and they were about the same - some smaller. As for shedding... I researched shedding and found out that most iguanas don't shed their whole body at once... it comes in stages, and doesn't occur as often as I expected. Again, I think I was misled by every single article that is like "if you want an iguana, be sure that you know it is going to grow like crazy and eat everything including your cat and small child" which I obviously know isn't true. I am feeling better and Pipiopi is looking pretty happy i'm still going to find someone to check on the MBD... I go to Cornell University, and we have an incredible veterinary program and some really talented clinicians who offer discounts to students. I think I might make an appointment with one of them... Lastly, could anyone please tell me what the lower jaw of an iguana with MBD actually feels like? Oh yea, and I got some Zoo Med powder calcium supplement and put it on a huge leaf of collard greens this afternoon, and Pipiopi ate the whole thing!!!! . I feel a lot better, but I will continue to search for someone to confim that I was just being a hypocondriac

[Merlin]

Its sounding better!
Iguanas DO grow at an astounding rate, though not quite as dramatic as a foot a month! Its just that it IS fast enough that a serious of successively larger cages is a waste of time and money. And no iguana sheds all at once like a snake. A youngster will sem to be shedding somewhere almost all the time!
Don't over do it on the calcium. Too much is as bad or worse than too little. Use it like you are salting your own food. If you are loading it down to the point where you see a lot of powder its too much. And make sure you are using pure calcium and not that with phosphorous or D3.
And being a hypochondriac is not necessarily a bad thing. It means that you are paying attention and noticing things that COULD become a potential problem.

[petergunga]

Thanks, Merlin. My little guy is really appreciating all your great advice (and so am I)

[Merlin]

No problem Glad to help!