Hydration / Impaction Questions

[DLohrman]

Hi all!
I "adopted" 2 beardies in October and my smaller, I guess sub-adult, has had a rough past 3 weeks. He has always been a great eater, both daily veggies (which I would always mist), hunting crickets and no problems with pooping & peeing. He was going through a shed which I don't feel was complete and since then, he has had no interest in hunting or eating for that matter, and always attempted to poop, with no avail, but pee is OK. He spent a week in the corner of his cage, lethargic, squinting his eyes as if in pain. I thought maybe he is/was impacted because I did feed him superworms which he crunched and ate no problem, again, around 3 weeks ago. He was in such a miserable state & I couldn't bear to watch him suffer... I had blended all of his greens with water and dripped them into his mouth with a baby medicine dosing syringe, still no interest, maybe a lick. I even dripped regular water into his mouth, still no change. In a last-ditch effort to save my guy, I had dripped electrolyte water into his mouth (Trader Joe's Electrolyte-Enhanced Water - 4 electrolytes & 2% calcium). Boy, was he thirsty AND completely changed. He got up on his front feet, alert and acting like normal. He even had a few bites of veggies - on his own!

So I guess my question is this - is the electrolyte water "safe"? Since I am seeing such a dramatic change in eating, should I keep it up until he's back to normal? Am I dealing with a really dehydrated beardie? His skin is really wrinkly around the edges and his eyes seem sunk, but I don't know if that is from the weight loss or lack of water. And could this be a sign of impaction as well since there is no poop as before?

Any and all comments would be certainly helpful!! Thanks

 

[Kaiser]

Hello there.

How long (from head to the end of the tail) is your bearded dragon with the problem? Generally, you don't want to feed super worms to your bearded dragons if they are less than 16 inches in length, and even then, it should be a slow and gradual feeding when starting out. If he's smaller than 16 inches, it may be impaction.

Do you bathe your bearded dragons on a regular basis (e.g., daily, two to three times a week, once a week, etc.)? If not, bathing your bearded dragon in warm (generally 85 degrees Fahrenheit, or warm to the touch for a human baby), shallow (generally not over the "knees" of the bearded dragon; be sure to watch your bearded dragon at all times during bathing, even if it is shallow) water for about twenty minutes is a great way to hydrate your bearded dragon, as well as help induce bowel movements. You can also stroke your bearded dragon's belly while he's bathing to help.

I do not know too much about the electrolyte water you mentioned; however, Pedialyte is often used for severely dehydrated bearded dragons. Someone else will need to comment about this specifically, particularly about what conditions to use it in and how much for how long. Sorry I can't help you there.

Wrinkling of the skin would normally indicate dehydration. If your bearded dragon isn't getting baths on a regular basis, or isn't eating well-hydrated vegetables and foods, that may be the problem. Trying giving him a warm bath, and see if he improves.

EDIT: Shedding can also cause your bearded dragon to act different and/or lose their appetite. Bathing your bearded dragon and making sure the humidity in your terrarium is acceptable are good ways to help with the shedding process (especially if you think it hasn't gone towards completion).

 

[DLohrman]

Thanks for the info...
My beardie in question is about 14". When I noticed the no-poop problem, I did start with warm baths and it would only induce the pee. I have been letting him soak about 3 times a week since the problem occurred. The electrolyte water is much like Pedialyte minus the sugar. I have been giving the water to him orally in 1 teaspoon increments about 4 times weekly, but may increase just to get him right.

 

[Kaiser]

I would hold off on feeding him super worms until he's at least 16 inches in length then.

Continue bathing him on a regular basis, even after he gets better (which I hope is soon). It's one of the best ways to keep your bearded dragon hydrated.

As for the electrolyte water, again, I don't have experience or expertise with it, so for now, do what you think is best and hope that someone with more knowledge there can help you out. Again, all I know is that people use Pedialyte in cases of dehydration for their bearded dragons, so I would assume that something similar with less sugar is fine (if not better). If you notice an improvement, I would assume it's doing him good.

Let us know if his condition improves. Best wishes.

 

[twinmommy]

When was the last time he actually pooped?

 

[DLohrman]

Well, I can thankfully say that my guy IS getting better! Has been eating small amounts of vegetables for the past 3 days and has pooped, although very little. I figured if little was going in, only little is coming out. Im continuing with the baths and oral-fed water. So today, just for hope, I bought only 15 crickets for the two I have. For the last 3 weeks, he's had no interest in hunting at all. Today, he actually ate about 7 and was totally into it! So I don't know what happened to him, but he seems to be acting like his normal self.