All of a sudden, Beardie is constipated constantly...

[nikochanr3]

Hi There,

I have a beardie who is about 13 weeks old. We got him at about 5 weeks. Until the last 9 days, he was perfect. He eats a ton. He would eat superworms in the morning for the first few weeks, then buffalo worms in the morning, then superworms again about 2 weeks ago. Then he'd get a little greens. Then we were feeding him crickets once, and changed it to twice like a month ago. He eats like a champ, is very active. Doesn't look in pain or anything. And pooped once a day.

Like 10 days ago, he stopped pooping. I waited till day 3, then would massage him in warm water then it came out. After that, 3 more days. Right now, i'm on day 3 tomorrow. It just started. (Note: After the first constipation, i stopped the superworms cause i know people say don't feed them much.)

Nothing else appears wrong. Appetite is good, activity is good. Doesn't appear to be distressed at all. He has a little shedding going on, but it's not the first time (he's shed often actually). He still loves his mealtimes, he chases crickets like it's an olympic sport.

Any thoughts? Is there something we are doing wrong? We aren't doing anything different than we were when he was pooping daily.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Super worms should only be fed to adults as a treat. They can cause impaction in babies. Babies should never have feeders bigger than the space between the eyes. Also can you give a rundown of the set up?

 

[nikochanr3]

We stopped the Super Worms and he's still having constipation. We won't restart them. He also never had it for the first 2 months we had him.

We have a glass tank, about 40 gallon. We have a heat lamp on the left and the uv (Sunlight) over most of the rest of the tank. The setup is simple, he has that rug type bottom, no substrates, a small pool (looks like a pond) a cave on the right he can sit on, and a hammock on the left. He likes the hammock better but he's also often on the rock.

Like i said, he's not lethargic and the first few months of his life, he was fine. Is there something changing in his diet we are not responding to? Is his diet too simple? Are there things missing?

 

[nikochanr3]

Heat lamp side is between 90 and 100, the non heat lamp side is 80. Humidity is always around 50ish on the non heat lamp side. Ive been letting him run on the floor to get some more exercise. He's very cautios but he does run a bit.

 

[nikochanr3]

[/img] his sunlight

 

[nikochanr3]

Also not sure if relevant but his poop always looked good, with the white (urine) attached to it. Now it comes out real fast in the water, white piece and several poop pieces. Not runny.

 

[destiny1998]

Thanks for answering. What kind of uvb light and how close is it? Is it on top of a screen? Also how are you taking the temps?

 

[nikochanr3]

Hi ANyone else anything?

 

[destiny1998]

I'm sorry you feel the need to look for a simple answers, but other members would be asking you the same stuff. The proper heating and uvb lights are important for digestion and their over all health. The only other answer is the older they get the less they poop. I have experienced where they don't go for 2weeks and it's normal. So maybe that's what is going on and as long as he's active and eating. Don't worry about it and let him just be.

 

[nikochanr3]

I didn't see the other post when i posted.

My UVB light is this.

The screen is cut out.

I am taking the temperature from this.

The tank is long but not that tall. I'd say the light is about 12-13 inches off his basking spot (Heat) and the UVB is a little less away because the rock on the other side is taller.

When he goes three days, I've been helping it along with massaging and warm bath. Is that bad? Am i possible exacerbating the situation and I should wait?

Thank you.

 

[nikochanr3]

Didn't work the first time....

 

[destiny1998]

Those uvb bulbs are not very good. Did you remove the plastic that covers the bulb? Also those found gauges are very inaccurate. They can be off by 20 degrees or more. You want a temp gun or digital with a wire probe. You need to know the temperature on the basking spot. You probably want to replace the uvb with a reptisun 10.0 t5 tube.