Bearded Dragon not pooping

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nathanjohnson

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I've had a male bearded dragon named Herbie for close to 2 years now. He hasn't been pooping much or eating much for a very long time. He eats his salads at most once or twice a week, and he poops hardly ever (at most once a month) This has been going on for quite some time until I read online that they should be doing both much more frequently. For background information:
-He is 2 years old, about 17 inches long
-substrate is t-rex sanichips
-tank is about 45 gallons
-i offer salads every day consisting of collared greens, arugala and occasional spring mixes, and fruits, as well as roaches and superworms dusted in calcium and multivitamins twice a week.
-he has a reptisun 10.0 uvb ballast
-temps are normal, good temperature gradient, 72 degrees as night
-i probably am not bathing him nearly enough though
-he sleeps alot. While exploring in my room, he will quickly find a place to sleep, and spends most days sleeping in his hut
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Welcome to the forum, and I'm sorry you're having problems, but I see some red flags in your husbandry right away that are most likely causing his issues, and can be easily corrected.

First of all, can you please post some photos of both him and his entire enclosure/lights?

Okay, so first of all, yes, adult dragons should be pooping more than once a month, at most every 10 days to 14 days at a max. While he may be a bit dehydrated, this has nothing to do with "not enough baths", as they don't absorb any hydration while soaking in water through their vents/skin. Dragons must take in hydration through their mouths just like we do, and as they are from the Australian Desert they don't have much of a concept of "standing water", so most don't drink water from a bowl or a bath through their mouths. If your dragon does drink water through his mouth while in a bath then that's fine, but if not then one bath a week is more than enough, just for cleanliness purposes. Other than that he should be getting ample hydration from his fresh veggies/greens and live insects...Do you feed him live insects? Adult dragons need live insects at least 2-3 times a week, I am one who feeds my adults live insects daily, albeit far less than they ate when they were under a year old. But you need to be feeding live insects at least 2-3 times a week. And if you feel that he's a bit dehydrated, the best way to offer water or unflavored Pedialyte is by dripping it on his snout for him to lick off several times throughout the day...

The first "red flag" is the loose substrate...Now even if you don't see him eating it, he does. They lick everything, all the time, constantly, and I guarantee you he has those chips inside his GI Tract, and that is part of the issue with the impactions he's suffering from. The Australian Desert is not the typical "sandy desert" that we think of, it actually has very little sand and is rather a hard, rocky terrain with vegetation. So their bodies are not made to live on loose substrates and have to digest them. So you need to dump out that loose substrate ASAP, and then completely disinfect the entire inside of the tank and everything in it (decor, bowls, etc.), as that's the second big issue with loose substrates and dragons, they harbor and breed bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., and Dragons are very prone to Upper Respiratory Infections, eye infections, skin/scale infections, etc. So you're also putting him at risk for this as well. So after you dump the chips out and disinfect the tank and everything in it, you can put down either paper towels or newspapers, and replace them as they get soiled. Then you can choose a permanent, solid substrate that is appropriate for Dragons, such as the stick-on tiles from Lowes that are textured and slate (they are very easy to spot clean and they keep their toenails trim, plus they look great), Non-Adhesive shelf Liner, Carpeting, etc.

The second red-flag and probably your largest issue that is causing his lack of appetite, his lethargy, and contributing to the impactions is inadequate UVB lighting. You said that you have the "Reptisun 10.0 ballast", and I'm assuming that means that you have either the compact or coil version of this light, the ones that fit into a regular lightbulb socket in a Deep Dome fixture or a Clamp Lamp Fixture, These are only 13 watts and totally inadequate for Bearded Dragons. They are about half the amount of UVB and UVA light that a Dragon needs. They need at least 13-14 hours every day of a strong, adequate UVb tube with a reflector distributing the light throughout the tank along with a bright-white colored Basking bulb right alongside this strong UVB tube, with his basking spot/platform positioned directly underneath both lights that are located over the Hot Side of the tank, both sharing the top of the Hot Side of the tank. This is replicating natural sunlight.

In addition, if you have a mesh lid on his tank and the compact/coil UVB bulb is on top of the mesh lid, then the mesh is blocking about 40% of the already far-too-weak UVB/UVA light, so this is a Double-Whammy...And if you happen to have the a long tube version of the Reptisun 10.0 UVB light, but it's the much weaker T8 strength of tube (only 15 watts) and it's sitting on top of the mesh lid, then this is causing the issue, as T8 strength UVb tubes cannot sit on top of the mesh lid, they must be strapped to the underside of the mesh lid using zip ties, wire, twine, shoelaces, etc.

You need to buy him a long (at least 18" long) UVB tube and a long, fluorescent tube fixture that has a reflector included with it for it to sit in ASAP. Without an adequate UVB light he will have no appetite, will be completely lethargic, will not be able to absorb or process any nutrition from either his food or his supplements you feed him, and is most likely suffering from a calcium deficiency.

There are 2 strengths of UVb tube: The weaker T8, and the much stronger T5. I highly suggest that you purchase either a Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB tube or an Arcadia 12% T5 UVB tube, and then a T5-rated tube fixture for it that must have a reflector inside it. This is what he needs in order to start recovering from the calcium deficiency, get his appetite back, get his energy levels up, and start to get better. Without this he will continue to get worse and worse.

The T8 UVB tubes must be strapped to the underside of the mesh lid, they must be within at least 6" of his basking spot/platform, and they must be replaced once every 6 months as they have a very fast UVB decay rate and they stop emitting any UVB light at 6 months old. In contrast, the T5 strength UVb tubes are strong enough to sit on top of the mesh lid, just as long as they are within at least 10-11" of his basking spot/platform, and they only need replaced once every 12 months. This is what he needs.

You can buy a 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB tube (never buy a 5.0) on Amazon.com for around $24, and you can also buy a 24" T5-rated tube fixture with a reflector inside it on Amazon.com for aound $28. This is as cheap as I've seen, and this is shipped.
 

beardielover800

New member
Princess Acali wasn't pooping right before she died(rest in peace), I suspect something stuck in their body(maybe?) That's what was wrong with Messi, our other lizard of oz.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
beardielover800":upok5nv5 said:
Princess Acali wasn't pooping right before she died(rest in peace), I suspect something stuck in their body(maybe?) That's what was wrong with Messi, our other lizard of oz.

That's why I pointed out the loose substrate causing a bowel impaction, in combination with inadequate UVB light to allow her to properly digest/absorb/process her food.
 

nathanjohnson

New member
Original Poster
I'm replacing his current substrate with reptile carpet, and his uvb out for a t5 bulb and fixture at 24". My one concern though, will the t5 be too strong from a distance of 5-6"? He often basks on a log under the light fairly close to it. Also, ill get those photos up soon.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
5-6'' is pretty close for a T5 but you want to measure to the main basking zone. It's OK if there are branches etc that allow access a bit closer if they want to and can easily move away from it. It's good to provide them with choices. If the main basking zone is closer than about 10'' then you may want to use a less intense bulb (5.0) or hang the 10.0 a bit further away using a grow light stand.
 
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