Just back from the vet.

[Anthony]

Just got back from the vet with my big male argentine black and white. I didn't post about this before as the responses would be of course bring him to the vet, so didn't post until after I did that.

For the past week I had seen what seemed like certain signs of MBD. His lower jaw seemed to jut out on each side, he was sometimes seen dragging his back legs and belly the last few days, and while I didn't see any twitches on toes I saw the left armpit/chest area twitch a few times. I was sure I had caused MBD through improper care or something. I had kind of gotten paranoid about parasites when one of my other lizards got them, and I backed off on the rodents and whole prey. I also read about how some of the sources of UVB were having bad bulb batches etc.

But I went to the vet with him, and she is the best vet, and very thorough. We did blood tests, as well as X-rays. Not only did his calcium and phosphorus ratio were OK, but was perfect. In fact, pretty much everything was perfect. X-rays showed that not only nothing wrong with the bones, but that he has a great bone quality. I asked and asked attacking the subject from every angle, and she was 100% sure it was not MBD. She's so patient, I would have lost my mind with all my questions if I were her.

They did say he was slightly dehydrated so I should soak more, and there was some irritation where the lip stuck out and to put on chapstick or vaseline and that was it.

I trust the vet 100%. I just feel uneasy and think it is weird that he is acting all MBDish. It is good news I guess. One theory I ran by the vet was that he hadn't shed for quite a while now, and just recently I noticed he was shedding on the bottom part of his tail where it touches the ground, so perhaps he drag himself around to get that shed off. It's weird that he is doing it all day, but the vet tested him and he CAN lift his butt off the ground. She rubbed him on the back hips and he arched up immediately like a cat would when scratched, no problem. Also, the lower jaw seemed to jut out both sides as I said, but she felt it and it was the flesh only, and the bone was 100% hard, not soft, and may be because he has been propping his head on hard surface like the basking rock and his jowls are just too fat. It's true that it does not look that much when he isn't lying down, mostly when he is basking or sleeping you see it. But when he is up and about you see a little bit.

So good news, but kinda feel uneasy.

[laurarfl]

I'm glad to hear it's good news at the vet. You know, you may feel annoying, but it's the good patients and pet woners that ask lots of questions. It shows that you are concerned and trying to get the nest info possible for yourself and your pet.

Could he be overweight? Just wondering if he has extra weight that makes him feel kinda bogged down and extra fat that makes the lower jaw jut out on the sides like that. I've seen that before on a local tegu and also thought it was MBD. It was a huge female with a big neck and apparently the local vet said it was fatty deposits. Now, that's the message passed from the vet to the pet store staff (a very good herp specialty store). I don't know if the tegu was taken to the vet or if it was a phone call.

[Anthony]

He was overweight before when a lot younger but no longer in recent years. His jowls are disprportionately huge though, his head is probably wider than it is long! But his belly etc. are not fat at all. He is well over 4 feet long and weighs 7.3 KG.

Dunno if it is just winter or what? He usually is brumating asleep this year just slowed down never went to sleep like the past. But it fits the list of everything they say is MBD, but the Xrays and blood test showed not only no problem, but pretty much perfect everything. They really did every possible exam from outside to inside the mouth and cloaca (sp?) to xrays to blood tests everything.

[Anthony]

And by the way I am sure my questions showed I care for my pets but also were annoying. It's good to ask a lot but a lot of my questions were of the "are you sure? are you sure? 100%?" variety. I couldn't help it. Feels kind of stupid now that I think back.

[Pikey]

OK i can help!

1: the but dragging is very normal with males (90% of the time) it is them marking their space.
2: it could also could be helping a shed, but more likely the 1st reason

3: the lower jaw popping out the side is a genetic defect it's a build up of fatty tissue in the gums.
it's not a bad problem. My jonesy has it scared the crap out of me when i just saw it one day, i knew it wasn't MBD, but i was afraid it was mouth rot. He is not over weight, but it seems to show up in only a few tegus when they reach a certain size (age/weight)

Even the vet told me it looked like MBD i told her it wasn't & i know what i'm doing. She kinda gave me the "Yeah OK" look ran all the same tests yours ran than 3 hours later told me "Your Right it's not MBD", but she said it is a fatty deposit. then after doing research i find out like 1 in 1000 captive breed tegus get it. (not real ratio, but very few get it)

[purplemonster]

for a while i thought my guy had MBD, his two front legs look a lil bigger the rest of his arm.first time i brought him to the vet for another reason..vet said it didnt feel like MBD, that his arms felt ok..then like a year later had to bring him back for eating something he shold have eaten,dummy. had x-rays done, and had looked at them,front legs in perfect condition. like bone structure. i have noticed some pics of tegus,and their legs seem big too. maybe normal, like mentioned normal for captives. i've got the lights in the tank,he gets whole prey,and powder organs,turkey, u know all the stuff they eat. still digs and never seemed to bother him. ummm interesting

[Anthony]

Hey people, like the vet said, that he was a little dehydrated. I gave him a 10 minute soak in warm water just now and he came out and I saw him walking normal as he waded back into his enclosure.

I am still a little scared. I guess when a worried "parent" sees problems he/she keeps searching and everything seems scary. The convenience of google, while a good thing, can exacerbate this situation at times like this. I found a post about another type of lizard with similar symptoms, but not exactly, and a few extra ones that I don't have in mine, where the owner also suspected MBD but the vet tested everything X-ray and blood test and said it was not MBD and it was normal and great bone density and just a bit dehydrated. Then 10 days later she posted that the lizard died of a heart attack! The thing that scared me most was at one point she also said that she gave the lizard a soak and it seemed better!

LOL I think I am so worried and getting split personality disorder. Well not really, just joking about that, but as I typed the above, half of me felt really worried and scared and half of me was laughing at myself thinking its ridiculous. I just really feel I need someone to talk to me.

And I would have showed the posts to my vet now, but just my luck, she's now on her (well deserved) holiday for three weeks! Left the day after I saw her.

[Anthony]

I guess I just got a little freaked out in a "twilight zone" way because that poster sounded just like me, saying things like everyone loves the lizard when he is taken out in public, and how tame he has always been, and stuff like that that I always say. Also said something about that she "suspected it was just the winter", which is something I said as well above. I think I'm scared but also think I'm stupid for being scared.

By the way his lizard didn't have the jaw problem, but her lizard had other things like weird limbs, which mine doesn't.
She also said his was really lethargic. Mine also isn't as active as other tegus, but he has always been that way since the day I got him. In fact that's why I chose him because all the other tegus that day at the store squirmed and bit me except him. She said that hers wasn't eating well and had to be hand fed. Mine is eating a little less than usual since about a month ago, but could be winter. But she also said "it could be winter". But then again, "it could be winter" is a very common thing to say when it is winter! Mine ate two large rats last week, but didn't want to eat yesterday. Oh I am going nuts worrying I feel like I need to lie down. Maybe it is ME who's getting a heart attack, geez!

[Anthony]

Just and update. I had forgotten all about this and hadn't posted because a few days after the vet visit, everything is alright again. He is walking, basking, eating great again and thriving in health. Don't know why he was acting like that before but I guess the vet was right, nothing was wrong with him. Maybe he was just trying to scare me or something.

[Dog Shrink]

Maybe he was just testing your love for him but glad everything is alright with your boy.