Future advice on constipation?

[Chip]

Hi everyone!
Up until today, Chip had been very constipated (I thought he was impacted, made an appointment at the vet for next week) for a little over a week. I thought that he may have been impacted because he's had another URI (he's prone to them, doc and I can't figure anything out except for probably bad genes) and he hasn't been basking as much, just sleeping. I'd taken him off all feeders, switched to Repashy and greens (his usual impaction diet) and we started olive oil every other day by syringe.
Today he finally pooped, right on my kitchen counter (which I'm totally okay with, that's easier to clean than the couch! But usually he poos in the bathtub these days). It was not impaction, everything was really well digested, there was just a TON of it. He struggled with the poo for five or so minutes. It hurt my own bum just to be there (I wasn't just watching, FYI lol, I was making his lunch which is why he was on the counter in the first place).
Long story short, he wasn't impacted just really constipated, poop was very very solid despite the diet. I know a lot of people here have given various foods to their babies for impaction /constipation, but what do you think works best? I've always thought olive oil, and warm tummy massage baths helped best but it looks like I might need to have a backup plan!

 

[AHBD]

Things to keep on hand and as a bonus they are healthy foods : canned plain pumpkin [ no added suger/spices ] baby food squash, sweet potato , prunes. Any or all of those and a few drops of raw honey. And if you don't offer oral hydration regularly, start to do so. Even if you have to sweeten it with a bit of fruit juice [ about 10 parts water to 1 part juice ] or Pedialye or even the honey. If he drinks regularly hell be much less likely to get constipated.

BTW, I'm sure you sanitized properly but be veeeeeeery careful of animal poo on your kitchen counter. They carry the usual salmonella + ecoli but some can carry even worse bacteria that your bleach may not kill. What I do if a beardie is out is keep a folded up newspaper or wad of paper towels to catch it.

 

[EllenD]

Actually that is an "impaction", that's what an impaction is, it's a large mass of fecal matter that they have trouble passing, so yes, he was impacted. An "obstruction" is a mass of something in their intestines that they can't pass and that i blocking fecal matter from moving.

How old is he? Taking him off of "all live insects" is not the answer at all, especially if he's under a year old, as he needs a ton of live insects every single day so he grows and develops to his full potential, and so he doesn't develop any nutritional deficiencies.

What is his usual live staple insect? Hopefully you don't feed him any mealworms, as they serve no nutritional purpose for a Bearded Dragon at all, except to cause impactions. And if it's superworms then they may be the cause, as he may not be able to properly digest the shells. Either way, instead of stopping his live insects if he's have trouble pooping (some dragons only poop every 10 days to 2 weeks too, but if he was actually straining to go for 5 minutes then it was definitely an impaction) you need to switch up his live staple insect to one with more fluid and that is softer. Most dragons don't actually drink water at all, they get all of their hydration from their live insects and fresh greens/veggies, and sometimes insects with hard shells or exoskeletons, like crickets or roaches (and pretty much always mealworms and superworms) cause them issues. I suggest trying an order of BSFL/Phoenix Worms/Nutrigrubs/Reptiworms/Calciworms (all the same thing), size Large. They are one of the most nutritional staple feeders you can give a dragon, and they are soft-bodied and full of fluid to keep him well hydrated. I order mine in bulk cheaply from www.dubiaroaches.com

Also, double check his Basking Spot Surface Temperature (no stick-on thermometers, you must use either a Temp Gun or a Digital Probe Thermometer, you can't measure his Basking Spot Temp with a stick-on thermometer, they only measure air temps), and make sure it's between 105-110 degrees F if he's under a year/year and a half, and between 100-105 degrees F if he's over a year and a half, as the one of the most common causes of impactions is a Basking Spot Surface Temp that too low.

As far as the Upper Respiratory Infections, they are not caused by "bad genes", lol, they are bacterial or fungal infections that are caused by a number of issues, usually in Bearded Dragons they are caused either by them accidentally aspirating a tiny bit of water into their lungs during a bath or while trying to drink water from a bath or out of a bowl (too many baths causes this often, once a week for cleanliness is more than enough baths), or by the use of ANY type of LOOSE SUBSTRATE in the bottom of their tank/enclosure, as all loose substrates harbor and breed all types of bacteria, fungi, parasites, mites, etc. as soon as you put them in their tank, and they also hold in moisture. Since Bearded Dragons are desert reptiles that come from the Australian Desert, which contains very little sand but is rather a hard, rocky terrain, they should not be on any type of loose substrate, in my opinion. Everyone immediately says that loose substrates cause impactions, which they do (IF YOU'RE USING ANY TYPE OF LOOSE SUBSTRATE IT VERY WELL COULD BE THE CAUSE OF BOTH ISSUES HE'S HAVING), but they forget that Bearded Dragons are very prone to Upper Respiratory Infections from both bacteria and fungi, and that loose substrates harbor and breed microbes, and hold in moisture, so they often are the cause of the URI's in Dragons. So if you're using any type of loose substrate in his tank then you need to dump it out, completely disinfect the inside of the tank and everything in it with very Hot Water and either F10 Disinfectant or Bleach, and then put down paper towels or newspaper as a temporary solid substrate that can be replaced as they get dirty. Then choose a permanent, solid substrate like textured slate tiles from Lowes, non-adhesive shelf liner, carpet, etc. I don't know if you already are using a solid substrate, but if not and you're rather using any type of sand, crushed walnut shells, bark, wood chips, rodent bedding, etc. then this is most likely the cause of both the impactions and the URI's.

Otherwise, if you already are using a solid substrate, then you need to switch up his diet to a softer staple insect and cut down on baths, once a week at most and see if this stops the URI's. Also, if you keep a water bowl in his tank try removing it as well, not because of the humidity, but because he may be sticking his head under the water and getting it into his lungs, it only takes a drop to cause a URI.

 

[AHBD]

Actually ,beardies should get oral hydration regularly as babies and as adults. All of my beardies drink and they are never constipated or impacted. In the wild they would regularly have access to dew that forms on plants + rocks in the morning just as it does all around the world. Oral hydration is always beneficial. Babies esp. will be healthier + more alert. I have raised many clutches from the egg. Babies drink more than adults but adults all drink in my house. If people hydrated their beardies we would not have many of these types of threads. Not to say that impaction could never happen with a beardie that drinks [ or that Chip's beardie is not hydrated ] but it would be waaaay less common.

 

[EllenD]

That's not what I said AHBD, I didn't say the "shouldn't drink", I said that they get most of their hydration from their live insects and greens/veggies, which is entirely true. And I told him to remove the bowl of water from the tank because the dragon is getting constant URI's, and it's quite possible that he's putting his head under the water, falling asleep in the bowl, etc. I told him to remove the bowl, cut back on baths, and see if that helps. Dripping water on his snout daily for hydration is fine, I didn't say a word about that, but if he is having problems with BOTH impactions and URI's, it may be a good idea to switch to a soft-bodied live staple feeder that is full of fluid, get rid of any loose substrates if he is using one, and remove the water bowl and cut back on the baths, as his vet has told him the constant URI's is due to "bad genes", which is not true, and you know that. If that's where his vet has left him and he's using a loose substrate, has a water bowl in the tank, and/or is giving more than one bath a week, then it's probably good to at least try my advice. I said nothing about not offering water on his snout for a drink.

 

[Chip]

That's not what I said AHBD, I didn't say the "shouldn't drink", I said that they get most of their hydration from their live insects and greens/veggies, which is entirely true. And I told him to remove the bowl of water from the tank because the dragon is getting constant URI's, and it's quite possible that he's putting his head under the water, falling asleep in the bowl, etc. I told him to remove the bowl, cut back on baths, and see if that helps. Dripping water on his snout daily for hydration is fine, I didn't say a word about that, but if he is having problems with BOTH impactions and URI's, it may be a good idea to switch to a soft-bodied live staple feeder that is full of fluid, get rid of any loose substrates if he is using one, and remove the water bowl and cut back on the baths, as his vet has told him the constant URI's is due to "bad genes", which is not true, and you know that. If that's where his vet has left him and he's using a loose substrate, has a water bowl in the tank, and/or is giving more than one bath a week, then it's probably good to at least try my advice. I said nothing about not offering water on his snout for a drink.

I promise you I know what I'm doing with my lizard ? as I said, this is an ongoing conversation with my vet (whom I actually work with, as I actually work in animal husbandry). We don't really know why he gets the infections. He gets a bath once a week (and he hates it so much), he has a very small water bowl because he does prefer to drink it (I got lucky). Temps are fine throughout the cage. I can assure you, I wasn't asking for advice on my husbandry. As for the food, he usually eats BSF larvae and some supers just to mix it up, he can't hunt well so never crickets and I've only tried roaches once. But repashy is what my vet and I decided on for him when he's lethargic and things like that. Repashy is made with BSF as the main ingredient and also contains things like seaweed and hibiscus. It's a great product that I recommend to everyone just to add another protein in.
However, I wasn't really asking anyone's opinion on what is wrong with my lizard, just some other foods to try when this happens. Honestly this is why I hate posting on here ever ? I work with animals for a living you guys, I've been doing this since I was a kid. Trust me, my lizard has a good life, there's just always been something wrong with his respiratory system, just like how some humans are born with asthma. Nothing you can do to change it!
Alright, if anyone has any ideas about food let me know what their lizards like! Someone in another board said warmed prunes? I want to try that one just have to find prunes that aren't artificially sweetened around here.