This edition of Tay’s Tips will answer the question, “What is UVB and why is it important?” Along with some of your burning questions related to MBD and proper UVB usage!
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐔𝐕𝐁?
UVB is a form of ultraviolet rays produced by the sun. UVA and UVB rays affect all walks of life on earth. When UVB hits our skin it reacts with a protein in our body and converts it into Vitamin D (more specifically D3). UVB is also the cause of sunburns as well as skin cancer, too much exposure to the rays damages the DNA in our skin cells.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐃 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭?
Vitamin D3 helps our bodies absorb calcium and phosphorus, which we need to keep our bones nice and strong!
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐁𝐃?
Metabolic Bone Disease is most commonly found in reptiles and amphibians in captivity. In an animal’s body, the balance of D3, Calcium, and Phosphorus is extremely important. Not supplying enough or supplying too much of each can throw the balance off completely. This imbalance causes the bones in our bodies to go from firm to floppy and extremely fragile. MBD is also extremely painful and causes Sweet Pea in 2020
permanent deformities.
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:
That was a lot of science-y words so let me sum it up,
𝐔𝐕𝐁 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧 -> 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝟑 -> 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐬 -> 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬!
Something I’ve been asked quite a few times is whether or not you actually need a UVB lamp and if placing a tank in front of a window will work instead. UVB rays from the sun cannot pass through glass. 97% of UVB is blocked by our house windows whereas visible light passes right through. This is why you can’t get sunburned or tanned by standing behind a window. It’s also why the outsides of windows are often hotter than the inside (among other elements). So if you put a tank behind a window that’s two glass panels the UVB has to travel through in order to reach your pet, not to mention your frog isn’t always going to be directly in front of the window for hours on end. They like to hide!
The best UVB for your frog is a 5THO, High Output lamps, like the name, put out the right amount of UVB into your tank. Never use a coil bulb as most are just white light labeled as UVB and are bad for your pet’s eyes. One disclaimer I will give for 5THO bulbs is to make sure you never give them to an albino morph, this goes for most HO UVB as it can burn their skin and eyes. Owners with frogs sensitive to UVB and light should seek other forms of receiving D3.
𝐓𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐁𝐃 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝:
- A balanced diet (frogs receive phosphorus from their meals) - A UVB lamp - A multivitamin supplement, calcium with D3, and calcium without D3
These will keep the important balance within your frog’s body stable and allow for a healthy baby! While MBD is terrible it can be treated. For example, at the rescue, we have Sweet Pea who has severe MBD. We’ve had her for about a year now and she’s progressed immensely with her treatment! Unfortunately, she will always have deformities and some things are quite difficult for her. This is why it’s important to do your research and prevent MBD from happening in the first place. It’s not an easy fix and takes years of treatment. MBD can cause life-threatening seizures that can leave animals paralyzed. It is not something Sweet Pea June 2021
to take a chance with. Please make sure
you are providing the correct
UVB and supplements in order to keep your frogs happy and healthy!