The Miraculous Poopless Dragon...

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Ellentomologist

Hatchling Member
EDIT: Crisis averted, he pooped on me today.

Hoya, thanks for checking this out. My boy Guac seems perfectly healthy - good energy, alert, decent weight (though he could gain a little) - except for two things...

1) He's not eating his greens (typical) and
2) He's not pooping

Now his refusing his greens doesn't worry me too much... I know it's typical for the species, just a little unusual for him since he's always been a good eater. He's taking insects and blueberries just fine, and until the no pooping started I was trying to starve him into eating his salad, but about two weeks ago he stopped pooping.

Oh, ****! I though, or rather no ****, and promptly monitored his activities and rechecked his tank for being set up correctly, before caving and feeding him some insects and blueberries. Gulp-much-crunch! All gone, and he looked quite pleased with himself and pooped the next day. Okay, I say, no problem then... Except he continues his food strike until he stops pooping again and I wait a couple days after that before caving and giving him his favorite foods again.

Now, for four days, he's been getting a mix of insects (mostly crickets and dubias, but also some waxworms and super worms) but STILL isn't pooping! I am growing concerned. There is no swelling/hardness/sign of impaction that I can find, but this has been far too long. He is alert, oriented, and active enough to run from my room to my roommate's room on the opposite side of the apartment when I let him out. He even decided to climb up my SO earlier today! Since he otherwise seems perfectly healthy, at what point do I break down and take him to the vet?

So far I have done the following: Daily baths for the past two weeks (he loves them), feeding pumpkin and squash (he hates it and refuses to touch it, but I can bribe him into taking a bite or two with super worms), feeding watered-down reptaboost (to make sure he wasn't dehydrated), and changing around his set up just to make sure he was getting the right amount of UV and heat...

Currently he is in a 2x2x3.5 foot tank with a screen top, uv beneath the screen, two basking spots one of ~93F the other of ~102F (he normally uses the hotter one which is slightly higher than the cooler one), ambient/cool side of 78-80F, reptile carpet as substrate, water on cool side (humidity never gets high and he does drink from it), cool and warm side hides, and he has a CHE that comes on when his lights go off to make sure the temp doesn't get too low at night (I live in a cold, dry climate). Guacamole is approximately 2 years old, I believe.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, Guac is just fine. No poo for 4 days is very normal for many dragons and never an emergency at all. I have a dragon that goes about every 4-7 days at times. Superworms can be part of the reason, they take a bit longer to digest. But don't worry, they can go 3-4 weeks at times with no problems.
 

Aaradimian

Juvie Member
AHBD is one of the forum's experts, so I'd only add that if you're concerned, you can try feeding him some organic applesauce. Also putting him in the tub or sink with water up to the bottom of his belly and the tap running just a little in the background is the magic formula to get mine to both drink... and go (obviously only in that order!) :lol:
 

Ellentomologist

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hi All,

After being all concerned mommy for the past while, he pooped on me today. So. That's a relief. LOL!

The only reason I was getting concerned is that prior to this he's only ever skipped a day at most. He's, erm... Regular. First thing in the morning. Lovely way to wake up, let me tell you. :roll:
So going two whole weeks without pooping was very abnormal for him. Since he pooped once, then didn't for another long while, that's why I got a bit concerned... Little stressed overall with my final exams for college and I think I kinda fixated on it due to overall stress.

Thank you all for your feedback and help!
 
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