Will a UV light help a leopard gecko that already has a bone disease?

Question

I have been seeing the symptoms of MBD in my leopard gecko, his front arms are oddly shaped, as is his back, and he has troubles walking. He is also thin, but seems to be brighter than he has been for a few months. He is housed alone in a 10 gallon tank, with a heat lamp and a heat pad under his tank, but we do not have a UV lamp. Would buying a UV lamp help prevent him from getting worse? Could anyone suggest any other things that could help him? I do not think that he is more than three years old, and I do not want him to be miserable for the rest of his life.

Answer 1

They honestly shouldn't need a UVB light, as they are nocturnal.  Ergo they don't see the sun in their natural habitat anyways.  It really can't hurt though if you are sure its MBD.  Take a fecal sample to the vet and get some tests run as well, parasites are a likely culprit.  I would also recommend dusting all the crickets you feed him with a good calcium dust that's phosphorus free.

Answer 2

If your gecko has MBD, then it has not been getting enough calcium. If you haven't been, you should be dusting its food with calcium. UVB lights usually don't have any effect on geckos since they are nocturnal, but it doesn't hurt to try. Good luck!

Answer 3

idk but feed it as much calcium as u can or go wat she said at the top...

Answer 4

i say u should put the gecko to sleep its painfull but its suffering or take it into a vet and see what they can do

Answer 5

First of course you should take him to a reptile vet.

I know many people will disagree with them needing UVb, but in the wild they receive small amounts at dusk and dawn(they do sometimes bask at these times) and diffused penatration between rocks,bark and other cover. UVb helps to metabolize calcium even in nocturinal  species. So they may not need it but it can be benifecial.

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) is an umbrella term that covers a number of disorders related to the weakening of the bone or impaired systems function caused by an imbalance in vitamin D3, calcium and phosphorus. This imbalance may be caused by a lack of or too much of one of these three essential elements or the failure to provide one or more of them in a bioavailable form.

Here are some links on MBD and UV light for reptiles

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/whatreptilesnee...

http://www.thegeckospot.com/leocareindex...

http://www.reptilechannel.com/lizards/li...

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilesg...

http://www.anapsid.org/mbd.html

http://www.drgecko.com/mbd.htm