1 week - no poo!

[mommylu]

Help! Our Bearded Dragon hasn't gone poo in at least a week! She was eating earlier in the week (veges - lettuce/carrots) but past 2 days doesn't seem to be eating. Put Crickets in her cage today - she doesn't seem interested in eating them (she usually goes crazy eating them - likes to hunt them down!) She is not listless - just not eating - or going to the bathroom. We can't afford a vet visit - any recommendations??

 

[Morphius]

A Bath
#1 - a wide container (or base of sink) with warm water (90F-100F) no deeper than the back of the beardie.
#2 - give the beardie a bath for about 10 minutes.
#3 - during the bath, gently rub the lower tummy area (not applying much pressure at all).

A note on food...any type of lettuce contains virtually no nutritional value for beardies. See link for nutrion guide.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Also, we could use additional information regarding your beardie. Age, how lone it's been with you, suppliments, enclosure description, lighting schedule, regular diet, enclosure substrate and so on.

Having said that, if the problem is impaction and it does not pass with warm baths...a vet may be your only solution to preventing a painful death.

 

[beardlover]

Just to add to what Morphius was saying, if it's an impaction you can try to feed her a bit of apple sauce with a drop or two of olive oil. It's like a beardie laxative.

 

[mommylu]

Thanks for your help. Noel is a little over a year old - been with us since she was 4 months old. She is in a 38 gallon tank with sand that the local pet store (specializes in reptiles) said would be good to use. She eats a variety of veges - not just iceberg lettuce - but isn't really into any fruits (I have tried most everything and she doesn't touch it). She get large crickets regularly. (may go a couple of days without) During the day - she has a basking light and a long tube light (forgive my ignorance - don't know the name of the bulb). She also has a heating pad under the left side of the cage along with a heat rock.
My son said she was eating some of the crickets this morning - is this a good sign?
Also, we haven't been sprinkling the crickets with the supplements since she was little - should we be doing that?
Not sure how to get her to eat applesauce...also, how would you get her to take the oil?
Thanks again for your help.

 

[Morphius]

Thanks for your help. Noel is a little over a year old - been with us since she was 4 months old. She is in a 38 gallon tank with sand that the local pet store (specializes in reptiles) said would be good to use.

What type of sand? Regardless of the type, sand is not a good idea. In fact, any substrate that they can swallow is not a good idea. Yes...in the wild they live on sand...but in the wild they have a life expectancy of only 5 years too. Most substrates that a beardie can swallow can lead to impaction, sometimes severe.

Replace the sand with newspaper or paper towel, or even better...slate tiles.

(I'll leave the oil directions to someone else as I have not had to do this b4)

As for the heat rock. This is a rock that heats up I assume? Get rid of that...they're no good and most often leads to injury of the beardie (burns). But the heating pad...38 gallon is not typically a very long tank and the heating pad could also be keeping the tank too warm (unless the temp does not stay constant in the room). Usually heating pads are used in larger enclosures such as 50 gallon and larger since that amount of space cools more quickly and so the pad is to ensure an even and consistent temperature distribution (also the pad should be on the outside of the enclosure if its not).

Multi-vites should still be given 3-5x a week and calcium 5-6x a week. Are you feeding live insects or canned?

 

[mommylu]

Thanks again! We will get rid of the sand and rock today - any idea where to get the slate tile?
We are feeding her live crickets from the pet store. The heating pad IS on the outside, and the temp fluctuates in the room.

 

[Morphius]

Thanks again! We will get rid of the sand and rock today - any idea where to get the slate tile?
We are feeding her live crickets from the pet store. The heating pad IS on the outside, and the temp fluctuates in the room.

Any 'home building' store (like Home Depot for example) and even some walmarts will carry slate tile. The advantage is that the tile will absorb some heat during the day and release it at night AND its also very easy to clean.

You also want to ensure the crickets are not too big for your beardie as that can cause impaction too. Rule of thumb is no larger than the space between their eyes.

Have you tried the warm bath yet?

 

[mommylu]

OK - I love the slate idea...will check out Wallmart!
We haven't done the bath yet - just got 2 boys off to school, and getting the 3rd ready...plus I work at the school too. Will do it right after school today. Will keep you posted! Thanks a million for all your suggestions. If the bath doesn't work, I'm going to look into calling a vet...can't bear to be without her...will have to find the money somehow to pay for it.

 

[beardlover]

Mix the oil into the applesauce. I just offer a spoonful to Vinny and she licks it off the spoon. Sometimes she isn't interested until she tastes it (same with a lot of fruits) I just dab a little on her nose, when she goes to lick something she tastes it on her face, and keeps licking, I put the spoon in front of her and she just helps herself.....same method for baby foods.


Just out of curiosity, what are your staple veggies? You mentioned 'not just iceberg lettuce' beware of anything with 'lettuce' in the name. They provide little to no nutritional value to your beardie.
I refer to this list http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html quite often when adding variety to Vinny's diet.

 

[mommylu]

The staple veges are mostly just mixed greens and carrots...I checked out your food chart - I had NO idea she could eat all that variety. Thanks so much. This website has been so helpful!

 

[mommylu]

Hi all! Just an update on Noel...we ended up taking her to the vet this past weekend - she was, indeed impacted. YUCK! They said the first thing that came out was a bunch of sand! WORD TO THE WISE...sand is NOT a good product to put down for your beardie!! (don't listen to the pet shop owners!) Thank you Morphius, for all your help. Noel is now happy and has slate on the bottom of her tank (love how it absorbs the heat!) She is more frisky and seems to be eating a bit more. Still hasn't gone "poo" since we went to the vet on Saturday, but they said it may take a while.
Thanks again to everyone for all your help. We really appreciate it!

 

[jarett_harrison]

thats great that she is doing good! How did the vet get her to poo? Just curious. And yes sand is VERY dangerous. Great job on taking her to the vet! I hope she continues to do well!

 

[mommylu]

It sounds gross, but I think they gave her an enema. It was only $55 for the whole visit - that included medicine for her too!! SOOO happy!

 

[NYDragon]

Do you have a UVB light for her? That would help with her digestion.

 

[mommylu]

I think it's UVB - the long tube, right? We have that plus the basking light...maybe we need more??