Has anyone seen this happen before...help!

[platinumtreasure]

My female finally pooped after not going for about 3 weeks with daily soaks. That was on thursday which was 3 days ago. Afterwards her beard and about a forth of her tail from the tip upward turned dark grayish to black and it has not changed back. She also has spit up a little mealworms the past 2 days. Just a small amount. Also when she did go her urate had a small pink tint in one spot. Her habitat is ranging about 105. I use exo-terra 100watt uva bulb and 13w uvb 10.0 . I use paper towel for substrate. She is about 15 months old. Never laid eggs. She currently has no appetite. Does bask like usual but her color will get lighter than normal when she does. Almost pale. When she vomited the mealworms that had what seemed like a kind of light iodine color and smell. I checke for swelling or blood in her vent area and there is none. Has anyone seen this before?

 

[Goonie]

Was her urate hard or soft? After 3 weeks, I'm sure her insides were very sore after finally pooping.
How many mealworms do you typically feed her on a daily basis, and how much basking time does she get after each meal.
The light iodine color and smell is most likely bile, which means that she's having digestive issues and really should be seen by a vet, to rule out an infection or parasites.

Had she pooped since??

 

[platinumtreasure]

First ,thank you so much for your response.

When she finally pooped her urate was formed but soft. Her feces was formed as well but I think firmer that usual. She has not pooped again since the 31st. But I also must say she has not been interested in eating at all since that day. Not until today, so I'm not sure if she will go this week either. I made sure to keep her hydrated during the past week by extra mistings though. Today was the first day I was able to get her to eat anything, which was probably good to give her stomach and rest if it was by chance sore. It was only 4 regular size mealworms with calcium dusting just to see if she I could encourage her to eat something.

Answering your question about the the typical daily amount of mealworms. Being a novice I made the mistake I think of allowing her to eat too many of what she loves (mealworms and crickets)? She probably had mealworms or crickets every other day for a couple of weeks in addition to offering veggies. Most of the time she would only eat the mealworms and crickets. She would eat approx 15 to 20 mealworms, not the large ones, but small regular size. When given the crickets approx 12 medium size. So we are talking over a 2 to 3 weeks period probably way too many. I normally only feed dubia roaches or phoenix worms which I am definately going back to!

Today she is back to her normal beard and tail color. Not her vibrant color yet, but deifinately basking more. I was happy to see her up this morning on her rock being her normal observant self instead of my having to put her on her rock to bask like I had to previous to this morning. I have been trying to research for herp vets in my area to take her in for a checkup anyway.

This is what Venus normally looks like:

 

[bayoupig5]

Wow, somebody else's dragon does this too. Mine has done this three times over the past year, she turns really pale, and black beards, and puffs up huge, it's kinda scary, and always related to pooping. She has also had drops of blood in her poop, but she does not go very often herself so this is like due to constipation. I am having other issues with her pooping though, and am trying to get answers. I have no idea what this is or why our dragons are doing this, but just wanted to post to let you know that you are definitely not the only one.

This is my link for the same subject:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=170756

 

[ShannyBeard]

There are a lot of people who very strongly feel that it isn't healthy to feed mealworms at all. I've never personally fed them to any of my bearded dragons just because of their lack of nutrition. Other people feel that mealworms can cause them constipation or impaction. It could very well be as Goonie said, she had a hard time pooping after not going for 3 weeks and she doesn't feel well. The lack of pooping could be due to her diet. Are you able to find any soft-bodied worms to feed instead of the mealworms, like silkworms, butterworms and hornworms? Also good are superworms, but not as a daily staple since they are fatty. Dragons love them, though.

I see that you will be going back to feeding the dubia and phoenix worms, which is great. They are both very healthy feeders.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, mealworms are not usually recommended. They have a higher ratio of shell with too much fat in them. They tend to be harder to digest than other feeders which can constipate or back them up.
Going back to dubias & worms is a great choice. Does she eat her greens & or veggies? If she doesn't eat enough of them, you can make a greens slurry to give to her daily to help with extra oral fluids & fiber. That will definitely help.
I would get a fecal done though to make sure she doesn't have parasites or worms that are affecting her system negatively too. You could consider getting a probiotic also, to help out her tummy as well.

Tracie

 

[platinumtreasure]

Wow thanks so much everyone. I was thinking it was just me going through this. This has happened twice (both after days of eating mealworms or crickets). The first time she only got a black beard when I soaked her the first time (boy she got pissed...lol). I knew it was because of me soaking her because she puffed out and then got a black beard. The next day she was fine. So this time must have been extra traumatizing for her. That first time was after days of eating crickets and mealworms too. So I think I am totally removing them from her diet for now definately. Just waiting on her phoenix worms and dubias to arrive. I also ordered a probiotic. She does eat her veggies normally. She doesnt seem to care for fruit through. She prefers darker leave greens. I tried both butterworms and silkworms in the past on 2 occasions but she refused those. Tasted it and immediately spit it out. She does this cute little thing when she doesnt want what I try to feed her. She will peek at it with one eye and then close them both. Then peek to see if I moved it away. If I have she opens her eyes and if I havent she peeks again then closes her eyes again! So much character beardies have LOL. I plan to take her next poop for testing at my local vets office.

 

[bayoupig5]

Wow thanks so much everyone. I was thinking it was just me going through this. This has happened twice (both after days of eating mealworms or crickets). The first time she only got a black beard when I soaked her the first time (boy she got pissed...lol). I knew it was because of me soaking her because she puffed out and then got a black beard. The next day she was fine. So this time must have been extra traumatizing for her. That first time was after days of eating crickets and mealworms too. So I think I am totally removing them from her diet for now definately. Just waiting on her phoenix worms and dubias to arrive. I also ordered a probiotic. She does eat her veggies normally. She doesnt seem to care for fruit through. She prefers darker leave greens. I tried both butterworms and silkworms in the past on 2 occasions but she refused those. Tasted it and immediately spit it out. She does this cute little thing when she doesnt want what I try to feed her. She will peek at it with one eye and then close them both. Then peek to see if I moved it away. If I have she opens her eyes and if I havent she peeks again then closes her eyes again! So much character beardies have LOL. I plan to take her next poop for testing at my local vets office.

Wow, your and my dragon are really related, she closes her eyes everytime I try to feed her a veggie!