I have 2 southern toads, both are less than 2 yrs old. 1 of them appears to have MBD I did take it to the vet and they

Hello,

Do you have a UVB light?

If you do what is the name of the light? How old? Strength and is it a tube or coil bulb?

Joan

Hello,

The calcium you are using will not be metabolized without a UVB light. The UVB will help if the toad has MBD. I suggest a reptisun 8.0-Reptisun 10.0. The UVB simulates natural sunlight and helps metabolize the calcium in the skin. This turns into Vitamin D3 in the body to help with the MBD. Without the use of the UVB light the calcium cannot be metabolized in the body.

The UVB should be no more than 12" from the toad. There should not be any barrier between the light and the toad. UVB cannot penetrate glass or plastic. A UVB light does not put out heat, so be careful if the sales person is trying to sell you a full spectrum bulb as that is not a UVB. I prefer a tube type bulb vs a coil.: http://zoomed.com/Library/ProductDBFiles/Reptiles%20and%20UVB.pdf

I also suggest giving the caclium at least 3-4 days a week. You can also add some earth worms to the diet as they are calcium rich, vs the wax worms which are very fatty. A couple good feeders are silk worms or phoenix worms. Joan

Hi,

As long as the screen is not a fine mesh it should penetrate. It would be best to have it mounted inside the screen, but the UVB will help and increase the calcium. They work in conjunction with each other to help the MBD. Joan