Minor Rectal Prolapse

[AmberC]

Hey Everyone,

This morning Sasha had a bit of a prolapse and bloody stool. His prolapse went straight back in but all the same I stuck him in a warm bath with about a teaspoon of sugar. Now I'm just wondering what kind of follow up care I can do for him to prevent this from happening again. I was thinking frequent bathes, a syringe of water everyday, some critical care, and canned pumpkin or prune food for the next monthish? Anyone have any other suggestions?


Thanks

 

[AHBD]

Hi Amber....how old + what size is he ? It's not actually a prolapse if it doesn't stay out, but the blood is a concern. He's pushing hard for some reason. Sometimes it can be from a heavy parasite load . Have you had a fecal done recently ? And make sure now that he's not eating large or hard shelled bugs. Yes, extra water will help, especially oral fluids, as well as syringe feeding with a little extra water added to whatever he eats. You don't need to cut out his regular insects + greens, just be sure that they are not too large bugs or pieces of any hard veggies should be finely grated.[ like carrot or apple if you feed them in his salad, but salads should be mainly leafy greens anyway ] Also be sure his basking temp. is high enough, 105 - 110. Hopefully it was just a one time thing.

 

[AmberC]

Sasha is almost 2 years old, I haven't measured or weighed him but he's nice and healthy-not too plump, but definitely not skinny. He has always had pooping problems since I've had him so I've always been very careful about what I feed him. He doesn't even eat full sized crickets for this very reason and I only give him one super worm every week or two. His diet is mainly collard's and dandelions. I had a fecal done last year when he had a bowel obstruction and it was negative but I was also thinking it would be a safe bet to get him tested again anyways. His basking preference is 100 but he does have two spots that get between 105-110 for when he's in the mood.

His pooping has been an issue from day one with me constantly having to be extremely careful about what he's fed (his bowel obstruction was from eating 7 supers in one day-he was definitely large enough to eat them btw). I had thought we were more steady with him pooping a few times every week, but this just seems like such a major set back :|

 

[AHBD]

Amber, when you say a bowel obstruction, was that diagnosed by a vet ? Keep in mind that a great majority of vets are really guessing still when it comes to reptile diagnosis/treatment. There is a huge difference between a bowel obstruction and minor constipation. If a grown beardie doesn't poo for a week it is not any real danger. So 7 superworms wouldn't cause a problem for a sub adult/adult dragon, but you must be sure that they are hydrated at all times.

 

[AmberC]

He didn't poop for six and a half weeks. We got an X-ray and my vet is reptile obsessed and takes care of reptile rescues so he has experience.

 

[AmberC]

I honestly blame his bowel problems on the fact that the pet store I bought him from when he was 3 months old kept him on sand

 

[AmberC]

Although. Now that I'm thinking about it I just fed him cactus pad leaf for the first time a few days ago. I was paranoid about the barbs and was super careful but maybe I missed one??

 

[AHBD]

O.K., I gotcha....I should have asked how long it lasted + what the vet did. And this was not during brumation time, when they wouldn't be pooing anyway, huh ? Just ate 7 supers ? It's hard to say why he has that problem, possibly weak muscle contractions.....be sure that he gets enough calcium + UVB. Other than that, keep up with the smaller than usual insects, soft body ones as well. Can you get hornworms ? They are high in moisture. Also nightcrawlers can get them to go, but you want organically raised ones, not the fishing bait kind. If he had one a week [ even the fishing bait kind is O.K. in small amounts, but you are better off getting them outside yourself.] One other thing that can help soften his stool is scrambled egg once a week. Just microwave one with no oil for about 50 -60 seconds. And don't worry that it's not listed high on the beautiful dragons site....I've used eggs off + on for 18 years with every dragon I've owned, most of my dragons love it, others will nibble but not eat much... moderation is the key ! ] That may help him to go.

 

[AmberC]

My boy hasn't gone down yet (thankfully) the crazy thing was he kept eating too. Acting like nothing was wrong. When he finally pooped it was like a flood gate opened I can get horn worms and often give him silks and horns. I've never tried scrambled egg but I definitely will, thanks for the tip!