Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD)

Symptoms

  • wavy tail
  • soft jaw
  • curved limbs
  • lethargy
  • loss of appetite

Cause

  • calcium or vitamin D3 deficiency

Treatment: 

Increasing calcium supplementation with vitamin D3 and UVB light will improve minor cases. If you’re using UVB light, I recommend Miner-ALL’s Outdoor formula. Without UVB, Miner-ALL’s Indoor formula will be more suitable. (If you aren’t using UVB and your crested gecko has MBD, I recommend strongly considering installing one. Instructions on which UVB bulbs are best can be found here.) Veterinary care is recommended for more severe cases or cases that do not improve after a couple weeks of treatment.

MBD is particularly easy to prevent in crested geckos. Using a powdered diet from Pangea, Repashy, or Clark’s, providing a 5% UVB bulb, and dusting all insects with calcium powder will prevent the problem from ever surfacing.

Check your gecko’s calcium reserves by periodically examining the white calcium sacs on the roof of his/her mouth. View the below video to learn how!

crested gecko metabolic bone disease (MBD)

Crested gecko with extremely severe MBD. Photo credit: Ady-182 on Reptile Forums UK.


Other crested gecko health topics:

Dehydration

Floppy Tail Syndrome (FTS)

Impaction

Mites

Obesity

Parasites

Shedding

Sexing

Tail Loss

Weight Loss