Beardie hasn't pooped in a week!! Help

Hello there,

I have a bearded dragon who is about 7 months old and over the past week she has decreased her eating habits and will only eat worms and the very very small bit of greens/veggies here and there. Before this week I had her eating 30-40 crickets a sitting and now she won't go near them even when hand fed she backs up. She has also not pooped in a week which is my biggest concern as I could find this also relateable to her eating habits. As far as I can tell she has not lost any weight and is still the same active chunky little devil. About a month ago I had gotten a 120 gal tank and she had been fine at first but now is avoiding her basking lights and going straight under her uvb which I have lowered since. Because of this I have put a 100 w basking light in the double dome beside her uvb bulb and have given her a good soak and still nothing coming out. With the feeding issue I have been using watered down baby applesauce(no added sugars) in a syringe and letting her lick it off her lips. Is there any tips anyone can give me on how to make her poop?

Jake,
My Smaugie (14 months) isn't very regular when it comes to pooping. Sometimes she poops daily, every other day, even has gone up to a week a few times, without going. Can you upload some pictures of your setup and beardie?
If you're unfamiliar with uploading images, scroll down on the right hand side and you'll see a flashing "NEW" icon next to 'User Image Upload Manger'. I usually open it up as a new tab first; upload the photo, and then you can copy the 'Forum IMG' hyperlink to a post to display the photo in a post/reply.
It's good that she's at least staying active and isn't being lethargic. If she hasn't been basking, I would avoid feeding her continuously. As I'm sure you already know, they cannot properly digest their food if they're not basking.

What are you using to check your basking temperatures to ensure that the basking spot isn't too hot or too cold?

Do you feel and hard lumps when you gently feel around her belly area? (**Note** Don't be shocked if you're feeling on her sides where her spikes run, and feel something hard...it's likely the rib cage you're feeling, as their rib cage runs all the way down to their back legs (https://www.google.com/search?q=bearded+dragon+x-ray&biw=1366&bih=618&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt_Jbtr9DNAhXGMSYKHZ9sAssQ_AUIBigB)

What kind of bulbs are you using (outside of wattage)?
Is she going through a shed at all?

I too have used applesauce (baby food, no added sugar) as a laxative, but I will also give her a small amount of vegetable oil to help with digestive lubrication.

Hello Xazzak,

When your beardie doesn't poop for a week do you still feed her as much as you regularly would and keep trying til it eats or would it be better to skip a meal here and there if she doesn't go after food? I have uploaded some images (thanks for the help with instructions). These are from just now and the one of her standing is the one after the one of her in the corner after I handled her because she was being quite lethargic.



Yes that is my fear is that she isn't basking so I am hoping moving a heat bulb beside the uvb will help get her under it.

Hi. Your set up looks nice. One reason she probably is not basking is the uvb light. Those coil/compact bulbs bother their eyes, cause lethargy and cause appetite issues. The problem with those uvb lights is they give off a very strong uvb then fizzle out fast. You want a reptisun 10.0 Tube ot the Arcadia 12%tube. Those are the most recommended on here. Also is that a purple light? If so that is not necessary at all. Beardies need just a good uvb light and a good bright white basking light. That purple light can also make their site feel like they are seening things like we do when it's dusk.

Ahh maybe this is the case, I was thinking maybe it wasnt giving off the proper amount of uv light and thats why shes consistently under it. I will take your advice on the tube light as I have as of late heard that compact is not a great product and I need to cover more space now. The purple light is red, I had only bought this because PetValu said they typically recommend it, but I have an extra 100 white so ill switch it out. I have just gave her a soak with diluted pedialyte and she seems much more active, no poop still unfortunately but I caught her basking.

What about the PowerSun, I was looking into this light but could not really figure it out. Would this still be considered a UVB compact bulb but it gives off heat also? That way she basks when she is hiding under her UVB i figured. I was just curious what people came across with a mercury vapor bulb as I am not familar at all with them.

Yeah I don't know to much about what mvb is good. I think the powersun is ok not the best, but it should work. I know the mega ray is a good one. The National geographic brand is not. Lots of people have had problems with those. The Arcadia brand is also good. Also if you use a mvb she needs regular calcium, but if you give her a tube then she needs calcium with d3. Hopefully once the changes are made she'll bask

The Powersun bulbs are OK. I like them because they have a relatively even output compared to some of the others. They have an optimal UVB output at 12-15'' above the basking area (the 160w version). The downside is that you can't control heat and UVB exposure separately, so you need to mount the MVB at a height according to UVB output (12-15'' up in this case) and add additional lighting to increase temperatures as needed. I also prefer to have the wider area of UVB exposure that is provided by the T5 tubes. The MVB produces a relatively small area (around 12'' or so) of even UVB so it's more difficult for your dragon to bask evenly compared to a 22'' T5 which provides an even area slightly wider than your dragon.

Thank you for the information on these products! I was always wondering the best route and it seems tube is the way to go so I will be going this route. I've got good news, she finally pooped this morning and seems to be back to basking after a light adjustment Such picky little creatures they are

That's great to hear! Hopefully she's feeling better now.

In my opinion, the best UVB lighting is the T5 22'' mounted over the basking side of the tank about 12'' up. This is what I use and it works really well http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/