Two weeks and no poop...

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RottenOctopus

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My bearded dragon refuses to use the bathroom. When I first got him, he used the bathroom daily outside in the grass during his leash walks. However, it's now in the colder months and he can't go outside. Because of this, he refuses to poop. I've tried everything recommended, including massaging his stomach and warm baths... No luck. He generally only eats superworms, five per day... I try to feed him his greens, but he very rarely actually does. Recently his appetite has slowed down since he hasn't pooped, and his belly has become a bit more plush. He's sluggish now as well, albeit he's always sluggish. Any advice?... I'm worried that this is impaction due to superworms...
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, how old + what size is he ? If he's becoming sluggish because of the time of year from brumation then it's pretty normal behavior. Give him some natural " laxatives " like applesauce, baby food prunes ,sweet potato or squash, canned pumpkin [ no spices ] and add a few drops of olive oil to any of those.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
He may be impacted because of all the superworms. I would definitely try to cut back on the superworms, they really should not be her live staple insect, not so much because of the shell, but because they are extremely high in fat, and a lot of dragons who eat on superworms end up developing Fatty Liver Disease fairly quickly and they die young. I feed large BSFL/Phoenix Worms (same thing) and Dubia Roaches as my staple insects, and will supplement with a few Superworms every other day, but not 5 at a time every day, that's too many. Like 1-2 appropriately sized every 2 days or so as a supplement to their staple insect, whether that be crickets, roaches, BSFL, or Silkworms. You're better off ordering one of these online in bulk at a cheap place like www.dubiaroaches.com, they have everything except the live Silkworms, which you can buy in bulk cheap on Amazon.com. But buying only large superworms will only continue to cause issues like impaction, and eventually worse.

I'd try an impaction protocol, it will only help and you'll then know if that's the issue, as 14 days is too long. I doubt it's brumation at all unless she is avoiding her lights and trying to bury or hide herself. All you need to do is get a microwave safe container, buy a jar of Prune Baby Food and a can of plain, raw pumpkin (not pie mix, real raw pumpkin, it's all over the stores now), and either water or unflavored Pedialyte. Poor the jar of Prune Baby Food into the microwave container, then add 2-3 tablespoons of the plain, raw, canned pumpkin and then 2-3 drops of vegetable oil. Mix this up very well, then add enough water or unflavored Pedialyte to thin it out enough to be used in an oral syringe. Do not use and eyedropper to force feed, she can bite the end off, you'll need either an oral syringe from the drugstore or walmart near the pharmacy where the pill cutters are, or Tractor Supply sells really cheap 3ml Leur-Slip syringes (not Leur-Lock, they don't have a tip like the Leur-Slip syringes do). Mix in the water or unflavored Pedialyte, then microwave for 30 seconds, mix again, then microwave for another 30 seconds. Mix really well, fill the 3ml syringe and then you can test it on your wrist, you want it pretty warm but not hot.

You can try dripping this on her nose, let her lick it off, drip again, lick, drip, lick, etc. But you need to get at least 3ml in her at a time for it to be very effective, so you can put the tip of the syringe under her upper lip on the side of her mouth, back near her ear. Then gently slide the tip of the syringe up her mouth towards the tip of her snout, keeping the tip of the syringe under her upper lip the entire time. Once you get the tip of the syringe near the tip of her snout, she'll automatically open her mouth, Be ready to push a small amount of the laxative slurry into her mouth at a time once she opens her mouth. Usually you can keep the tip of the syringe in between her teeth, which will keep her from closing her mouth, and then just push small amounts of the slurry in at a time, allowing her to swallow before pushing more in. If her mouth closes then start over by placing the tip of the syringe under her upper lip on the side of her mouth back by her ear again, and slide it up towards her snout again. Do this until you get at least 3ml of the laxative slurry in her. Then let her bask under her lights for at least an hour or two. Then try a warmer than average bath, that seems to be key, warmer than average, not "hot" obviously, but pretty warm. The more you can get her to swim and move her back end/legs around while she's in the bath, the more likely she'll poop, so do this in your bathtub or sink where she can swim around. Try to encourage that by moving her around passively. If she's just soaking and not moving around she most likely won't go, but if you can keep her moving/swimming in the warm water and then let her stop for a few seconds, wait and see and if she doesn't go then get her moving again, etc. they usually do go after swimming for a while. 20 minutes doing this tops. Don't be surprised if you get a ton of undigested superworm shells and parts...you also want to double check her Basking Spot Surface Temperature to ensure it's between 100-105 degrees or she'll never digest the shells.

If she doesn't go after one laxative slurry feeding/basking/warmer than average bath/swim, then just put her back in her tank, and then warm up another dose of the slurry again (cover it and keep it in the fridge) later, another 3ml, then another hour basking and another warmer than average bath. It usually only takes at most 3 feedings to get them to pass it. She also may black beard and strain a bit while passing the impaction, that's normal, don't worry unless she can't pass it, but she should be fine once she gets it out. Then please try to change up her live insects, I have an adult that hates greens/veggies too and eats live insects every day, but he only gets 1-2 large superworms every 2 days or so...
 
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