Sulcata Possible MBD

[Minty82]

Good evening

I have recently re-homed a ten year old Sulcata , I have others around the same age and all I can say is how small it is.

I have noticed the last 3 days how poor she walks, firstly I thought it was just the one leg but looks like it could be all of them.

she is very active and settled in well, she has slight pyramiding looks like she was kept to dry.

when walking she wobbles until balance has regained.

I have started giving Nekton-MSA to try and boost vitamins and minerals.

I am thinking MBD? She poo’s well and eats like a trooper.

I am happy with the temps , humidity and the diet she is now on, as I have a number of healthy Sulcatas , I am after some advice to treat at home , currently tried to get her into vets but due to current situation I am on a waiting list!!!

I will get some video footage tomorrow

thank you in advance

 

[Tom]

There is no way we could diagnose this with the info given, but MBD sounds like a logical possibility.

Do you have any info on the history that would corroborate the MBD idea? Diet? UV? Calcium supplementation history?

 

[Renrogo]

What is MBD?

 

[Minty82]

There is no way we could diagnose this with the info given, but MBD sounds like a logical possibility.

Do you have any info on the history that would corroborate the MBD idea? Diet? UV? Calcium supplementation history?

it was kept in a heated shed, I was told She was not very active, makes me think the temps where wrong as she has been none stop since having her.

makes me think with just basking bulb and the U.K. weather she would of had minimal UV exposure

speaking to the couple diet seemed ok mainly fresh grass and weeds , if I was not told her age I would of said she was about 4 years.

That’s all the information I currently have

 

[Minty82]

What is MBD?

metabolic bone disease , I’m a very lazy writer and abbreviate far to much

 

[Tom]

it was kept in a heated shed, I was told She was not very active, makes me think the temps where wrong as she has been none stop since having her.

makes me think with just basking bulb and the U.K. weather she would of had minimal UV exposure

speaking to the couple diet seemed ok mainly fresh grass and weeds , if I was not told her age I would of said she was about 4 years.

That’s all the information I currently have

I agree with all of your assessments here. MBD is likely, and cool temps also sound like that was a problem.

You appear to have a firm grasp of tortoise health issues, so I'm guessing you already know what to do to fix it. I'm happy to make suggestions if you need it, but otherwise welcome to the forum!

 

[Renrogo]

No worries- I’m new and wasn’t sure what it meant. Thank you

 

[Minty82]

I agree with all of your assessments here. MBD is likely, and cool temps also sound like that was a problem.

You appear to have a firm grasp of tortoise health issues, so I'm guessing you already know what to do to fix it. I'm happy to make suggestions if you need it, but otherwise welcome to the forum!

Thank you Tom

I do not have a lot of experience with MBD

But what i have read , sort out environment & diet she will make progress and hopefully build strength.

below is a video trying to walk, you can see her trying to regain balance, would like your opinion.

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[Tom]

Thank you Tom

I do not have a lot of experience with MBD

But what i have read , sort out environment & diet she will make progress and hopefully build strength.

below is a video trying to walk, you can see her trying to regain balance, would like your opinion.

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Gofile is a free, secure file sharing and storage platform. With unlimited bandwidth and storage, you can easily store and share files of any type without any limits. Our advanced features, such as CDN support and password protection, make Gofile the ideal choice for individuals and businesses...

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Given your climate and the lack of indoor UV, MBD is certainly possible, but I can't say for sure. We don't have the typical sunken in terrible looking shell that is usually seen with MBD, but if the MBD didn't happen until more recently, the shell wouldn't have taken on that typical look.

I'd go with daily warm soaks, lots of warm sunshine, indoor UV, and warm temperatures day and night. The Arcadia 12% HO bulbs make excellent UV for indoor enclosures and last a long time too.

 

[Minty82]

Little update:

been a couple of weeks , confirmed as a male.

Weighed Freddie when I got him came in at 3.6kg just under 8 lbs really stunted for an apparent 10 year old sulcata.

Shell is in pretty good condition , he can now lift his plastron fully off the ground walking is a lot better, getting more stable every week.

I have 12% Arcadia fluorescent, was planning to expose higher UVI for shorter period but as the weather has been great he spends is time outside grazing.

eating well, using Nekton-MSA twice weekly , calcium carbonate once a week.

uploaded couple of videos , his legs look quite bowed.

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gofile.io

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gofile.io

 

[Minty82]

Given your climate and the lack of indoor UV, MBD is certainly possible, but I can't say for sure. We don't have the typical sunken in terrible looking shell that is usually seen with MBD, but if the MBD didn't happen until more recently, the shell wouldn't have taken on that typical look.

I'd go with daily warm soaks, lots of warm sunshine, indoor UV, and warm temperatures day and night. The Arcadia 12% HO bulbs make excellent UV for indoor enclosures and last a long time too.

I managed to get him into our vet last week , he has low white blood cell count going for a CT scan tomorrow.
Cannot seem to find much information regarding cell count but possibly linked to MBD?