Crested Gecko - Fatal Calcium Crash (MBD)

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Crested Gecko - Fatal Calcium Crash (MBD)

Postby Ncks » Fri Jan 10, 2014 12:12 pm

Hi,

I bought a trio of older Crested Gecko's 2 years ago. I don't know how old they are, but they are definitely old. Last year one of the females had a severe calcium crash that caused MDB (Metabolic Bone Disease) and she died very traumatically and very tragically (I can't even get myself to describe it, it was horrible). The vets I spoke to said they would just feed her CGD and monitor her.
I changed my diet and feeding routines and googled my ass off to find some information on this. It seems that it is fairly common in captive crested gecko's, but I can't find much information on how to treat or cure it.

Now, the other female has just had a mild crash. Her jaw didn't break, but is now misaligned.

I've called every vet in the area and nobody seems to understand Cresties, or MBD/Calcium Crashes. I've separated her and feed her about 3ml of Repashy CGD every second night. She's starting to look better, but I really need to know if anybody has successfully recovered a Gecko from MBD? I'm trying what seems to make sense to me? But I'm not sure what I need to do next. Would just feel a lot more confident if I knew that something had worked for somebody else...
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Re: Crested Gecko - Fatal Calcium Crash (MBD)

Postby gekosin » Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:48 pm

From what I know MDB is caused due to lack of calcium in their diet, don't think it is treatable but more preventable.

I would recommend you feed them dusted insects once a week (calcium with D3 is best) - this not only gives them extra calcium but a bit of exercise to.

I am not sure if adding the calcium to the CGD is a good idea but it might be something to look into.
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Re: Crested Gecko - Fatal Calcium Crash (MBD)

Postby wadekilian » Fri Jan 10, 2014 4:41 pm

Unfortunately, MBD can't be cured. It can be "managed" and meeting the geckos calcium requirements will improve its health to a certain degree. As gekosin said, it's better to prevent it. I've found experienced keepers / breeders better than a lot of vets when it comes to treating sick animals. Maybe speak to an experienced crested gecko breeder as they should be able to help. Good luck with your gecko!
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Re: Crested Gecko - Fatal Calcium Crash (MBD)

Postby Ncks » Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:51 pm

A big thank you to all who replied and commented.

I spent many sleepless hours looking after my lady and she is now a lot stronger. I started by dropping a very diluted repashy CGD solution on her lip so she could lick it off and I fed her small doses at a time. It was extremely time consuming. Drop by drop on her lip, letting the CGD sit there until she licked it off.
Her jaw does seem to have strengthened over time and she can open and close it comfortably. The left side is nicely aligned, but the right side is still misaligned. If you look at her, it looks like she has a 0.3mm underbite.

She picked up a bit of weight and she had a shed on Monday. She also had enough energy to jump out of my hand last night. I am taking those, as two very positive signs. The gecko I lost in 2012, recovered a bit before the end, so I am still being very cautious. I am very reluctant to ever breed her ever again. As, I mentioned earlier she is very old anyway. Tonight, I will give her another opportunity to find a small dish of CGD and eat on her own and will observe. If she eats on her own then I am happy. If she doesn't then I go back to assisted feeding.

Thank you again to all for support and advice.



Wadekilian, I agree with you completely. I'd much rather take advice from somebody who has many of the animals in his/her home; than take advice from a vet who has never seen or treated the species before.
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Re: Crested Gecko - Fatal Calcium Crash (MBD)

Postby Ncks » Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:17 pm

Just another update to say that she is doing very well.

I fed her a cricket last week. It was interesting because she caught it immediately, but struggled a bit to kill it (crush it with her jaws). She seemed to chew it, but without much power. I put my hand in to see if I could take it out of her mouth and she jumped away, releasing the cricket. Since then she is back to CGD.
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