Swollen vent?

regallymi

Member
Beardie name(s)
Max
Hi! Im posting about a bearded dragon that isn’t mine, but my young nephew’s.

Max is about a year old five or take. Not sure of the gender, but they’ve been assuming that it’s a male.

My nephew alerted me to the fact that Max has been a bit sick, not eating or anything, for about a day or two. When I picked him up, I noticed that his vent was a bit swollen and red, and to me looks like an infection. Now I work as a vet tech, but my specialty is in small domestic animals, so I feel a little out of my depth. I have bathed him in warm water, and completely removed all uneaten crickets that he had in enclosure out so that they won’t bite him while he’s feeling ill. Just wondering what the next steps should be.
 

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regallymi

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Max
Hi! Im posting about a bearded dragon that isn’t mine, but my young nephew’s.

Max is about a year old five or take. Not sure of the gender, but they’ve been assuming that it’s a male.

My nephew alerted me to the fact that Max has been a bit sick, not eating or anything, for about a day or two. When I picked him up, I noticed that his vent was a bit swollen and red, and to me looks like an infection. Now I work as a vet tech, but my specialty is in small domestic animals, so I feel a little out of my depth. I have bathed him in warm water, and completely removed all uneaten crickets that he had in enclosure out so that they won’t bite him while he’s feeling ill. Just wondering what the next steps should be.
Just wanted to add that the pic attached is post-bath. Before it was a little more crusted yellow which is why I assume it’s infected
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Just wanted to add that the pic attached is post-bath. Before it was a little more crusted yellow which is why I assume it’s infected
He looks impacted--- how big are the insects hes eating? Please get some baby food pumpkin ad a drop of olive oil and water it down a bit so he gets hydration - see if he will lick off of a spoon if not syringe feed VERY SLOW about 1ml or so keep feeding till he poops- let him swallow what you put in you dont want him aspirating --- please go over the UVB -- coil or a long tube fixture --- what are the surface basking temps and how are you getting them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate --- you want a digital probe thermometer--
We need to get this stuff corrected if it is off --- surface basking temps and UVB are crucial for digestion
dragons surface basking temps should be 95-100
 

regallymi

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Max
He looks impacted--- how big are the insects hes eating? Please get some baby food pumpkin ad a drop of olive oil and water it down a bit so he gets hydration - see if he will lick off of a spoon if not syringe feed VERY SLOW about 1ml or so keep feeding till he poops- let him swallow what you put in you dont want him aspirating --- please go over the UVB -- coil or a long tube fixture --- what are the surface basking temps and how are you getting them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate --- you want a digital probe thermometer--
We need to get this stuff corrected if it is off --- surface basking temps and UVB are crucial for digestion
dragons surface basking temps should be 95-100
He looks impacted--- how big are the insects hes eating? Please get some baby food pumpkin ad a drop of olive oil and water it down a bit so he gets hydration - see if he will lick off of a spoon if not syringe feed VERY SLOW about 1ml or so keep feeding till he poops- let him swallow what you put in you dont want him aspirating --- please go over the UVB -- coil or a long tube fixture --- what are the surface basking temps and how are you getting them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate --- you want a digital probe thermometer--
We need to get this stuff corrected if it is off --- surface basking temps and UVB are crucial for digestion
dragons surface basking temps should be 95-100
His surface temps says 100, but he does have the stick on so now that you’re saying that I’m not completely sure. His crickets are the size of the picture attached, only some are slightly bigger than that. He does get those super worms as a treat apparently, so that’s probably what’s caused this.

Thank you so much for the advice. I’m going to do that today and hope that we can get this guy feeling better.
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
His surface temps says 100, but he does have the stick on so now that you’re saying that I’m not completely sure. His crickets are the size of the picture attached, only some are slightly bigger than that. He does get those super worms as a treat apparently, so that’s probably what’s caused this.

Thank you so much for the advice. I’m going to do that today and hope that we can get this guy feeling better.
Please get two of these Zoo Med Reptile Terrarium Digital Thermometer | reptile Humidity & Temperature Control | PetSmart
please tell me what UVB your using? Coil or a long tube fixture --- this is crucial -- please hold off on all crickets and what ever else he is feeding --- we want him to poop --- feed only the baby food pumpkin or unsweetened applesauce as well --- super worms how many was he feeding and how often? the crickets go down a size but for now nothing but the pumpkin or applesauce -- but I need that info on the UVB please
 

regallymi

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Max
Please get two of these Zoo Med Reptile Terrarium Digital Thermometer | reptile Humidity & Temperature Control | PetSmart
please tell me what UVB your using? Coil or a long tube fixture --- this is crucial -- please hold off on all crickets and what ever else he is feeding --- we want him to poop --- feed only the baby food pumpkin or unsweetened applesauce as well --- super worms how many was he feeding and how often? the crickets go down a size but for now nothing but the pumpkin or applesauce -- but I need that info on the UVB please
This is the UVB light they’ve been using for him.

For the super worms, once a week they’ve been giving him but if he was low on crickets they’d give him an extra one.
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
This is the UVB light they’ve been using for him.

For the super worms, once a week they’ve been giving him but if he was low on crickets they’d give him an extra one.
Please get rid of that ---- this is a big issue-- you want one of these as soon as possible
24" fixture for a 40+ gallon tank -- this will come w/ a 5.0 bulb keep it for a back up you will need this bulb for a 40 gallon tank 22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO High Output Fluorescent Bulb
Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO High Output Terrarium Hood or you can look at Pet Smart for this one
Arcadia Reptile ProT5 UV-B Kit | reptile Heating & Lighting | PetSmart you want the one w/ the 12% bulb
when you get this please let me know I will help you get it placed for the tank - the screen is going to determine where the UVB goes --- the one hes using now is inadequate-- the dragon needs this to be able to absorb / synthesize his calcium D3 ----
how many super worms ? How many crickets ? and is he feeding fresh salads?
 

regallymi

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Max
Please get rid of that ---- this is a big issue-- you want one of these as soon as possible
24" fixture for a 40+ gallon tank -- this will come w/ a 5.0 bulb keep it for a back up you will need this bulb for a 40 gallon tank 22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO High Output Fluorescent Bulb
Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO High Output Terrarium Hood or you can look at Pet Smart for this one
Arcadia Reptile ProT5 UV-B Kit | reptile Heating & Lighting | PetSmart you want the one w/ the 12% bulb
when you get this please let me know I will help you get it placed for the tank - the screen is going to determine where the UVB goes --- the one hes using now is inadequate-- the dragon needs this to be able to absorb / synthesize his calcium D3 ----
how many super worms ? How many crickets ? and is he feeding fresh salads?
We’ll definitely work on getting this ASAP.

For the super worms, 1-2 a week.
Crickets he’s getting 5-10 for a ten minute feeding time twice a day. He usually eats all ten.
Yes he’s getting salads between those cricket feeding times. Mostly kale and some other greens. And he gets fruits every other day, mainly apples, mangoes, and bananas. And blueberries once a week. They have to give the fruits and vegetables separately because Max has a bit of a sweet tooth and will eat around the salad to get to the fruit.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
We’ll definitely work on getting this ASAP.

For the super worms, 1-2 a week.
Crickets he’s getting 5-10 for a ten minute feeding time twice a day. He usually eats all ten.
Yes he’s getting salads between those cricket feeding times. Mostly kale and some other greens. And he gets fruits every other day, mainly apples, mangoes, and bananas. And blueberries once a week. They have to give the fruits and vegetables separately because Max has a bit of a sweet tooth and will eat around the salad to get to the fruit.
Ah yes please limit the fruits -- here is nutrition website to help w/ the feedings and what to feed and how often - -the kale info is outdated -- Nutrition Content
Max should be eating 20-25 crickets at one feeding 2-3 times per day - calcium D3 should be dusted on the insects ONCE per feeding lightly coated --- 5 x per week--- Vit A w/ beta carotene ONCE per feeding 2 x per week --- we must get the lighting corrected -- surface basking temps are extremely important
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

How is the dragon doing today, any improvements?
As Karrie suggests, we do need to be sure the UVB lighting & temperatures are correct.
Are they able to get better UVB lighting?
Has the swelling on the vent gone down any?

Tracie
 

regallymi

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Max
Hello,

How is the dragon doing today, any improvements?
As Karrie suggests, we do need to be sure the UVB lighting & temperatures are correct.
Are they able to get better UVB lighting?
Has the swelling on the vent gone down any?

Tracie
I’m going over today, so I’ll get you guys an update later!
 

regallymi

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Max
Update on Max:

They’ve ordered the lighting you’ve suggested, as when they went to PetSmart they were told it was out of stock. It’ll be here this weekend.

Max is really fighting them on the pumpkin, but they’ve been doing it daily. He pooped a small amount, but is still impacted.

I’ve made him an appointment on Monday at my clinic just to do some X-rays. I’ve seen that enemas are a no-no and if that’s suggested rest assure we won’t do that. But I do think we need to know if he’s needing surgery at this point
 

regallymi

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Max
Update on Max:

They’ve ordered the lighting you’ve suggested, as when they went to PetSmart they were told it was out of stock. It’ll be here this weekend.

Max is really fighting them on the pumpkin, but they’ve been doing it daily. He pooped a small amount, but is still impacted.

I’ve made him an appointment on Monday at my clinic just to do some X-rays. I’ve seen that enemas are a no-no and if that’s suggested rest assure we won’t do that. But I do think we need to know if he’s needing surgery at this point
Some pictures of him as of right now. As you can see, there’s some stool stuck that I don’t want to pull out, don’t want to disrupt anything, but he’s not able to pass on his own.
 

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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I agree that it's probably the improper lighting [ not your fault ] and not quite enough heat. At his size he should have no problem with a few superworms unless he was given a lot of them and if the heat + uvb weren't right then that could be the cause. Keep up the pumpkin and then extra warm short baths, after which he should be patted dry + put back in the warm enclosure. Can you post pics of his set up ?
 

regallymi

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Max
I agree that it's probably the improper lighting [ not your fault ] and not quite enough heat. At his size he should have no problem with a few superworms unless he was given a lot of them and if the heat + uvb weren't right then that could be the cause. Keep up the pumpkin and then extra warm short baths, after which he should be patted dry + put back in the warm enclosure. Can you post pics of his set up ?
This is the set up he has right now. He used to have a larger enclosure but it was one of those sliding door ones and something happened where the door wouldn’t shut anymore, so they’ve been using his baby cage until they’ve gotten a new one. Normally he has one of those climbing trees, but they’ve taken it out since he’s been impacted, since his back legs aren’t working the best right now. He’s not dragging, but they move clumsily.
 

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