Bloated and maybe constipated emergency

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Cruz

Member
Please someone help my baby beardie is only a couple month old about 4 I wanna say but since yesterday I came out to find him literally bloated like he swollowed a golf ball to the point where he couldn't even scatter away from me when I reached in to pick him up and I'm really worried he's only pooped black and it has no white he keeps jerking as if he's trying to poop but can't I bathed him in warm water but to no pravaile it hasn't gotten better he tends to get bloated and starts to freak out if I leave him in the warm water what can I give him to help him pass this of what's wrong please someone help
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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Hello,

I am sorry your dragon is not doing well.
How small is he? At 4 months or so of age, he is vulnerable to impaction.
What did he ingest that could have impacted him?
Please review your tank setup for us also, just so we can be sure it's all correct for him.
If you feel he is impacted, you can get some sugar free applesauce, along with some canned
pumpkin (no spices) & mix that with a drop or two of olive or coconut oil. Give that to him
daily using either a plastic syringe or dropper along with a warm bath to see if that helps out.
Is his beard darkened at all?

Tracie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
if he's already bloated and showing signs of being in distress , he needs to be treated by a reptile vet pronto especially if his substrate is sand or other indigestible particles
 

Cruz

Member
Original Poster
Today I woke up and saw his eyes bulged out of his skull if that's a symptom his set up is a little plastic tree stand a 140 uv bulb for basking I use newspaper as a substrate and a light I got from petco for his sunlight he has a water bowl and I feed him mealworms and freeze dried crickets I give him water whenever I can from a spay bottle and his beard has been getting darker but I thought it was just BEACUSE he was being a brat
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
If you could post photos of him and the lights you're using it would be helpful. I'm not familiar with a 140 UV bulb. You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

Eye bulging can be a sign of shedding. They bulge the eyes to loosen the skin. It's terrifying the first time you see it, but it's normal and harmless to them. https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/eyebulging/
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
My guess is that he's severely impacted from inadequate lighting and temperatures, plus the mealworms and freeze-dried insects. You need to completely stop feeding him any mealworms or freeze-dried insects at all from this point forward. Mealworms have very little nutritional value at all, they are full of fat, and most importantly they are mostly nothing but chitlin shell that is way too hard for bearded dragons to digest, and they often cause lethal impaction. Freeze-dried insects are about the worst thing you can feed a beardie, in fact they are the only thing worse than the mealworms, especially for a baby or juvenile. They have zero nutritional value, no moisture at all, cannot be gut-loaded obviously, and are literally like feeding your beardie cardboard or wood that cannot be digested. The hard, indigestible food combined with bad lighting and improper temperatures will definitely cause a bad impaction, along with stunted growth, nutritional deficiencies and diseases, such as MBD and Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) deficiency, and eventually paralysis. You need to pick a high-quality, only live feeder that you can gut-load with fresh greens and veggies, like live crickets, live dubia roaches, live Phoenix Worms, or live Silkworms. Obviously crickets and dubia roaches are easiest to find and cheapest to buy, and if bought online in bulk you save a fortune. Either way, no more freeze-dried insects or mealworms at all or this will keep happening, along with far worse and permanent disabilities and possibly death.

Get some prune baby food at the grocery store, along with a can of raw pumpkin from the canned veggie aisle, and a bottle of unflavored Pedialyte (store brand is fine, all can be found at Walmart cheaply). Empty a jar or container of the prune baby food into a microwave-safe container and then add 2-3 tablespoons of the raw canned pumpkin, then a pinch of his Calcium powder WITH VITAMIN D3 and a pinch of his multivitamin powder. Then add a little of the unflavored Pedialyte to thin it out a bit so it can be delivered in an oral syringe or eyedropper. Mix it up very well, then microwave it for a minute. Mix it very, very well again, and test it on your wrist like you do a baby bottle. You want it warm, but not hot. Drip it on his snout, let him lick it off, then drip again, lick it off, drip again, etc. Let him eat as much of it as he wants, and do this 2-3 times today, then tomorrow morning. Then put him under his lights tomorrow morning after he eats the slurry again for an hour or two, then give him a warmer than normal bath, along with gentle tummy rubs down his right side. He should poop.
 

Cruz

Member
Original Poster
94452-6618119553.jpg

How does he look this is my baby boy caesar can anyone tell me if he looks constipated or if what's wrong with him just by how he looks
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
He does look bloated, but still looks alert which is good. Like was mentioned you must cut out the freeze dried food and mealworms. Make sure to keep him hydrated....have you offered the baby food squash , prunes canned pumkin, applesauce [ any or all of these ] they are natural laxatives. You can offer a few drops of raw honey as well and/or veg. oil.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I agree, he looks good overall & his eyes are alert.
Do try the softer foods right now, with the olive or coconut oil to help with any impactions.
Getting some extra oral fluids into him should help, along with making sure he is at the optimal
basking temperatures so he can properly digest also.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
I agree ... bloated ,but alert and not bbing.

New Exo Terra or Arcadia or Zoo Med lights , and return the elcheapo Petco lights or bin them.

Get the temperatures right , the UV right and cut the mealworms and dead insects.

No solids til he pooes and get rids of the backed stuff in there, plenty of soft liquid slurries and purees til then , and the get him onto a live insects 3 times per day as many a he wants.

Here's my cheat sheet , lot's of tips in it : viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Any updates for us on your little one? I hope he is doing better.
Please let us know how things are going.

Tracie
 
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