Frequent constipation

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Tammy94

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Hi,

My beardie is about 1year & 7 months old, weighs 590g and is generally healthy.

In the recent months his eating has slowed down alot but he has sustained a healthy weight so I'm guessing this is just him now reaching adulthood.

For the last 2 months he has gone from pooping every few days to once every week sometimes even 2 weeks, the longer he goes without going the more sluggish and tired he seems and he just sulks under his hide in his cool area refusing to bask, he doesn't want to come out of his viv etc, then when he finally poops he is hyperactive again and wants to explore.

His diet has always been the same, relatively small locusts along with a salad every day, his temps are fine and i feed him water through a droplet a few times a week. he baths once per week also.

I dont think it's impactation because he eventually goes, but it is taking a very long time and clearly causing him a bit of grief. Today I tried feeding him some olive oil in a pipette, im hoping this will work.

Im wondering if anyone has any idea what's going on with my beardie? his stomach isnt swollen or anything, vent area looks fine, he's almost behaving like a brumating dragon but in the middle of summer, I am worried :?

Thank you
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
The worry is the lethargy. Is there any blackbearding going on with this , or straining. These three together with holding on for these periods will be indicative something is wrong.

Not going every day , other day , or even every 3rd or 4th day, is in itself not an issue if beardie has no other symptoms or behaviors indicating there are problems.

Going a week and occasionally two weeks between poos seems to happen with some beardies purely because they are very efficient and slow metabolism, see my thread about Peppa and Toothless, who about the same age viewtopic.php?f=6&t=232446

Lethargy can also be due to inadequate UVA & UVB , and also happens if beardie is too cold. And often is a symptom of serious health issues too. But we don't have enough information to know why.

I think we need much more information and details on your beardie's setup and your husbandry otherwise we can't even hazard a guess.

Here's my Cheat Sheet :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050

If you work through it methodically , the chances are their are likely a lot of issues that need to be tweeked or changed and they will pop right out at you, if you can give very detailed answers we will then be in a position to offer help. Is impossible to help you if you don't provide thorough details .

It may prove necessary to involve a reptile vet if your bearded dragon has serious health issues.
Are you in a position to afford to take him to a good reptile vet should this prove necessary ?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

To help out for him, if he is a bit backed up or maybe just dehydrated, you can mix canned pumpkin without spices or fresh pumpkin, with sugar free applesauce or even prune baby food. Then a drop or two of olive or coconut oil to help out the GI tract.
How often do you supplement calcium & what type do you use?
What type/brand of UVB lighting are you using?
Some do brumate in the summer, but it's good to eliminate other possibilities, first.

Tracie
 

Tammy94

Member
Original Poster
Hi both, thank your fast responses and apologies for the delay in mine - we've had huge issues with our ISP for 3 weeks now and i've only just been able to reply as visiting my mother this week.

I have gathered the following information that you may find helpful:

- Substrate is reptile carpet with paper towels at the end of his tank where he goes to the loo.
- Cool side temperature is 87o F
- Warm side temperature is 99 o F
- UV Light is Arcadia D3 Reptisun 14% fitted with a reflector
- Basking spot lamp is 50W standard reptile bulb
- Also has a ceramic (no light emitted) heater
- Diet consists of 2-3 bug feeds per week (Perhaps it is important for me to note that recently we have significantly reduced his food intake in terms of insects, he is still perfectly sustaining weight.)
- Daily salad of rocket along with Pak Choi (occasionally throw in some mango or pepper as a treat) he does not often eat his salad
- Fed water through a pipette twice per week, he does have a bowl with fresh water available to him at all times.
- Bath 1 x per week.
- calcium 3-4 times per week, vitamin powder 3-4 times per week (I try to balance this 50/50)

He has in the recent days shown signs of a shed beginning on his face, however his behaviour has been going on for a long time like this so i do not think it is relevant.


Since my original post Douglas went to the loo, aside from it being a lot bigger than usual due to the time since he last went there were not signs of blood, urate was fine and there was the usual amount of moisture. For 2-3 days after he perked up again and wanted to come out, explore, bask etc.

Now once again it has been over a week since he last went and all he does is sulk under his hide. He is still happy to eat, and once i pick him up and take him out of his hide he is alert and does not seem sluggish (he has always been very lazy)

He does not appear to be atttempting to go to the loo or straining at all, I have felt his tummy once again and there is no sign of any lumps or bumps.

As a precautinary measure we are purchasing a new UVB lamp (trying to eliminate possible causes) although the one he has I hear is one of the best, and has only been in for 4 months.

Any advice or insight as to what could be going on would be much appreciated, we are happy to take him to vets if needs be however it is a very long drive and would be stressful for him, we would prefer to avoid if it is not necessary.

For me personally, I would have put it down to brumation as he is sleeping a lot, however he wakes up and eats (is this just me disturbing him though?)


thank you to all for the help so far, It is very much appreciated.

Edit: Sorry I forgot to answer your question re the blackbearding: none whatsoever, no extra stress marks than usual either
 

PrettyinPurple

Hatchling Member
I'm not sure if this helps at all, but if my 6 year old is getting backed up, she appears to be uncomfortable, disinterested in food, and doesn't move a whole lot. This is how I know she needs soaked really bad (she tends to only poo while she's being soaked). Maybe this could help your beardie get back to a regular digestion cycle?
 
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