Impaction concerns

[Casir141]

I've got my bearded dragon the vet for the second time in a couple months. He has been struggling with appetite,so not eating greens. I've tried soaks,giving him olive oil in baby food squash and pumpkin puree with no luck. He has basking spot 100 watt zoo med bulb/zoo med T5 UV light.

The vet can not see an impaction on x-ray. They are going to do an enema,which didn't work last time we were in here in March. When I do get him to go during one of his warm soaks his urate was rock hard. I just can not seem to help him feel better.

 

[KarrieRee]

No ENEMAS!!! sometimes it takes awhile for them to poop!!! Keep working on the pumpkin or unsweetened applesauce- baby prunes- the UVB is where in the tank? It needs proper distance--- for it to be effective --- see the post about ENEMAS on the board at the very top
Karrie

 

[Casir141]

No ENEMAS!!! sometimes it takes awhile for them to poop!!! Keep working on the pumpkin or unsweetened applesauce- baby prunes- the UVB is where in the tank? It needs proper distance--- for it to be effective --- see the post about ENEMAS on the board at the very top
Karrie

His UV light is at the basking spot is approx 8-12 inches from his basking log. His belly just feels so bulged and super hard. Poor guy.

I will keep pushing the squash, applesauce ECT. I will check out post about enemas. Why do vets want to do that first thing? X-ray she said shows no impaction,but I've heard now they can miss impaction sometimes.

 

[Claudiusx]

First off, Definitely no enemas.

That is extremely illogical anyways. Why would you perform an enema if no blockage was shown.
They should only be used in desperate scenarios, as they are extremely dangerous. We had a dragon just last week die here on the board from being given an enema. We see it all the time.

He has been struggling with appetite,so not eating greens.

You won't be pooing if you're not eating. There is no way around it. If your dragon isn't eating, you need to expect that he won't be poo'ing either.

Can you post a picture of your dragon and the setup?

What do you do for hydration?

-Brandon

 

[Casir141]

First off, Definitely no enemas.

That is extremely illogical anyways. Why would you perform an enema if no blockage was shown.
They should only be used in desperate scenarios, as they are extremely dangerous. We had a dragon just last week die here on the board from being given an enema. We see it all the time.

He has been struggling with appetite,so not eating greens.

You won't be pooing if you're not eating. There is no way around it. If your dragon isn't eating, you need to expect that he won't be poo'ing either.

Can you post a picture of your dragon and the setup?

What do you do for hydration?

-Brandon

I feed him baby food applesauce,squash with treated water. I did feed him 8 medium dubia a few times a week. He just refuses his veggies all together. I try to soak 1x a week 20-30 min,but I am going to try daily until he goes. I can't send pictures now,as I'm at the vet. I will as soon as I can though. The vet said his weight is good,but belly just so hard. He's definitely uncomfortable.

 

[Claudiusx]

Does he actually drink in the bath? If not, he isn't getting any hydration that way. You will want to drop water on his nose or spray him gently.

-Brandon

 

[Casir141]

First off, Definitely no enemas.

That is extremely illogical anyways. Why would you perform an enema if no blockage was shown.
They should only be used in desperate scenarios, as they are extremely dangerous. We had a dragon just last week die here on the board from being given an enema. We see it all the time.

He has been struggling with appetite,so not eating greens.

You won't be pooing if you're not eating. There is no way around it. If your dragon isn't eating, you need to expect that he won't be poo'ing either.

Can you post a picture of your dragon and the setup?

What do you do for hydration?

-Brandon

I feed him baby food applesauce,squash with treated water. I did feed him 8 medium dubia a few times a week. He just refuses his veggies all together. I try to soak 1x a week 20-30 min,but I am going to try daily until he goes. I can't send pictures now,as I'm at the vet. I will as soon as I can though. The vet said his weight is good,but belly just so hard. He's definitely uncomfortable.

 

[Claudiusx]

Thanks for the pictures.

He doesn't look to bad in them, nice and alert and his body composition seems to be ok.

How many bugs would you say he is eating a week right now?

You need to get him on eating his salad. So you most likely are going to need to stop or cut back on feeding bugs until he starts eating his salads.

That and keeping him hydrated will help a lot, especially if like you said, the urate was massive and hard last time.

-Brandon

 

[KarrieRee]

Is the UVB the whole length of the tank? The decor piece should be sitting directly under the UVB approx 8-10 inches-- the shoe box? is under the UVB can he get on top of it?
Karrie

 

[Casir141]

Thanks for the pictures.

He doesn't look to bad in them, nice and alert and his body composition seems to be ok.

How many bugs would you say he is eating a week right now?

You need to get him on eating his salad. So you most likely are going to need to stop or cut back on feeding bugs until he starts eating his salads.

That and keeping him hydrated will help a lot, especially if like you said, the urate was massive and hard last time.

-Brandon

Thanks I will cut back on bugs. He definitely could use more fiber from veggies. I feed him 8 dubia a few times a week.

On a good note I did get him to drink droplets of water dripping from my finger. That worked out much better then misting him(runs from me & goes into hiding)

 

[Casir141]

Is the UVB the whole length of the tank? The decor piece should be sitting directly under the UVB approx 8-10 inches-- the shoe box? is under the UVB can he get on top of it?
Karrie

Yes it goes the entire length of Viv. I plan on ordering a new UV light just to cover all bases. Thanks!

 

[Casir141]

Is the UVB the whole length of the tank? The decor piece should be sitting directly under the UVB approx 8-10 inches-- the shoe box? is under the UVB can he get on top of it?
Karrie

Yes it goes the entire length of Viv. I plan on ordering a new UV light just to cover all bases. Thanks!

He can jump on top of the box,he prefers his log. I can try to put another log on the back side by the box to give him that option.

 

[KarrieRee]

Your ordering a new fixture or just new bulb? Recommended length for a UVB is 2/3 of the tank -- they need to be able to get away from the rays-- the UVB is a T 5 or T 8? Distance plays a role here between the two bulbs-- and yes a different piece of decor for him would be good for the UVB -- to me it looks like the box would be too hard for him to get on- him not eating salads have you tried luring him to the salad bowl w/ worms--- I would start w/ feeding salads first thing in the morning adding 1-3 super worms to the salad in front of him BSFL work good too they are small so if you order them get large - butter worms horn worms silk worms -- all those can be used to get him to that salad bowl --if you need websites for them I can post some if you like
Karrie

 

[Casir141]

Your ordering a new fixture or just new bulb? Recommended length for a UVB is 2/3 of the tank -- they need to be able to get away from the rays-- the UVB is a T 5 or T 8? Distance plays a role here between the two bulbs-- and yes a different piece of decor for him would be good for the UVB -- to me it looks like the box would be too hard for him to get on- him not eating salads have you tried luring him to the salad bowl w/ worms--- I would start w/ feeding salads first thing in the morning adding 1-3 super worms to the salad in front of him BSFL work good too they are small so if you order them get large - butter worms horn worms silk worms -- all those can be used to get him to that salad bowl --if you need websites for them I can post some if you like
Karrie

Thanks Karrie, I didn't know the UV fixture shouldn't cover entire length of the tank. Isn't a hide enough for him to get away if necessary? Do I need to buy a different fixture?

I have a local bug breeder here,and I will ask for those worms for sure.

 

[KarrieRee]

Thats what you dont want is for them to hide from the UVB --- you want him to be able to sit in his tank w/ out also having to sit under the UVB constantly -- especially if he doesnt want to --- its up to you if you want to get a different fixture --- what size tank is he in ? And how long is he fixture you have now ?
Karrie