Eating & Pooping

[harharley97]

Our Baby Is Eating Okay But Doesnt Seems To Be Pooping That Much??

Is This Normal ?? He Usaully Goes Once A Day But It Is Just Little Bit ??


Thank You!!!

 

[herpfreak]

I have no experiance with babies, but adults on regular diets usually poo daily. As babies eat more than adults (as compared to their weight), I'm guessing they should go daily.

Is your beardie new? The stress of a new home can cause constipation in beardies. What are you feeding your beardie? Mealies and super worms can cause impaction.

There are so many things that can cause lack of poo.

Could you fill this out?

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

If the cause is mild impaction/constipation, baths in warm water just below his armpits can help a lot.

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Health]

 

[kshaban]

Hi Herpfreak,
I have an adult beardie, about 9 years old that usually poops every day and he hasn't pooped in about 3 days. I'm a little worried, what do you think I should do?? Does soaking help?

 

[herpfreak]

Yes, soaking helps a lot. You can soak him in the tub or in an open plastic container. The water should be up to his armpits and it should be warm to your wrist. Soaks can be anywhere from 5-20 minutes. For longer soaks, you may have to drain and refill the tub if the water cools off. There's a good chance he will excrete in the water; scoop it out immediately. Nobody wants to swim in their own poo. Afterwards, towel him off and let him warm up. It is important that they are warm after baths (sitting under the basking spot will work; after baths, I snuggle with my beardie and put him on a human heat pad set on low). Another thing they love is a warm towel. It isn't neccessary, but I put Budo's towel in the dryer for a few minutes so it's nice and warm.


Could you copy the other questions I listed above and answer them? I know it sounds weird, but heating, lighting, and substrate can dramatically change a beardie's digestion.

 

[kshaban]

Thanks, I tried a 20 minute soak, ( I hadn't soaked him about two weeks). Here is the questionaire with my answers.


How old is your dragon? 9 years old
How long have you had your dragon? about 9 months
How long is your dragon? about 16 - 17 inches long with tail (his growth was stunted when I adopted him)
What is the sex of your dragon? Unusre ( how do i figure this out?)
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 55 gallon aquarium
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? outoor carpet
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? fluorescent
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? reptisun 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb?5.5 months
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? maybe 5 inches from basking spot
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? yes, Zoomed 100w
What are the basking temps? around 95 to 100 degrees basking area
What is the cool side temp? around 70 degrees
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? I use a digital witha probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? the basking stand spot and the other end of the cage opposite side where his food is
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? no, i heard they are dangerous
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. 5 or 6 larg crickets a day 6 days a week, greens twice a day- turnip, mustard, collard greens, sometimes yellow squash raw chopped up
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? daily, greends morning and late afternoon, crickets late afternoon 5pm
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?currently using Orange Cubes by Fluker's
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)?no
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?no, he used to go once a day or every other day
Do you bath your dragon? How often?yes, every week or two for 15 minutes
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?no mist, but I offer water in dish but never seen him drink from it
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?no
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?no, i have to find a reptile vet.

 

[GingerNut]

i just got my beardie the other day and he hasn't pooped yet.
then again i don't really expect him to with the stress of the new home, i was going to bath him either today or tomorrow to see if that will help him because he's eaten enough to poop lmao.
What temperature roughly should the water be?
Or is it just to be warm?

Thanks

 

[herpfreak]

Okay, all in all, your setup seems pretty good. A few suggestions, if I may...

Crickets should be dusted with multivitamins weekly and calcium 2-3x weekly. Pretty much everyone on this forum agrees that RepCal is the best brand. There are disagreements between whether to use regular calcium or calcium with D3. It's up to you. Lack of calcium and vitamins could very well be the problem.

It is reccommended that ReptiSuns are changed every 5-6 months, so you should probably look into replacing yours soon. (They will give off light long after they stop giving off UV.) As with any product, there is the occasional one that burns out long before its time. UV helps dragons digest, so a burnt-out ReptiSun could also cause digestion problems.

Other than that, I would reccommend a larger enclosure, but I doubt that has anything to do with the current problem. Feeding and temps are spot on.

So, if I were you, I'd get some calcium and herptivite (multivitamins) and change the UV. Continue with baths, and see if he defecates.



This is really beside the point, but if you'd like to tell his gender, here's some pics:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/
If you are still unsure, you can post a thread with pics of your beardie's underside and get the opinions of others.


GingerNut- The stress of a new home can do that to beardies. You can try a bath... sorry, I'm not sure what the temperature should be, I always go by feeling it with my wrist (much more effective than a hand). It shouldn't feel hot or cool; just warm. While he's in the bath, you can also gently "massage" his stomach by rubbing your fingers from his chest to vent. This can help too.

Best of luck to you both!

 

[kshaban]

Thanks so much for your helpful info! I was happy to find out my beardie finally pooped last night so I feel relieved. I am ordering a new bulb and the calcium and vitamins as well. I am going to find out the sex too! Thanks again.

 

[GingerNut]

thanks!
it helped a wee bit, but obviously he's still stressed
he's only just started getting in the way of eating crickets regularly,
so i'm still working on him
thanks anyways, i'll remember that for his next bath!

 

[Chryss]

I have a 2.5 month old and he eats 2x/day about 30-40 crickets per day. He poo's faithfully each morning before his first feeding (which isn't until 12:30) and then in the evening in his daily bath. I do bath him every day. If he poos right away, I take him out and call his bath done. Somethings he plays around some before he poos. About 3x per week, I will drain the water out after his poo and add new so that he can bath longer so that I can make sure he is staying hydrated. I do not keep a water dish in his home though so I make sure he gets his bath's and he eats some (very little) salad but he does get some.

 

[herpfreak]

Thanks so much for your helpful info! I was happy to find out my beardie finally pooped last night so I feel relieved. I am ordering a new bulb and the calcium and vitamins as well. I am going to find out the sex too! Thanks again.

Great!! I'm glad that worked out.