Reptile metabolic bone disease
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted professional veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.
Claims
*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism is the most common bone disease seen in reptile practice. *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* It is caused by poor diet (low calcium:phosphorus ratio, vitamin D3 deficiency) or poor husbandry (no UVB light, insufficient heat). *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Critical cases need fluid therapy, nutritional support, and injectable calcium if blood calcium is low.