HELP! Unidentifiable object in Beardie's slit

[FearDeadDragon]

I originally posted about my lizard being slightly lethargic and blinking from time to time.

I just looked at his slit (where he poops from) and there is some object stuck in it. It looks almost like a piece of squash that had been dried up. However, the only squash I tried to feed him was just today. I didnt see him eat any of it, either. It's definitely NOT squash, and it's not a living thing. I tried pulling it out, but it seems to be stuck or something. HELP! What is this?

I'm going to give him a bath to see if it helps him pass it. Aside from that, I have no idea what to do.

 

[FearDeadDragon]

Ok gave him a bath.. He didn't poop, I tried pulling softly and the object came out. It's weird, and I have no clue what it could be. The part that was hanging out of his slit is dried, yellowish.. It looks a little like a booger. No joke. The other end is yellowish white, and is soft and tear-able almost like some very soft skin or something....

I have no idea what this could be. He's been eating phoenix worms, meal worms, and some kale. Meal worms were dusted with Rep-Cal.

I'm furious. I'm very, very worried about my lizard. I don't know if parasites could be the answer, but I'm really upset becaue I don't know how he could have got them so quickly!

Can someone please tell me what's going on?

 

[FearDeadDragon]

Alright, no one has gotten back to me obviously.

I am calling the store I received him from tomorrow ASAP. However, I do believe that what I pulled from his rectum was, HOPEFULLY, just a seminal sack. Other than that, can someone tell me why my bearded dragon might be closing his eyes every now and then? He will also sort of lay his head down, like he's sleeping. When I take him out for food, he's always alert and started exploring my room because he wasn't interested in eating. He seemed totally healthy while walking around my room, and wasn't blinking at all. His beard is not black, he has no discoloration. He's a little over a year old, I believe. I have had him since 10/19.

100W zoomed basking light
10.0 UVB reptisun zoomed TUBE
105-100 Basking area, 80-83 Cool area.
I have had him for 4 days. He did not eat on 10/22. He wasn't interested in mealworms, phoenix worms, or kale, squash, or bok choy. I dust his feeders with rep-cal.
He gets misted in the morning, and I gave him a bath on 10/22.

 

[ChiefsDaddy]

It was probably just a sperm plug. Do you have a picture?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

If you can post a picture, that would be helpful.
Adult males often have sperm or urate plugs. There is a difference in appearance though, but it is likely a sperm/seminal plug. Usually they will work themselves out with the next stool or you can soak him which may help to soften it as well.
How is he doing today?
You have only had him for 4 days, correct?
They can go through relocation stress when rehomed so that could be part of what is going on.
How close is your Reptisun 10 tube bulb to him?
Are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure the temperatures?

Tracie

 

[FearDeadDragon]

Thanks for the help. Yeah, I do have pictures, but I'm very confident that it was a sperm plug. I'm a first time owner, so I was upset when something that didn't look like poop was hanging out of his butt, know what I mean?

Well, he didn't want to eat today. I called the east bay vivarium, which is where I got him, and they said he should be fine. And that if it persists for 5-6 more days, to bring him in.

Reptisun 10.0 uvb is about 6 inches away, it seems. It's a 24'' tube, by the way. It spans the length of his cage when I lay it diagonally across the top. I measured the temps with a digital therm. He thermoregulates himself as well, so I don't think temps could be the issue.

Can anyone tell me why he might be blinking slowly or acting really chilled out? I let him explore my room the other day, and he was walking with his head high and with his body raised off the ground as usual. His eyes were also wide open as he explored.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, it can be scarey when you don't have any idea what that is, but you are correct. It was likely a sperm plug. It does happen often.
Can you mount the tube bulb on the underneath side of the screen top for maximum UVB exposure? That can help a lot. As long as it is mounted next to his basking light, then it should be a nice basking area where he can get UVB at the same time as getting warmed up.
That type of body language sounds like he was really checking things out. Was his beard black or normal color?
It may take him a little bit to get adjusted to his new surroundings. Relocation stress affects them all differently.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[FearDeadDragon]

Tracie, thanks a bunch. Please, respond to this last question as this is the final thing I need to know so I can calm down, hahaha.

First, to answer your questions:
1. He has excellent exposure, actually. The UVB spans the length of the cage, and wire on top of the cage has holes as big as large fingertips. It's not mesh, is about 8 or so inches away from him (when he's perched), and is also next to his basking lamp. He has excellent temperatures that I've managed to keep stable even throughout the day. Very happy about that.

2. You know, his beard was not black at first. It isn't now. But there was one occasion after last night's post, where I let him out of his cage to eat. He didn't want to eat, and I let him explore again. There are two peculiar things that happened:

A. I noticed that when he wanted to taste things, he would sometimes not come close enough to the object he was interested in. Almost like his depth perception was off. But when he walks, he can go as quickly as he likes and walks in an erect and healthy fashion.

B. His beard was not black at first, and then all of a sudden he just lay down. He put his head flat on the ground, and his beard got just a little dark. It wasn't like a full on angry or stressed black, but there was a darkening. I thought he might be cold after 10 minutes of exploring in my room, so I put him back in his cage.

He pooped again today, so I know he's warm enough to carry out all necessary functions. But he's asleep right now, and didn't want to eat this morning. I don't think he's brumating because it's not nearly cold enough: his basking area is about 102 sometimes 104, and the cool area fluctuates between 81 and 83 degrees through out the day. At night, his temperature is stable at 75 degrees.

He's been perched all day on his climbing log, though he does move up and down the log to thermoregulate. I've also noticed tracks under the climbing log, and feces, so I know he's not stationary all day when I'm out and about.

I want to know that this is just relocation stress, but I do worry. I really care about him, and I really want him to be comfortable.

 

[FearDeadDragon]

I guess I just don't understand why he's SO lazy now, and not touching his food (except maybe his salad after I leave, I come home late and it obviously gets a little dry by the time I'm home, so it shrinks in size and I can never tell). When I first got him, he was very energetic. At the reptile store, I had to take two steps forward to catch him in mid-air because he had jumped from the open cage towards the middle of the aisle!

Additionally, he ate a ton the first 2 days I had him. Now he's just lethargic, and isn't interested in kale, bok choy, squash, dubia, phoenix worms, OR meal worms. I'm trying to get him to eat, he just doesn't want to right now, though.

But if he's pooping daily, that's gotta mean that he's been eating, right?

LAST QUESTION: Should I still give baths to lizards undergoing relocation stress? I want him to be hydrated, but it's hard when I dunno if he's getting his greens in.

//A

 

[FearDeadDragon]

UPDATE: Actually, his beard is a little black. But it isn't full on black, which I know he's capable of because he was very angry after being in a dark box coming over to my house. So, I guess he's stressed :/ Here are some pictures, though. I thought they might help.

This dropbox link takes you to pics of his beard and of him perched, being lazy. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y0t52n9wz28r54q/XrsIJTHfKj

EDIT: He didn't want to eat again. But... He loves exploring my room. He was walking all over my room, checking everything out, and being very curious! Eyes wide open all the while... He also approached me even though I was being silent and was 6 feet away from him. He tasted my shin He's currently found my new gym bag, he thinks he can dig to china from inside of it. He's being silly, but he's active. He's walking really cute, body 100% off the ground and his tail is curled and the tip is pointing almost straight up, he seems at least to tread fearlessly, if not happily.

How can I get him to eat? Do I just wait? Should I bathe him to keep him hydrated, or wait until he's comfortable?