Re: Signs/symptons MBD?

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Posted by Kate on May 15, 2002 at 18:09:52:

In Reply to: Signs/symptons MBD? posted by vicky on May 15, 2002 at 15:23:43:

My iguana is in recovery from MBD. Now he looks healthy, although his bones still aren't quite as good as they should be. His MBD wasn't too advanced yet when we brought him to the vet, fortunately. Even so, he was showing plenty of signs. He hardly had any appetite. He was lethargic, meaning he had very little energy and didn't respond much to stimuli. You could move his tail for him, and he would just let it stay wherever you put it. The most obvious sign was his jaw. The lower jaw got swollen, so that it protruded a bit from the upper jaw on both sides. "Rubber jaw" is a common sign of MBD. It doesn't always look like what I just described, but the lower jaw is softer, and it might recede a bit from the upper. If the MBD is more advanced you might see spine curvature, "Popeye legs" (they look very muscled, but they aren't) and some other signs. They're bones break more easily when they have MBD. Unfortunately, you often can't tell when they've fractured or broken bones, so you don't know until they get an X-ray at the vet.

Fortunately MBD is not very hard to treat. However, some of the signs of it may never go away, depending on how badly the iguana was affected. The jaw may stay receded, and the spine curvate may remain as well. My iguana's jaw has improved a lot, though. It looks 99% normal now.

If you do a search for Metabolic Bone Disease in iguanas on Google or another search engine, you'll find some pictures. It can look pretty awful when it's advanced, but it's not always very noticeable in pictures early on.

: Can anyone tell me the signs/symptons of MBD? Not that I'm worried or anything, mine is healthy (as far as I know) but I remember seeing a photo and someone commented that there were signs of MBD and I couldnt see what the problem was!
: My iguana has the correct diet/lighting etc so there shouldnt be a problem but I'd like to know just incase.

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: My iguana is in recovery from MBD. Now he looks healthy, although his bones still aren't quite as good as they should be. His MBD wasn't too advanced yet when we brought him to the vet, fortunately. Even so, he was showing plenty of signs. He hardly had any appetite. He was lethargic, meaning he had very little energy and didn't respond much to stimuli. You could move his tail for him, and he would just let it stay wherever you put it. The most obvious sign was his jaw. The lower jaw got swollen, so that it protruded a bit from the upper jaw on both sides. "Rubber jaw" is a common sign of MBD. It doesn't always look like what I just described, but the lower jaw is softer, and it might recede a bit from the upper. If the MBD is more advanced you might see spine curvature, "Popeye legs" (they look very muscled, but they aren't) and some other signs. They're bones break more easily when they have MBD. Unfortunately, you often can't tell when they've fractured or broken bones, so you don't know until they get an X-ray at the vet. : Fortunately MBD is not very hard to treat. However, some of the signs of it may never go away, depending on how badly the iguana was affected. The jaw may stay receded, and the spine curvate may remain as well. My iguana's jaw has improved a lot, though. It looks 99% normal now. : If you do a search for Metabolic Bone Disease in iguanas on Google or another search engine, you'll find some pictures. It can look pretty awful when it's advanced, but it's not always very noticeable in pictures early on. : : : Can anyone tell me the signs/symptons of MBD? Not that I'm worried or anything, mine is healthy (as far as I know) but I remember seeing a photo and someone commented that there were signs of MBD and I couldnt see what the problem was! : : My iguana has the correct diet/lighting etc so there shouldnt be a problem but I'd like to know just incase.

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