my fat child hasn't pooped in like 2 weeks

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My female beardie is abt 8 years old and usually poops every few days. She hasn't pooped for about 2 weeks, since the middle of her Pinworm medication, which has since been completed and the vet had said she otherwise seemed very healthy. She's brumating and sleeping a lot so it makes sense that her digestive system would be slowed, but is 2 weeks too long? I've tried giving her a warm bath and tummy massage several times.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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2 weeks isn't unheard of, especially if she is sleepier than usual. I would keep offering water by dripping on her nose to ensure she is well hydrated. The meds can be pretty dehydrating and that can also have an effect on digestion.
 

QuinnF

Hatchling Member
Clyde my bearded usually poops 1-2 times per week so idk if 2 weeks is normal. I have heard 2 tips to help them go to the bathroom.
1) you can soak it in warm (not hot) water for 15-20 minutes and
2) if she will eat I have heard that ice burg lettuce acts as a laxative. (DONT GIVE ME SLACK FOR THE TIP ABOUT ICEBURG LETTUCE I DO NOT FEED IT TO MY BEARDIE IK IT HAS NO NUTRIENTS ITS JUST A TIP TO GET IT TO POOP)
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
My question would be what do you mean by "She's been brumating a lot"? How long did she brumate for, or how many times has she gone into a brumation recently? And did you feed her any solid food during or in-between these "brumations"?" If so, then that's most likely the problem, as you should not feed them any solid food at all during a brumation, even if you wake them up weekly. If you have a dragon that brumates for long periods of times, like for a month or longer, it's perfectly fine to wake them up once every week, give them a nice warm bath, give them a nice long drink of water, and then let them go back to sleep. However, if you feed them solid food and then let them go back to sleep for a week or longer, all of that solid food is just going to sit inside their stomach/intestines and literally rot. They don't digest any food in their stomach while they are brumating, so this can cause everything from bowel impactions/obstructions to infections and illness due to the food rotting inside them. So if you had fed her solid food and then let her go back to sleep for another week or longer, and since then she has woken up completely from her brumation and hasn't pooped in 14 days, I'd be concerned that she's impacted, and I'd start giving her laxative slurries consisting of a jar of Prune Baby Food mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of plain, raw, canned pumpkin, and then a little water to thin it out. The let her bask under he lights for a couple of hours, and then give her a warmer-than-average bath for 15-20 minutes to see if she'll pass the impaction. It usually takes doing this cycle 2-3 times before they'll start to pass the impaction, and it may take 2-3 big bowel movements for her to pass the impaction completely.
 

Soulsplosion

Member
Original Poster
She tends to brumate on and off, digging under her leaves and sleeping for a few days before she'll come out, bask, and be alert/active for a day before burying herself somewhere again. She would rarely sleep any longer than a few days. When she comes out, she often looks for food so I give her a small bit; I also make sure to give her water. This is usually how her brumation goes before it ends and she'll be back to being active every day.
I maybe also should mention that I recently changed her diet from romaine to healthier things like collard greens.
But also thanks everyone !
 
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