How do I give him Olive Oil?

[UpstateNYPets]

Still no change. No poopies. I never thought that I'd ever be wishing for something like this before! C'mon just poop already!

I still haven't had a chance to get the pumpkin or applesauce, but I've been giving him baths, massages, and olive oil. I also fed him like I regularly would. I gave him about 8 supers with calcium and left the greens in his tank. He went after the supers like he hasn't ate in weeks, so his appetite has no subsided at all.

 

[diamc]

Gee, still no poop. :shock: Since the MVB is 20" away from him and the basking temp is running between 98 to 103, you might want to consider moving the MVB about 1" closer to help raise the temp up a little. Does he bask a lot right under the light?

It doesn't seem like the oil is really helping so picking up the applesauce or pumpkin should be tried. Until he gets cleaned out, I would hold off on feeding the supers or it might just add to the impaction. It's good that he still has a good appetite, but you'd be better off using soft bodied worms, more greens and/or even a slurry. Do you have any 100% juice on hand without any sugar added like apple, grape, cherry or cranberry? That will help get things moving along most times too. You would need to dilute the juice using 3 parts water to 1 part juice.

 

[UpstateNYPets]

Okay I lowered the light down to 19 inches. For the 160w bulb the recommended distance is 18inches. So if I have to, I can even lower it one more because the tank's height is 18inches. Now I just have to wait to see what temps are going to do. Yes, he basks under the light for long periods of time; he's actually basking under it right now and has been since he ate earlier. He ate all the worms and a few leaves of Kale. I knew feeding him the worms might've been a bad thing, but I feel bad that he hasn't had anything much to eat for the past few days.

No, I don't have any 100% juice. Would Juicy Juice work? They always advertise that they are 100% juice. Hopefully I can get down to the store tonight. I need to pick up crickets anyway (for my other pets). Would the no chemicals, no sugar added, stuff be considered organic? Is that where I will find those types of things?

I'm going to try the applesauce and pumpkin next. If it doesn't work, that's my last attempt to get him to go by himself. I better start calling around to find a good herp vet near me. I used to know of one at my prior residence, maybe they can help direct me.

 

[diamc]

Hopefully moving the bulb down a little will help too. Since he spends a lot of time basking, perhaps he wasn't as warm as he would have liked. I know that my female basks for a while under her T-Rex then moves a few inches away for at least part of the day.

Yes, for the juice, Juicy Juice is fine as that is 100% juice, I used that when my son was little. You should be able to find it in your grocery store. Let me know how things go. He HAS to go soon.

 

[UpstateNYPets]

Great News! He finally went. and just as I thought, there was like a whole pound of poopies in there!

Here is my surprise package...

WOW :shock:

 

[diamc]

Wow, that looks really nasty, noticed some undigested superworm pieces and looks like urate plugs formed from when he wasn't so well hydrated. I would be sure to go real easy on the supers to make sure he is totally cleaned out, soft foods would be best for a few days. He must feel SO much better.

 

[UpstateNYPets]

Oh I'm sure he must feel better, but I don't think he was as relieved as I was! I don't know why the urates would have formed like that, he gets baths a couple times a week, and I spritz his greens with water. I don't feel comfortable with feeding supers anymore, I posted another question in the feeding section, maybe you can answer it for me. I want to find another staple worm, or maybe a couple different ones. I would like to get him back on crickets and I've tried a couple different times to see if he was interested in them, only to have no luck. I also can't get roaches, the rest of the family isn't too pleased with those. I don't know why they are so bad though, they don't fly, jump, stink, or crawl up the walls. My crickets were escaping left and right, but they liked it because it made it sound like summer in the house. Weirdos

Anyway, here is the link to my other question: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=97831&hilit=

 

[diamc]

I''m sure you must have been very relieved when you saw it. My female went through a time when no matter what I did, she would get urate plugs forming and sometimes would go 3 wks without pooping. So, I fed horns, silkies and a few butters since they were all very soft along with the very warm babyfood applesauce and increased her baths to 2 to 3 times daily for about 2 wks. It made a big difference and she seemed to get through that stage. Now she poops daily or at the most, every other day and I continue to bathe her at least 3 to 4 times a wk.

So, silkies, horns, or butters would all be good although the butters are a little fattier. I also have a small dubia colony (never, ever thought I would) and those are very easy to care for, don't smell, don't climb, etc. wwww.mulberryfarms.com carries all of them and are absolutely wonderful to deal with, always sending extra worms and their customer service is exceptional. I have talked to them several times over the phone and they can never do enough to please you.

 

[UpstateNYPets]

What about wax worms? Are they any good for beardies? Phoenix Worms and Wax Worms are easy for me to get. I think I'm going to just get some of those and maybe add a cup or 2 of butters or silks. I usually give worms every other day but always leave a fresh salad in the tank. So the worms are nice to add on top of the salads, helps him eat more greens.

 

[diamc]

Waxworms are also high in fat, good for when you want to help a beardie put weight on though. Only thing is that beardies love them too much and then don't want to eat anything else.

 

[UpstateNYPets]

Sounds like him and his supers Well I guess that settles it then. I think I'll be getting more Phoenix Worms, a couple things of Silks and Butters.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[diamc]

Sounds like a good plan. :wink:

 

[UpstateNYPets]

Just an update....

In one of the older posts in this thread I mentioned that I couldn't get my beardie to eat crickets and he was obsessed with supers. I believe the supers and lack of hydration (idk how, he gets baths alot) caused a near impaction. Well, the update is that I FINALLY got him interested in crickets again!! I feel a lot better now knowing that he can have more of a variety again in his feeders. I hope I can get him to go back fully on crickets and get different worms for him just as an occasional treat in his salads.

I'm so happy!

 

[diamc]

That's great that he is eating crickets again. I have noticed that all of my beardies seem more dried out when eating just supers and they will also drink more water. I guess they try to tease us to see what they can get away with. :lol: I have a male that stopped eating crickets for about 8 months, 1 day I decided to see if he would try one again and now he will eat as many as he is offered and he's 6 yrs old. Their tastes can change weekly and even daily so always a good idea to offer a variety. Another member here has a female that decides one day is cricket day, one is super day, etc, it really is quite comical when she tells me what day her beardie decided it is.

I'm glad it worked out. :wink:

 

[UpstateNYPets]

That's too funny. I can't believe their personalities, it's almost like human kids! Always changing and always wanting something new and different. Oh the hard lives beardies must live! :lol: