His Vent...advise..please

[MissingBello]

Our male, Apollo, has something hanging from his vent. It's not poop, it's dark in color. I think it may be his penis but it does'nt seem to go back into his vent. I tried a warm bath but no dice. Does anyone have any insight as to what his may be? Is it serious? He seemes to be alright as far as his attitude, he seems "himself".
Just that there's something protruding from his vent.
i posted here instead of BD Health hoping to get a quick answer. Thanks Robert

 

[Drache613]

Hello Robert,

It does sound like it is his hemepenes, yes. So I don't need a picture unless you want to post it.
What type & brand of UVB light are you using, a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light? How old is your UVB light?
How old is your dragon?
What you can do at the moment is to dissolve some sugar into warm water then add cool water. Give your dragon a cool sugar water bath. It should help to decrease the swelling some. Use some KY jelly or some vaseline to help keep the membranes from drying out.
If it does not go back in soon you will need to take him to the vet.
Are you using calcium supplementation?

Tracie

 

[MissingBello]

Hi Tracie,
His UV light is a Repti-Sun 10 balasted Uv lamp. The lamp is not very old, maybe 2 months. Apollo is almost a year old. We'll try the sugar thing again. Could you maybe elaborate more on what this is? We are ready to take him to our vet but she isn't in until Tuesday. Robert

 

[Drache613]

Hello Robert,

Ok, so you have the compact/coil Reptisun 10 bulb, or the Zoomed mercury vapor Powersun? Is it a bulb that puts out heat & UVB?
How close is the bulb to him?
The hemepenis or the hemepenes (plural) are located in the caudal area of the male bearded dragon, with the one hemepene sac located on each lateral side of the tail. They can prolapse on occassion if he has to strain to go to the bathroom which basically means he possibly tore some tissue, kind of like hemorrhoids are to humans.
If repeated prolapses happen, it can weaken the muscles surrounding the areas which will cause the prolapsed area to become chronically prolapsed & the area will need to be removed.
The most common causes for prolapses of the colon, rectum, intestines, or hemepenes, are hypocalcemia, dehydration, malnutrition, lack of UVB exposure, poor muscular tone, heavy infestation of parasites or worms & egg binding problems in females.
Do you supplement calcium on a regular basis?

Tracie

 

[MissingBello]

Hi Tracie, Apollo went to the vet this morning.....good news. It turns out that whatever it was sticking out of his vent, turned out to a waxy kind of discharge. The vet soaked his butt for a minute and then removed it. She said that when they poo, their poo is sometimes encased in a thin membrane. She called it a "poo sausage" but when some of that membrane doesn't get used, it eventually comes out. The vet said it was no-biggie.
Thank you for your info on hemepenes. We have had Apollo and Athena for not quite a year and we are still learning. Even though my emergency wasn't quite an emergency. And even though it was a cold and rainy day, Apollo enjoyed getting out for a while.
Thanks Aain, Robert

 

[Drache613]

Hello Robert,

A waxy discharge huh? It may have been a sperm plug, which is fairly common in males. Or they can just have build up of mucous or other discharge that comes out sometimes, too. I am glad that it was nothing serious! Thank goodness huh?
It is a constant learning curve with them, isn't it?

Tracie

 

[MissingBello]

Learning curve, yes. But I seem to learn something new everytime I post here.
Thanks for your help.Robert

 

[Drache613]

Hello Robert,

Yes, & every time you think you have it all figured out, they throw you a curve ball & keep you on your toes once again! :lol:


Tracie