Hasn't pooped, possibly constipated. Should I feed him?

Budo has barely pooed in a few days. I find little smudges of white or brown, but not as much as there should be. I got him in the tub for a nice soak today, and he kept getting in "the position" and lifting his tail, but only a tiny bit came out.

What about feeding? I'm not overly concerned. After a few days of soaking he should come around. But in the mean time, should I feed him crickets? Should I feed him greens?

Could be an impaction problem... What do you normally feed your dragon? what size of are the feeders?

How old is your dragon?
and what is your tank set up like?
What substrate do you use?
What are your temps?

Keep it up with the baths, you can try feeding him a small amount of apple sauce, or olive oil (works like laxitives for BD's) If you cannot get him to eat these alone you can try dipping his food in it before he eats. You may even be successful force feeding some olive oil through a eye dropper or plastic syringe.

You can also gentle rub your beardies bely and see if you feel and lumps, or bumps inside that would feel like a blockage.

you need to try these things right away, and if they don't help you are going to want to look into a vet visit... Impaction can lead to sudden death within a few days if your beardie is still small.

You need to keep track of how much he eats and how much he poops. If he hasn't been eating much, then small defications are normal.

My beardie is about 6mths of age (11"), 55gal with terrarium green flooring, Temps sit between 95 to 110. I bath him every 3 days (which he HATES), I have also felt his tummy every other day to make sure nothing changes and so far no lumps or bumps. He did have a poop this morning but he ate nothing but 2 crix. So I am not sure what is really wrong with him. His behavior has been a little different more adventourous, I just figured that was him becoming more used to his surroundings I have only had him for 2mths.

If he only ate 2 crickets last night, and I am assuming they are less than the space between his eyes, then I Wouldn't expect very much to come out of him. As long as he is going every day, even if only a little, and seems to acting normal then I wouldn't worry too much.

It wouldn't hurt to take a fresh stool sample in for a fecal float to assure that his health is 100%

Thanks Tigg! I appreciate your help. The crix are smaller then between his eyes! I will keep an eye on him make sure he is at least pooping everyday if he eats. I just dont want him to stunt his growth b/c he doesnt feel like eating. He is still pretty small for him to be slowing down his eating. I have been feeding him in his bath like I said he hates baths so I am going to go buy him another place to eat that looks nothing like his bath.

Sorry herpfreak I kinda took over your post, that was rude of me.

PuffMagic":e80c5 said:

Sorry herpfreak I kinda took over your post, that was rude of me.

Click to expand...

lol, don't mention it. This is all helping me too.

Could be an impaction problem... What do you normally feed your dragon? what size of are the feeders?

Click to expand...

I thought of that, but there definitely aren't any lumps in his tummy. I've always fed him 1" crickets (he's fully grown). For a few days I was feeding him mealworms while I was waiting for my cricket order to come in.

How old is your dragon? 1-2 years
How long have you had your dragon? Got him Monday, January 5th, 2009
How long is your dragon? Probably around 17"
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 4x2x2' custom viv
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? tile
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ZooMed, ReptiSun 10.0, 24"
How old is your UVB bulb? Several weeks old Not time to be replaced yet!
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? something around 9"
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yep, a 50w halogen and a 60w CHE
What are the basking temps? 100-103*F
What is the cool side temp? 78-82*F
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital with a probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? Probe is on the highest point of his basking rock, directly under the halogen bulb
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. 60 adult crix per week, 20 mealies per week, salads every day
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Once a day, usually around 3-5:00pm
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? Yes, I feed the crix with beardie food pellets.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? Yes, RepCal's herptivite and phosphorous-free calcium with D3
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Once a day, sometimes 2
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Every week; more often when he's in shed
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? I give him a large water bowl
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? No


I'm going to give him a bath now. I'll post an update later.

Hello~

Sounds liek he is straining to poo. Try feeding a little bit of unsweetened apple sauce or canned pumpkin (also no sugar) with a few drops of olive oil. You can feed him this in a baby med syring you can pick one of these up at any drug store liek walgreens etc. about 1-2 cc is plenty. At bed time get a heating pad, and put him on your belly and watch some tv whiel rubbing his back. Heating pad should be on low or med no higher. He shoudl be able to pass his blockage in a few hours. Watch out he may poo on you!

If he doesn't poo a few hours after the feeding and heat then try again the next day. You prolly shoudl cut the crickets till he poos to avoid further constipation

Ok, I'll try that tonight. Don't worry; I've been pooed on so many times I've stopped minding.



He's in the bath now, looking pretty mad, but that's normal. Nothing yet.

Okay, so I just raided the kitchen cupboards for unsweetened apple sauce, and I found some that has no added sugar, but added salt. It says 2%. Is this okay?

Bath was uneventful, unless you count a teeny white blotch.

Another question (will I ever shut up?): how exactly should I syringe-feed him? I've taken in sick cats before that have needed medicine, but never a beardie. Is it similar? Get the syringe into the mouth and squirt it between the teeth and the cheek? It sounds frightening. Beardies are so small and fragile.

And what do you guys think about greens? Should I continue to offer him collards?

Most things have some kind of salt. I would try the applesauce.

Keep trying the baths and a little bit of applesauce. I don't think it would hurt to continue offering greens.

Hi!

Im very sorry it took me so long to respond, I had a very busy weekend. I hope all is better, Anything yet? The baby med syringe (no needle) You can just dab a few drops on the nose and most of the time they will start to lick it off. Then when they have there mouth open you can carfully put the syringe into the side of their mouth and give them a little squirt. They will either pull away or latch on to it to get the "good stuff" out. Judah use to latch on to the thing and shake the crap out of it, its really funny. Try not to put the syringe in the frount of the mouth, you could asperate him. They are pretty good about swalling and it is much easier of them to do so if the syring is on the side of the mouth. If you get it int he frount only squirt very small amounts, you can do a little tiny more on the side, just let him swallow between each squirt of food.

Greens are perfectly fine to feed if they are consitpated. you can also use other baby food, liek squash, peas carrots etc. Try to avoid chicken or turkey right now, it can constipate them more.

Thanks! I had to wedge it into his mouth at first, but after the first squirt, he started lapping it up (he's hungry; I've only been feeding him greens for the past week). Nothing yet. I've kept soaking him, massaging him, and today's the 3rd day of applesauce and olive oil. I started to wonder if I was just being paranoid (it wouldn't be the first time I overreacted), but I felt his tummy again today and there are definitely lumps.

I'm really getting worried. He's also got really dark stress marks all over his underside that never seem to go away, I'm guessing because he's uncomfortable. At what point should I take him to the vet? He's had a bunch of really little poos, but nothing significant since the end of February.

His collards are starting to go bad, so I'll probably pick some more greens up today or tomorrow. Any suggestions? Is there some type of green that might help him?

Thanks! I had to wedge it into his mouth at first, but after the first squirt, he started lapping it up (he's hungry; I've only been feeding him greens for the past week). Nothing yet. I've kept soaking him, massaging him, and today's the 3rd day of applesauce and olive oil. I started to wonder if I was just being paranoid (it wouldn't be the first time I overreacted), but I felt his tummy again today and there are definitely lumps.

I'm really getting worried. He's also got really dark stress marks all over his underside that never seem to go away, I'm guessing because he's uncomfortable. At what point should I take him to the vet? He's had a bunch of really little poos, but nothing significant since the end of February.

His collards are starting to go bad, so I'll probably pick some more greens up today or tomorrow. Any suggestions? Is there some type of green that might help him?