Help! Large bump in male's belly!

[Nitsu]

My 5-year-old male bearded dragon Dova has a large bump in his stomach/body, about the size of a ping-pong ball and with the hardness of a hard-boiled egg. He has not been pooping unless in a warm bath, and even then only in small amounts for his size (a few teaspoons). He has been eating small amounts of food and been given water every day in both a bowl and in a dropper giving him dribbles in his mouth.

I am going to take him to the vet at the earliest convenience, as I am in quarantine after being exposed to someone with covid and can't go at once.
His condition worsened suddenly and he had a black beard and is constantly flexing that area of the stomach as if this bulge is causing him discomfort.
Does anyone know what this is and if it can be treated?
The picture of the swelling will be attached

 

[KarrieRee]

Please start feeding him some canned pumpkin to push whatever he has eaten out--- feed till he poops - we need Tracie to address the lump- what are you using for a UVB? NO coils they are NO good - you need a long tube fixture like a 24" Zoo Med Sunblaster Nano or a Arcadia w/a either a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 or a Arcadia 12% bulb -- for a 40 + gallon tank -- I am flagging your post in the meantime please post what UVB your using she will ask

 

[Nitsu]

for UVB I am using a 15'' 15-watt zilla brand t8 bar bulb, however, he went an unspecified amount of time without proper UVB due to a malfunctioning bulb that would appear on but not give off UVB.

I will start feeding him canned pumpkin in the meantime, any other food suggestions if he doesn't go for it, as he can be quite picky.

 

[KarrieRee]

Un sweetened applesauce or baby food prunes -- they usually like pumpkin--- please get a better UVB bulb Reptisun 10.0 T 8 take the cover off the fixture leave it off place directly above the basking decor piece inside the tank NO cover NO screen in between 6-8 inches please ---- if you need stuff to hang w/ I can post please let me know

 

[Nitsu]

Un sweetened applesauce or baby food prunes -- they usually like pumpkin--- please get a better UVB bulb Reptisun 10.0 T 8 take the cover off the fixture leave it off place directly above the basking decor piece inside the tank NO cover NO screen in between 6-8 inches please ---- if you need stuff to hang w/ I can post please let me know

I just game him some plain pumpkin and he ate it right up. Going to wait until he is finished with the little bites and I am gonna give him a bath to try clean him and start flushing out the stuff. I have the UVB emitter laying on the top of the cage at an angle with the cage open, so he can get the UVB emitter's full blast with no mesh between it. By no cover, do you mean the plastic transparent cover that comes with the emitter, so it would just be a naked bulb?

 

[KarrieRee]

Yes

 

[Nitsu]

Yes

Currently feeding him large amounts of pumpkin mash, no sugar no additives just plain pumpkin puree. He seems to be liking it, I gave him a bath but he just looked grumpy the whole time; I'll give him another bath tomorrow while gently massaging his tummy to help work out whatever it is.
I unscrewed the plastic cover of my UVB machine and am having it rest with about 90% of it shining on him with the rest balancing it on the rim and corner of the cage. He is currently tucking in to a second helping of pumpkin puree. Are there any serving size I should do while doing this? Ive done two heaping tablespoons amount on a little plate and he seems to be enjoying it.

 

[KarrieRee]

What goes in must come out --- I would stop or you may have an explosion -- :lol:
Make sure your UVB is properly placed distance wise -- if he had been out of UVB before you got him I would think about upgrading your UVB to a T 5 -- I posted them earlier

 

[Nitsu]

What goes in must come out --- I would stop or you may have an explosion -- :lol:
Make sure your UVB is properly placed distance wise -- if he had been out of UVB before you got him I would think about upgrading your UVB to a T 5 -- I posted them earlier

haha ok! He stopped eating a little bit ago and got a small poop out of him, I hope later tonight he will poop more. As for the UVB, he has had plenty of it but for about a 6 month period I'd say, he had no UVB due to my unit malfunctioning. This error has been rectified and the UVB situation is currently stable, but if you would recommend a larger more powerful unit then I will look into getting one, this 15'' one was the largest at my local pet store. Thank you for the help! I will keep you all posted on what is going on.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor guy, that has to be uncomfortable for him. As Karrie suggested, start feeding him soft
foods, such as the canned pumpkin to start. You can add some sugar free applesauce & a
drop or two or olive or coconut oil to the mix.
How often do you give oral fluids to him?

Tracie

 

[Nitsu]

Hello,

Poor guy, that has to be uncomfortable for him. As Karrie suggested, start feeding him soft
foods, such as the canned pumpkin to start. You can add some sugar free applesauce & a
drop or two or olive or coconut oil to the mix.
How often do you give oral fluids to him?

Tracie

I give him oral fluids every day, whenever I see him basking with an eyedropper. When I give him baths I try to coax him to drink a little, but he doesn't really drink.

As an update: he has pooped twice but has stopped eating canned pumpkin, I am going to try to trick him by putting dubia roaches in his pumpkin and hope he will get a mouthful of the stuff as he tries to eat some bugs. Does that get a green light, or do dubia roaches make the impaction worse?
He is currently laying on his heated mat in his basking spot under his heat and UVB light.

 

[AHBD]

No dubias , you are trying to clear out an impaction so you don't want to add to it with solid food. Try some raw honey mixed with slightly warm water and a few drops of olive oil added. Give him an extra warm bath that is deeper than usual so he has to move his legs some. That can stimulate the G.I tract.

 

[Nitsu]

No dubias , you are trying to clear out an impaction so you don't want to add to it with solid food. Try some raw honey mixed with slightly warm water and a few drops of olive oil added. Give him an extra warm bath that is deeper than usual so he has to move his legs some. That can stimulate the G.I tract.

OK will only do soft food, he's mostly turned his nose up to food today. He has pooped twice, but the orb has not gone away. Is it going to drain little by little with each poop, or is it supposed to come out in one giant blob?

 

[AHBD]

It can do either/or, just be patient . Is there anything he may have been eating to cause it or loose substrate ?

 

[Nitsu]

It can do either/or, just be patient . Is there anything he may have been eating to cause it or loose substrate ?

I am not sure, he doesn't have any substrate and his food is largely either mustard greens, green beans, or other seasonal items like blueberries or other treat foods that are given once and not again for some time. He was without a UVB for an unknown period of time due to a malfunctioning unit, but I don't know if lack of UVB could be a cause. It is possible in his roamings he licked and ate something he shouldn't have, but I am not certain.