A little concerned

[WarsawRiddler]

My beardie has been having issues with a homemade rock in his tank. He literally broke a piece off of it today and ate it before I could get into the cage and stop him. everything is non-toxic that i used to make the rock, I am just fearful of impaction. Anything I can do besides soak him in warm water to induce a bowl movement?

 

[Esther19]

You can give him a few drops of vegetable or mineral oil. Put a drop at a time on the tip of his nose to see if he will lick it off. You could also mix the oil with unsweetened applesause or plain canned pumpkin. Administer the same way. Best of luck! Let us know how he is doing.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

Well, there's not much you can do in a situation like this. Hopefully the bit that he ate wasn't too jagged or sharp around the edges.

You can give him a few drops of olive oil to help make things pass more "smoothly". If you're really worried, give him a lot of soft foods. Baby food, apple sauce, un-spiced canned pumpkin, *cooked/softened* butternut squash, etc. Give him some soft foods with the drops of oil afterward and we'll see how we get from there.

Give him a warm bath and massage his belly very lightly. I say do it very lightly because there's always the possibility the bit of rock could cut him, so just very lightly and gentle on the massages.

I know this is gross, but if he poops (there's always the chance of impaction) put on a rubber glove or something and squeeze the poop a little to see if the rock is in the poop. You want to be sure he passed the rock to ensure that everything is okay.

I hope all goes well! Please do keep us updated!

 

[WarsawRiddler]

I heard of the olive oil trick. Guess if something doesnt happen soon I will go out and get some. I have been doing the bath and soft massages, about to do it again in a few. Ill keep everyone updated! Thanks!

 

[PumpkinJelly]

Yes, warm baths always make my two Beardies use the bathroom. It's so hilarious, because they see their bath container, and they jump right in to play, then they use the bathroom and crawl out over the side! LOL

 

[WarsawRiddler]

Mine runs, and has never used the bathroom while taking a bath. He either runs, or stares at me like I am stupid.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

He probably hasn't yet realized the awesome things baths bring them! My two are water bugs but when it comes to poop, they're out of there in a second!

Any updates? Did your Beardie poop yet?

 

[WarsawRiddler]

No, but he is still eating like he normally does. He is not acting strange. He tends to go a few days without a bowel movement normally. So I will not know for a day or so more before he is really impacted. I will be out of town for a few days, and have left him in the care with my mother who loves him as much as her dog. I left her instructions and she is to contact me somehow if he does go. He picked a real good time to munch on his rock.

 

[WarsawRiddler]

UPDATE: I got home yesterday, and gave him a bath. He was a little lethargic, so I waited to do anything else until today. I woke up, and found that he was very perky and decided to get him out and let him run around on the floor and explore. He then decided after about 20 mins that he had found a good place to take a huge dump on my floor. I think I seen a piece of the rock in his stool. I am relieved, and he is back to acting normal.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

That's good that you believe that he has passed the rock in his poop. He most likely did since if it impacted him he would not have made that big poop :wink: I would keep an eye on that rock platform in his cage or just swap it out with a rock that's not as easy for your Beardie to break a piece of and eat it! lol

Hope all is going well

 

[WarsawRiddler]

I have two rocks that I made for him. I took the one out that he broke and am currently making it harder for him to break that one while the other one is there for his basking spot. He hasnt tried to break this one yet, and hopefully he doesnt. If so, I will have to find an alternative for making a basking spot since the lights are so high in a 75 gal viv.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

What are you using to make your rocks?

Many people here on the DIY forums make "DIY Rocks". They are made by making a styrofoam base, then add layers of both sanded and nonsanded grout.

Check out the DIY section, you're bound to find some reliable sources there :wink:

 

[WarsawRiddler]

I followed a few sources from there and made the rock out of Styrofoam, grout, and mod-podge. along with a few toothpicks and liquid nails to keep it held together. He would have a hard time getting to the liquid nails parts as they are towards the middle of the rocks so i am not too concerned about it.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

Oh that's good! I hope you don't have any problems with this one! lol!