I get asked occasionally if UVB lighting is necessary for a bearded dragons.
Some say the salesperson who sold them the beardie told them that UVB isnt that
important. That is NOT true. Bearded dragons in the wild spend all of their time
during the day in the sun and the heat of the desert. Sunlight provides Vitamin
D, which is absorbed into the beardies body. It then helps the beardies absorb
calcium which they need for proper bone development. Lack of UVB can cause
paralysis in beardies. The following is what happened to my female beardie Mojo.
She was in a pet store I go to for mice and crickets for my other beardie and my
pythons. They had Mojo in a tank with three box turtles, very little heat and no
UVB lighting. I decided to buy her regardless of her condition. She was a little
thin, they said she had Metabolic Bone Disease and were giving her oral liquid
calcium. Which would have been fine if they had her under UVB lights. I bought a
brand new UVB bulb, heat bulb, su!
bsrate and some pinhead crickets. She was moving very slowly, and couldn't catch
the crickets unless they wandered right in her face. She showed good improvement
the following day. I took her to the vet about 3 days after I took her home,
explained her condition and had a fecal done. She had internal parasites, so I
was sent home with medication and was told that since she was young, and her
back legs weren't twitching all the time, that the MBD was reversable. Well,
once the medication started working, and the more high heat and UVB she was
exposed to, she has since made a full recovery. Looking at her now, you would
never be able to tell that she was ill. She runs, scampers, and chases crickets
with gusto! I am very happy I took the time to take
Email: brigadoon1@prodigy.net
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