Metabolic Bone Disease Rescue recipe

[ohkari11]

I recently acquired a very sick Cham that was going to be put down. I fell in love with her and she seemed like a fighter. Her name is Arnold because they thought she was a he and Arnold seems to fit her.

She has rubber jaw and her tongue is hanging out of her mouth so she can't eat by herself and I feared harming her jaw more by shoving bugs in her mouth and I had an excess of bugs and consulted with a pet shop with specializes in reptiles so I developed a protein sludge. She has seemed to perk up since having 3 doses so far and pooped for the first time since I got her over a week ago. And seems more mobile even though her legs are very rubbery.

I call it Arnold's Magic Potion even though she's not out of the woods yet. She does seem to be improving. Being new to this if there are any concerns with my recipe please let me know.

Arnold's Magic Potion
30 large crickets
50 wax worms
50 meal worms
1/8 c. Pedialyte
1/2 tsp calcium with vitamin D
1/2 tsp calcium without vitamin D
1/2 tsp vitamin supplement food spray

Put all items in small electric food chopper. Blend very well, strain through a fine metal strainer and spoon into tiny ice cube trays. They should have about 1/4 to a 1/3 tsp in each well. Freeze.

I thaw one cube out with 1/4 tsp of Pedialyte in a small syringe and slowly feed her a drop or two until it's gone.

Makes about 26 tiny cubes.

It's full of protein, fat and electrolytes.

Any feedback or modifications on this are welcome.

 

[TruBlu]

sounds good.. wonder if you will ever use the blender again for human food??

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Welcome to the forums! I'm so glad you were able to save this little one. I do have some suggestions for you.

I would almost all crickets and pretty much no waxworms or mealworms. Metabolic bone disease is a severe deficiency of nutrients, and mealworms and waxworms are primarily contributing fat without much true nutrient value. While these guys are often skinny to start you want them to gain bone and muscle mass, not get fat. Fat will come later when they're stronger and happier! Too much fat at the beginning is going to cause problems in itself and leave less room for nutrient absorption. And it's good that you're adding calcium, but it is not nearly enough for her. Right now her body is STARVING for calcium and the powder in that amount is only barely meeting her maintenance requirements for calcium. Right now you have to provide maintenance and replace the deficit that is missing from her bones or they will not heal and she'll be stuck like this. The best way to do that is to give calcium glubionate, which is a concentrated liquid calcium syrup. Not the spray stuff that is sold in Petstores. You can get it from your vet or order it online from various websites since it's technically over the counter. By using the syrup (still easy to give!) you will be basically giving calcium directly to her bones so that they can start to reform and heal the breaks. Based on her severity her dose would be one drop twice a day for 4 weeks and then one drop once a day for another 4 weeks. Otherwise you'd have to give her the calcium powder in about the same amount as food, which does not taste good and she will probably start to reject the hand feedings. It's a long process, but she can come out of this relatively normal if she gets enough calcium.

Here is more information on MBD and recovery that would be useful: https://www.chameleonforums.com/wha...ase-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/

You are on the right track definitely and the way you're feeding her right now is perfect for what she needs! With some changes to the formula she'll be on the road to recovery in no time!