Dragon hasn't pooped in a long time

[MrChenMan]

Hi,

So my 1 year old bearded dragon Winter has not pooped in a couple of weeks. I am very concerned. I have tried to fix the issue by massaging his stomach and yesterday i gave him a bath.
Nothing seems to be working so far, so i'm curious on what i should do. Should i take him to the vet, should i try giving him more baths or stuff like that. I'm really at a loss here. I'm mostly concerned that he has impaction. I also really need to change his uvb bulb if that has anything to do with it.

Thanks

P.S i feed him mostly either kale or arugula and his staple insect is superworms. I realize that superworms are not a best staple but dubias are illegal in Canada and crickets stink, make noise, and tend to get lose. I am currently looking for another staple for him.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Most likely the uvb has nothing to do with the fact hes not pooping, it could be temperatures, what your feeding him, and the overall tank setup however.

If the temps arent around the usual 100-105 for adults then he cant digest his food properly. Are they lower than that or around there and how are you monitoring the temps?

Superworms are one of the worst feeders indeed, they have some protein which is okay but the fat content is way to high and can lead to fatty liver disease if fed way too much. Usually superworms have a limit of 2-4 for a feeding. And in some cases do cause impaction, usually with younger beardies. You could try turkish roaches if they are legal, along with calciworms and silkworms for staples. However just feeding calciworms and silkworms may pose a risk of him not getting everything he needs. With these two its a toss up between dusting and not dusting.

Personally i'd go back to crickets if you cant get turkish roaches with the other two being added to the diet. Usually the cause for smell is because you either dont clean them enough, they dont have proper ventilation or enough room. Which those large cricket keepers are honestly only suitable for keeping calciworms in while your feeding them. I have my crickets in a 90 quart tub with paper towel tubes and egg crates with the top slightly open, however you can cut the inside portion of the lid completely out and hot glue screen to it for ventilation. And then i clean once a week and add collard greens when needed.

What type of substrate does he have?
And how old is his uvb, along with what brand and type it is?

Also only offer kale maybe once a week or so, its almost as bad as spinach because if used to much can stop the absorption of calcium. Usually collard greens, mustard greens and turnip greens work however this site can help you find a better variety. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[MrChenMan]

Most likely the uvb has nothing to do with the fact hes not pooping, it could be temperatures, what your feeding him, and the overall tank setup however.

If the temps arent around the usual 100-105 for adults then he cant digest his food properly. Are they lower than that or around there and how are you monitoring the temps?

Superworms are one of the worst feeders indeed, they have some protein which is okay but the fat content is way to high and can lead to fatty liver disease if fed way too much. Usually superworms have a limit of 2-4 for a feeding. And in some cases do cause impaction, usually with younger beardies. You could try turkish roaches if they are legal, along with calciworms and silkworms for staples. However just feeding calciworms and silkworms may pose a risk of him not getting everything he needs. With these two its a toss up between dusting and not dusting.

Personally i'd go back to crickets if you cant get turkish roaches with the other two being added to the diet. Usually the cause for smell is because you either dont clean them enough, they dont have proper ventilation or enough room. Which those large cricket keepers are honestly only suitable for keeping calciworms in while your feeding them. I have my crickets in a 90 quart tub with paper towel tubes and egg crates with the top slightly open, however you can cut the inside portion of the lid completely out and hot glue screen to it for ventilation. And then i clean once a week and add collard greens when needed.

What type of substrate does he have?
And how old is his uvb, along with what brand and type it is?

Also only offer kale maybe once a week or so, its almost as bad as spinach because if used to much can stop the absorption of calcium. Usually collard greens, mustard greens and turnip greens work however this site can help you find a better variety. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

1) I use a temp gun for monitoring his temperature and its usually 100 degrees
2)Turkish roaches sound interesting, i should look onto that
3) He was the carpet that came with the nat geo kit but i did get him a sand mat and i plan on getting him tile
4) His UVB is a reptisun 10.0 and its more than a year old. i plan on getting one tomorrow so thats good
5) I've been having trouble finding collard green around but i was lucky enough to find some at Whole Foods so i plan on going there a bit more often.

 

[AHBD]

Do you offer any hydration ? Many beardies are slightly dehydrated and than can also affect their poos. Offer water by dripping/spraying [ a light gentle but direct stream, mostly dripping ] on his snout.

Another thing to do is give him any or all of these : baby food sweet potato, squash, green beans , canned pumpkin [ no spice ] applesauce and a a few big drops of raw honey added. He does not need a vet at all and will eventually go. He may be in a semi brumation too but once you change his uvb bulb he may become more active.

Feeding a variety of insects is always best, try crickets if you can't get dubias. And by the way, here are a couple of nutrition charts, superworms and mealworms actually have a good amount of protein and just SLIGHTLY more fat than black soldier fly larva so they are a decent feeder insect in rotation and when not fed in huge amounts. It's been a misunderstanding for a long time passed on over + over that they have little or no nutritional value....but here are the charts.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjJhNzt0p3YAhWGPiYKHTXNCC8QFghQMAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthewormlady.ca%2Fexotic-pet-nutritional-info.php&usg=AOvVaw0_BNUiWdJD47ldE5oKWnAu

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjw6I_v1Z3YAhWJKyYKHRbuBrkQFghPMAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthereptilereport.com%2Fthe-most-complete-feeder-insect-nutrition-chart%2F&usg=AOvVaw1_9W4iAP2c_kRCOxPU_Pgw