Beardy Won't Poop

Finley hasn't pooped in two days and I've given him two warm baths and massaged his belly. My main concern is that when I got him from the pet store, (5 days ago) he was severely malnourished. When I first got him, the lady at the pet store told me to replace the daylight given to me with a different one, so I did as she told me (she seemed very knowledgeable) and then found out that the warming light she gave me, had no warming techniques at all. He was freezing and therefore, not eating. I've gotten him a very good warming light now and he went from eating 3 crickets a day to eating between 8-10. Since he has started eating again, he hasn't pooped. I'm wondering if I've done something wrong or if there is anything else I could try, or if maybe I'm just being a helicopter mom
Any suggestions?

Hi. He probably has some relocation stress. Also what kinds of lights are you using? How do you take the temps? How big is the enclosure?

destiny1998":3nmfj4ex said:

Hi. He probably has some relocation stress. Also what kinds of lights are you using? How do you take the temps? How big is the enclosure?

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I'm using the lights provided with the 10 gallon zilla tank. And I have an 18" UVB light as well. And the temperature gauge came with the tank.

Yeah those kits are crap. You need a good thermometer. The one that came with it is very inaccurate. You need a temp gun or a digital with a wire probe. What is the brand of the 18 inch? Is there any plastic over it? If you have a coil/ compact light of any kind those are not good for beardies. Also if you have a Petco near you they are having a dollar a gallon sale. That 10 gallon is way too small to get a good temp gradient. Also if it came with any loose substrate get rid of it. Use tile, paper towels, non adhesive shelf liner.

destiny1998":2akrvyr6 said:

Yeah those kits are crap. You need a good thermometer. The one that came with it is very inaccurate. You need a temp gun or a digital with a wire probe. What is the brand of the 18 inch? Is there any plastic over it? If you have a coil/ compact light of any kind those are not good for beardies. Also if you have a Petco near you they are having a dollar a gallon sale. That 10 gallon is way too small to get a good temp gradient. Also if it came with any loose substrate get rid of it. Use tile, paper towels, non adhesive shelf liner.

Click to expand...

The 18" is Zilla too, and yes there's plastic over the light. I don't have a coil I have a heating light for day and night. I'm using the 10 gallon until he gets a little bigger and then I have a 20 gallon already at home until I purchase a 50 gallon. It came with brown fabric liner. He's been pooping regularly, yesterday and today was the first time he hasn't.

Thanks for answering. Take that plastic off that is over the bulb. It is blocking the uvb rays. Also you'll want to invest in a better uvb. A reptisun 10.0 T5 is what you want. The zilla does not put off very strong uvb and you need to change it in 6 months. Make sure you are dusting the feeders with calcium 5x a week and vitinins 2x. Good luck with your little guy.

I'm starting to get pretty concerned about my Finley. He hasn't pooped in 3 days and I've given him five warm baths to try and get him to poop. He's sleeping and eating normally but the pet store told me to stop feeding him until he poops..he's had 20 crickets in the past three days, how has he not pooped anything out!? Then today I noticed that he went from a dark gray and black to a tan and almost white color. That's what really made me nervous.

He is only about 4 months so he is currently in a 10 gallon tank with a day and night light and then an 18" UVB light. I feed his crickets calcium and he eats them up. The temperature has only been getting to about 85º during the day so I'm looking for a better basking light. But in the meantime, what can I do? Should I be concerned or is he going through a natural process?

Hi. How are you taking the temps? No light night is needed. Intact beardies like complete darkness to sleep and it cool. If your house does not get below 65 then he'll be fine. If it's colder then a che is what you want. Also he could probably use a bigger tank. Petco has a dollar a gallon sale right now.

[I merged both of your threads since they are about the same thing]

Are you using a bright white basking bulb?

If his temperatures are not optimal, that will affect his digestion and pooping frequency. You really need to invest in a temperature gun or digital probe thermometer asap.

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destiny1998":12qrpeu6 said:

Hi. How are you taking the temps? No light night is needed. Intact beardies like complete darkness to sleep and it cool. If your house does not get below 65 then he'll be fine. If it's colder then a che is what you want. Also he could probably use a bigger tank. Petco has a dollar a gallon sale right now.

Click to expand...

I'm using the Zilla right now until I can get a temp probe. The I use the dark purple lamp at night because my house gets pretty cold at night. And my friend is going to give me her old tank I'm just waiting until we can meet up.

diamc":2e3nz16r said:

[I merged both of your threads since they are about the same thing]

Are you using a bright white basking bulb?

If his temperatures are not optimal, that will affect his digestion and pooping frequency. You really need to invest in a temperature gun or digital probe thermometer asap.

Click to expand...

It's seems to be slightly yellowish. I'm planning on going to the store and seeing if they have any that will get warmer.