Help please! Baby bearded dragon not pooping properly

Cubby

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Namu
Hi. I recently got a new baby bearded dragon and for the past few days she hasn’t been able to poop properly. All I see is this clear liquid and urate coming out. I’ve fed her the right size insects and use newspaper so I don’t think it could be impaction but I just don’t know and I’m so worried. Her bum area is swollen but goes down after a while from when she tried to poop. When there is poo that comes out it’s not much and seems watery. I don’t know what to do or if this is a very serious problem. I just want her to be healthy but something definitely seems wrong. She still has an appetite but she eats without expelling anything but liquid. I tried giving her baths but she HATESSSS them. Should I try fruit laxatives or something to try to help pass the food?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Can you explain what you mean by surface basking temps? Would that be measured by the probe thermometer? I ordered those and they are coming in on Monday. The basking bulb is on top of the screen yes. It’s directly above a lower part of the decor so that when she climbs to the highest it’s not within 6 inches directly from above because it’s kind of on the side of the bulb. I would say that the length of the bulb to the highest point (diagonally) is about 9 or so inches. I hope I’m making sense. But if the basking bulb shouldn’t be 6 inches from anywhere, like not just directly above, then I will move the decor down a bit.
No your good if she can't get any closer than 6 inches to it- when the probe comes in place it where she sits for basking 10 minutes or so get the temps-- you want it 105-110 then we will go from there-- what brand of uvb bulb are you using?
 

xp29

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Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
I know this is a little off subject but i need to chime in on something in your 1st post. You said you are using newspaper as a substrate. Please switch to paper towels. Newspaper ink is very strong and irritating. Try holding a piece up to your nose and breathe it in for a few seconds i bet it burns your eyes and sinuses. It does for them also.
 

Cubby

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Namu
No your good if she can't get any closer than 6 inches to it- when the probe comes in place it where she sits for basking 10 minutes or so get the temps-- you want it 105-110 then we will go from there-- what brand of uvb bulb are you using?
 

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Cubby

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Namu
I know this is a little off subject but i need to chime in on something in your 1st post. You said you are using newspaper as a substrate. Please switch to paper towels. Newspaper ink is very strong and irritating. Try holding a piece up to your nose and breathe it in for a few seconds i bet it burns your eyes and sinuses. It does for them also.
I know this is a little off subject but i need to chime in on something in your 1st post. You said you are using newspaper as a substrate. Please switch to paper towels. Newspaper ink is very strong and irritating. Try holding a piece up to your nose and breathe it in for a few seconds i bet it burns your eyes and sinuses. It does for them also.
Okay I’ll go back to paper towels. I don’t think I need to particularly do that to understand what you’re trying to say. It seems there’s lots of different opinions when it comes to substrate especially the debate on if the loose substrates are good or not. I think I personally would just stick to things like paper towels because I tend to get worried over everything so
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The fixture is good but I would get a 22" reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb they are a better quality bulb
We can talk about substrate later right now we need to focus on getting her un - impacted
 

Cubby

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Namu
The fixture is good but I would get a 22" reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb they are a better quality bulb
We can talk about substrate later right now we need to focus on getting her un - impacted
I know this is a little off subject but i need to chime in on something in your 1st post. You said you are using newspaper as a substrate. Please switch to paper towels. Newspaper ink is very strong and irritating. Try holding a piece up to your nose and breathe it in for a few seconds i bet it burns your eyes and sinuses. It does for them also.
Also I’m planning on placing ceramic tiles when I upgrade her tank for when she grows. That way there’s no chance of this happening again aaaand she can naturally file her nails down too. Not to mention the poo cleaning will be easier!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Also I’m planning on placing ceramic tiles when I upgrade her tank for when she grows. That way there’s no chance of this happening again aaaand she can naturally file her nails down too. Not to mention the poo cleaning will be easier!
Please feed very slowly if you go syringe route - you don't want her to aspirate
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Your poor girl, definitely don't feed any insects or solid foods right now. How is she doing this
evening? Has she black bearded any at all?
You can feed 1-2mls at each feeding, but as Karrie suggested, go slowly so she doesn't aspirate
on anything.
Your lighting sounds good now. You can try to keep her a little warmer overnight, around 75-80F
to help boost her system right now.
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie
 

Cubby

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Namu
Hello,

Your poor girl, definitely don't feed any insects or solid foods right now. How is she doing this
evening? Has she black bearded any at all?
You can feed 1-2mls at each feeding, but as Karrie suggested, go slowly so she doesn't aspirate
on anything.
Your lighting sounds good now. You can try to keep her a little warmer overnight, around 75-80F
to help boost her system right now.
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie
Hello we just woke up and I’m letting her bask before I feed her the pumpkin baby food mix with olive oil, honey, and water. I haven’t seen her beard turn black so hopefully that’s a good sign. She just went and I see more poo content but it is still runny and not enough. I will continue to feed the pumpkin mix and monitor her closely. Do you recommend I also try giving her a bath again in warm water even though she hates it? I want to be able to massage her belly too but she just tries to escape every bath time. The water isn’t too hot or cold and I even use water conditioner. Thank you for your help!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Hello we just woke up and I’m letting her bask before I feed her the pumpkin baby food mix with olive oil, honey, and water. I haven’t seen her beard turn black so hopefully that’s a good sign. She just went and I see more poo content but it is still runny and not enough. I will continue to feed the pumpkin mix and monitor her closely. Do you recommend I also try giving her a bath again in warm water even though she hates it? I want to be able to massage her belly too but she just tries to escape every bath time. The water isn’t too hot or cold and I even use water conditioner. Thank you for your help!
I think I would lay off the baths for now since it stresses her out- continue to feed her I would try and feed her 3 times per day breakfast lunch and dinner just make sure your feeding at least 2 hrs before lights off --- run you CHE at night w/ temps warmer as Tracie suggested -- watch the vent area so we are seeing the swelling go down --- we need to get those basking temps tho -- I am thinking this is what caused the impaction - so let us know how things are going -- try and get the syringe in the side of her mouth and gently administer the food -- let her swallow what you get into her --
 

Cubby

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Namu
I think I would lay off the baths for now since it stresses her out- continue to feed her I would try and feed her 3 times per day breakfast lunch and dinner just make sure your feeding at least 2 hrs before lights off --- run you CHE at night w/ temps warmer as Tracie suggested -- watch the vent area so we are seeing the swelling go down --- we need to get those basking temps tho -- I am thinking this is what caused the impaction - so let us know how things are going -- try and get the syringe in the side of her mouth and gently administer the food -- let her swallow what you get into her --
Okay I used a syringe to feed her about 1mL twice today already for breakfast and lunch. I couldn’t get the syringe into her mouth but I went drop by drop just placing it at the tip of her mouth until she opened herself. She went and there was more poo content but still some liquid but I think the progress is keeping me hopeful that she is getting better little by little. Her bum was flat and normal looking this morning until she pooped in the afternoon so now it’s swollen again. Her beard is a bit black now but idk if that’s from the stress of me feeding her thru a syringe or if it’s the discomfort. Or maybe both. Idk what else to do to help the process along. I guess it just now waiting for it to all pass
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Okay I used a syringe to feed her about 1mL twice today already for breakfast and lunch. I couldn’t get the syringe into her mouth but I went drop by drop just placing it at the tip of her mouth until she opened herself. She went and there was more poo content but still some liquid but I think the progress is keeping me hopeful that she is getting better little by little. Her bum was flat and normal looking this morning until she pooped in the afternoon so now it’s swollen again. Her beard is a bit black now but idk if that’s from the stress of me feeding her thru a syringe or if it’s the discomfort. Or maybe both. Idk what else to do to help the process along. I guess it just now waiting for it to all pass
Let's see if Tracie responds tonight- the black beard is probably from both - so the poo is coming out that is good
 

Groggyfroggie

Juvie Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Draco
Poor baby hope she gets better soon!
If it’s difficult to syringe feed her, try to get it in the side of her mouth. Pry it open and push some puree in she’ll eat it. I fed my beardie medication this way. Although they might struggle and make weird head movements, their mouths are soft it doesn’t really hurt them. Just make sure she isn’t acting out of the ordinary afterwards.
Here’s what it looks like, I personally just held my beardie’s head steady when feeding, not the whole body.
CCB4EB9F-DBF1-44BA-9103-90ED80F17280.jpeg
 

Cubby

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Namu
Poor baby hope she gets better soon!
If it’s difficult to syringe feed her, try to get it in the side of her mouth. Pry it open and push some puree in she’ll eat it. I fed my beardie medication this way. Although they might struggle and make weird head movements, their mouths are soft it doesn’t really hurt them. Just make sure she isn’t acting out of the ordinary afterwards.
Here’s what it looks like, I personally just held my beardie’s head steady when feeding, not the whole body.
View attachment 73896
Oh that’s kinda cool I didn’t know you could open their mouths like this. This is very helpful thank you I will try this for dinner time. I tried to get in the side but she was avoiding it like a ninja but now that I know you can kind of open the mouth a bit I will try this. I don’t know how happy she will be with me but it’s for her health :’). Thank you for this!!!
 

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