Beardie Swallowed Rock

Ok, I don't know if it's bad enough for it to be in the Beardie ER, so I hope this fine for now.
Yesterday, Hiu decided to swallow a rock that was just barely the width of the space between his eyes.
I got him in to the vet today, and he did an X-Ray, which showed it in his stomach.
The vet said, it has a 50/50 chance off passing, as it isn't too big to fit through his pelvis. He suggested I feed him big bugs, like hornworms and the like. I need to set up an appointment for some time next week, so that we can track the progress of the rock and determine whether or not it will need to be surgically removed or not.
I am really hoping and praying that he can just poop it out, preferably before I have to take him in again, as I can't even afford another X-Ray ($243!!!)

If you guys have any ideas/tricks/tools/ etc, I would be so very happy to hear them! As it is right now, I am looking into getting the hornworms, and am planning on giving him warm soaks+belly massages at least 5-10 minutes a day (however much he tolerates, he doesn't like the water much).

Hi there, sorry to hear about this stressful situation. The reason for feeding him a good amount is to hopefully move the rock along the G.I tract. I would also offer a bit of canned pumpkin and veg. oil to help lubricate things , along with the other food items. I would not rub his stomach, that might be painful....just let the food and the natural movements of the intestinal tract move it along. It's possible that it won't come out right away, he may have several b.m's before the rock moves out. Best wishes for a good outcome !

AHBD":2suwrfqq said:

Hi there, sorry to hear about this stressful situation. The reason for feeding him a good amount is to hopefully move the rock along the G.I tract. I would also offer a bit of canned pumpkin and veg. oil to help lubricate things , along with the other food items. I would not rub his stomach, that might be painful....just let the food and the natural movements of the intestinal tract move it along. It's possible that it won't come out right away, he may have several b.m's before the rock moves out. Best wishes for a good outcome !

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Thank you!
ANd that makes sense for not rubbing his belly, good thing I didn't start that yet! He's been acting normal, heck, he seemed proud of himself for swallowing that darn thing. I'll have to get him some butter nut squash again, he LOVES that stuff to no end. I've just ordered some hornworms that will hopefully be here early tomorrow.
Gosh darn, but I need a job so bad... XD

Silly boy.... goes to show you that they will eat anything and you have to watch them like a hawk when on the floor or in the garden.

I'm guessing it was a bright coloured rock (mistaken for a berry ?) or it had a bug sitting on it.

On a Reality TV show here (In Australia) called Bondi Vet (one of the few I sometimes watch) not so long ago there was a water dragon who had swallowed a rock too big to be passed.Fortunately the head vet found a way to break the rock up insitu by using highly focused and intense pulses of ultrasound. These broke the rock up into smaller fragments so they could be passed , no surgery was required though the dragon had to put under general to do the procedure.
In another episode he removed a acrylic fake chicken egg from the stomach of a large carpet python than had eaten it while raiding a chicken pen. This one involved general and surgery.

kingofnobbys":wkvkn1cl said:

Silly boy.... goes to show you that they will eat anything and you have to watch them like a hawk when on the floor or in the garden.

I'm guessing it was a bright coloured rock (mistaken for a berry ?) or it had a bug sitting on it.

On a Reality TV show here (In Australia) called Bondi Vet (one of the few I sometimes watch) not so long ago there was a water dragon who had swallowed a rock too big to be passed.Fortunately the head vet found a way to break the rock up insitu by using highly focused and intense pulses of ultrasound. These broke the rock up into smaller fragments so they could be passed , no surgery was required though the dragon had to put under general to do the procedure.
In another episode he removed a acrylic fake chicken egg from the stomach of a large carpet python than had eaten it while raiding a chicken pen. This one involved general and surgery.

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It was a white rock. His crickets tend to look white, with the calcium powder on them. He grabbed it, dropped it, then grabbed it again and swallowed it, the twerp.

CMJHBFantasy":3t0xlcz6 said:

kingofnobbys":3t0xlcz6 said:

Silly boy.... goes to show you that they will eat anything and you have to watch them like a hawk when on the floor or in the garden.

I'm guessing it was a bright coloured rock (mistaken for a berry ?) or it had a bug sitting on it.

On a Reality TV show here (In Australia) called Bondi Vet (one of the few I sometimes watch) not so long ago there was a water dragon who had swallowed a rock too big to be passed.Fortunately the head vet found a way to break the rock up insitu by using highly focused and intense pulses of ultrasound. These broke the rock up into smaller fragments so they could be passed , no surgery was required though the dragon had to put under general to do the procedure.
In another episode he removed a acrylic fake chicken egg from the stomach of a large carpet python than had eaten it while raiding a chicken pen. This one involved general and surgery.

Click to expand...

It was a white rock. His crickets tend to look white, with the calcium powder on them. He grabbed it, dropped it, then grabbed it again and swallowed it, the twerp.

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My little beardies haven't learnt the difference between coloured remote buttons and berries yet, they often try to eat the blue, red and yellow buttons ....

any sign of the rock coming out the other end yet .... ?

kingofnobbys":155lb8yi said:

any sign of the rock coming out the other end yet .... ?

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Nope, but he's been eating lots, and pooping everyday. Had a big, solid poop a couple days ago, even.
My dad said it's looking like he'll just have the rock in there for the rest of his life without it hurting him.
I am NOT going back to the vet unless there's an emergency, like if he does start getting stopped up. I can't afford to go in there for another xray just to be told, "Oh, yeah, he'll be fine, unless you want to spend thousands on a surgery that isn't necessarily needed and is more likely to hurt him than the rock is." (the vet had said such a surgery is a very tedious, delicate procedure with how thin their intestines are)

CMJHBFantasy":dac5j3x7 said:

kingofnobbys":dac5j3x7 said:

any sign of the rock coming out the other end yet .... ?

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Nope, but he's been eating lots, and pooping everyday. Had a big, solid poop a couple days ago, even.
My dad said it's looking like he'll just have the rock in there for the rest of his life without it hurting him.
I am NOT going back to the vet unless there's an emergency, like if he does start getting stopped up. I can't afford to go in there for another xray just to be told, "Oh, yeah, he'll be fine, unless you want to spend thousands on a surgery that isn't necessarily needed and is more likely to hurt him than the rock is." (the vet had said such a surgery is a very tedious, delicate procedure with how thin their intestines are)

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I'd keep a very close eye on him.

Thin means VERY FRAGILE AND DELICATE .... this increases the chance of the rock perforating them if it's got sharp edges .... this would really worry me. Perforated intestines ==> very dangerous ==> life threatening.

I think regular Xrays are worth the $ just to check if it's still there and where it's moved to.