Did pumpkin make her sick??

[traceyb73]

Let me start from last night...Zoey was constipated. She tried 3 times throughout the day (one of which was on my shoulder and she was gassy too). By the way, I knew something was wrong because she had NEVER pooped on me and we spend alot of time together. I did give her a soak (I do a short one every night), massaging her belly but she has not once pooped in the tub. She just won't. This morning, since it was 36 hours and she is always regular, I offered her pumpkin (canned) as I was told that was good for constipation. It was the only thing I have found since we got her (2 weeks ago) that she will devour. (I learned you all are right. It doesn't hurt when they bite your finger from the front. lol) So I put it on my finger twice, she ate it and i decided to put some in her dish next to her greens (mostly dandelion greens today). I offered her water from my finger (I do this a few time a day and she did drink quite a few drops). A while later I noticed she pooped. Probably twice the size it usually is and the first half was formed solid and dark (as usual), second half was brown and formed but had some (but not alot of) mucus on it. So by tonight she pooped a total of three times (first one was huge like I said, second was smaller, third was almost minute) through out the day. I held her for a while this afternoon (I always give it a minimum of 2 hours after she eats anything) and she seemed fine...she was playing (walking all over me, looking outside which is her favorite), and when she is all done she will always curl up on me. Usually with her body on my chest and her face pressed up against my neck and ended up in sleep position, which is fine for all of the exercise she got. There was NOTHING out of the ordinary. I mean the dog was around, but they have been getting along fine. She doesn't even puff around him anymore unless she is in her cage and sees his tail (he's a 95# Lab). she even stuck her tongue out on his nose yesterday. lol

So, I picked up my daughter from work and went right to see her (about 30 mins later), she was on her log, body flattened out so she was shaped like a pancake, right front and back legs close together (it was obviously hurting her) and I'm wondering if maybe the pumpkin made her gassy (she looks a little bloated) and is really hurting her. I'm hoping she just has an upset stomach. The look in her eyes breaks my heart because she looks just like the CL one we had for 2 days then died. I am so attached to her, honestly, I can't go through that again. I mean in two weeks I have her just about potty trained, she runs to ME over anyone else and she is just the sweetest thing. When I put her down somewhere, even before she and the dog got to know each other and she was just pure scared, she would run to (on) me, not the other direction like I expected. She responds to my voice (when she hears my voice she acts differently and if she can't see me but hear me she will try to find me if I am out of her line of sight). When she sees me coming she does a dance and runs to the front of the cage, if I don't take her out she will stare for hours like I am saying something really important, when I pick her up, if she has stress marks in the cage, they are gone when I pick her up..I could go on but I won't.


I forgot to mention, she is 11 weeks old today and we did get her from a reputable breeder. Now, what I want to know is can too much canned pumpkin make them gassy and, of course, bloated and make their belly hurt? Like I said, she devoured it and I never thought to ask how much to give her. Thanks to everyone on here, her cage is set up properly and she did eat probably 30 crickets earlier. Is there something I can do to help with the gas that i assume she has. I tend to be a worrier after the first one. It was just the way she was holding her head down and even when I picked her up she was looking around and walked up to my shoulder but stopped to lay down next to my ear. Oh, and she did have a fecal that was negative before she came here (breeder took care of it). If her eyes weren't bright and fine earlier I would think she was knocking on death's door the way she looks...it just happened so suddenly. Any other info you need, feel free to ask or PM me. I am going to go in soon and give her a soak, unless I hear otherwise. Since she no longer tries desperately to get out of the sink and just sits there, maybe it will feel good on her belly somehow. I don't know. Any advice would be great.

Thank you!
Tracey

 

[kcarello]

I have no ideal, but maybe this will bump it up and someone else will have an answer. Good luck with your baby.

 

[zackbeardieowner]

well too much orange stuff isn't good try some other greens

 

[traceyb73]

Got it, stay away from orange. That helps!! Thank you so much.

 

[kcarello]

Butternut squash is orange and is very good for them. Pumpkin is often used to help impaction as is applesauce,,unsweetened..so of course you wouldn't want to give them too much of that,,but there are other orange foods that are good for them...ppppppppppp

 

[traceyb73]

Butternut squash is orange and is very good for them. Pumpkin is often used to help impaction as is applesauce,,unsweetened..so of course you wouldn't want to give them too much of that,,but there are other orange foods that are good for them...ppppppppppp

That was why I gave her the pumpkin...poor little thing was constipated and i tried the bath and massaging her belly. Nothing. So the pumpkin was last resort and man did it work!!! I think she may have just had too much as I forgot to ask how much to give her.

So the butternut squash. I haven't given her any of that yet, is that a staple item? Do I mash it like a potato or just cut it up? Maybe I am thinking of something else, but I thought it was real soft. And THANK YOU for telling me that!!!!!

 

[traceyb73]

I have no ideal, but maybe this will bump it up and someone else will have an answer. Good luck with your baby.

Thank you for doing that and she is much better today!

 

[Zeusmybeardie]

Here this link will show u all the best staples http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[ShannyBeard]

Got it, stay away from orange. That helps!! Thank you so much.

Please don't equate orange things with something a bearded dragon can't eat. That's really not a hard and fast rule. I'm sorry about that.

You can check the Beautiful Dragons Nutrition Page to see what they can and cannot eat. It is a color coded list and is quite comprehensive. Small amounts of canned pumpkin should not make her sick. For constipation I have always used no-sugar apple sauce with some oil mixed in, a 1/4 oil and 3/4 apple sauce mix, using vegetable oil, olive oil or mineral oil. But people use canned pumpkin often and it works fine.

For the butternut squash, best thing to do is buy the squash baby food and give that.

 

[traceyb73]

Please don't equate orange things with something a bearded dragon can't eat. That's really not a hard and fast rule. I'm sorry about that.

You can check the Beautiful Dragons Nutrition Page to see what they can and cannot eat. It is a color coded list and is quite comprehensive. Small amounts of canned pumpkin should not make her sick. For constipation I have always used no-sugar apple sauce with some oil mixed in, a 1/4 oil and 3/4 apple sauce mix, using vegetable oil, olive oil or mineral oil. But people use canned pumpkin often and it works fine.

For the butternut squash, best thing to do is buy the squash baby food and give that.

Thanks both of you for this link.

Hi Shannon! I assumed the "no orange" was right because I knew carrots were not a staple (which stinks cause Zoey would kill for a carrot! LOL). The reason I went with the canned pumpkin is cause I had it on hand and we ran out of applesauce. I didn't have a car that day to get to the store, so I figured it would work since it was on the list. And it really did work, not to mention she loved it so much she bit my finger when I gave it to her. LOL I will give applesauce a shot next time. I can't figure out why she was constipated though. I didn't give her anything different. ??

I didn't know I could give her the squash baby food if she wasn't sick. The threads I have read mentioned it when a beardie was ill. That actually makes things alot easier. How much can I give her a day?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am sorry about your little dragon!
I think the best approach to feeding is "moderation" even with something as simple as carrots. Some are ok, but they need to be balanced with other staple items.
I don't think the canned pumpkin made her sick, but something has her system upset. Do you know what caused her constipation initially?
How often does she get calcium & vitamins? What is her hydration status?

I hope she is doing better today.
Tracie

 

[kcarello]

Hey Tracie, and Shanny,,,I am confused now too about the baby food squash. I thought that if they were healthy and eating well, it was better to feed to raw veggies? Sliced very thin and small. Is it better to feed the baby food squash??

 

[ShannyBeard]

Hey Tracie, and Shanny,,,I am confused now too about the baby food squash. I thought that if they were healthy and eating well, it was better to feed to raw veggies? Sliced very thin and small. Is it better to feed the baby food squash??

We were talking about foods that can help give a bowel movement, meaning squash baby food versus the canned pumpkin versus non sugar apple sauce. Sometimes when we realize our dragon is really constipated it may be at a time when we can't run to the store, so we have to use what we have. I would feel comfortable using any of the three options with some oil mixed in. I keep squash baby food in my pantry and fridge all the time because of the rescue work, but other people may or may not have it. It is an option to be considered, however, since all these soft or near liquid foods help them go poo.

 

[traceyb73]

Hey Tracie, and Shanny,,,I am confused now too about the baby food squash. I thought that if they were healthy and eating well, it was better to feed to raw veggies? Sliced very thin and small. Is it better to feed the baby food squash??

We were talking about foods that can help give a bowel movement, meaning squash baby food versus the canned pumpkin versus non sugar apple sauce. Sometimes when we realize our dragon is really constipated it may be at a time when we can't run to the store, so we have to use what we have. I would feel comfortable using any of the three options with some oil mixed in. I keep squash baby food in my pantry and fridge all the time because of the rescue work, but other people may or may not have it. It is an option to be considered, however, since all these soft or near liquid foods help them go poo.

Oooh, I completely misunderstood! I thought you meant to give her squash baby food everyday. I think I am going to have to go back to that nutrition guide and make sure I have it all straight. And yes, the pumpkin was the only thing I had on hand and since it was on the list that was what she got. :wink:

 

[ShannyBeard]

Hey Tracie, and Shanny,,,I am confused now too about the baby food squash. I thought that if they were healthy and eating well, it was better to feed to raw veggies? Sliced very thin and small. Is it better to feed the baby food squash??

We were talking about foods that can help give a bowel movement, meaning squash baby food versus the canned pumpkin versus non sugar apple sauce. Sometimes when we realize our dragon is really constipated it may be at a time when we can't run to the store, so we have to use what we have. I would feel comfortable using any of the three options with some oil mixed in. I keep squash baby food in my pantry and fridge all the time because of the rescue work, but other people may or may not have it. It is an option to be considered, however, since all these soft or near liquid foods help them go poo.

Oooh, I completely misunderstood! I thought you meant to give her squash baby food everyday. I think I am going to have to go back to that nutrition guide and make sure I have it all straight. And yes, the pumpkin was the only thing I had on hand and since it was on the list that was what she got. :wink:

LOL