Impaction? Darkened feet and belly?

[Sweetheart1016]

I literally just got this beardie home an hour ago. I've been hanging with him in the bathroom while my roommate cleaned out his cage. We bought him off someone on craigslist, which I know is not the best place, but we figured we'd take better care of him for sure. The previous owner only fed him crickets every other day, and romaine lettuce every day. No calcium dust, no vitamins, and a substrate of ground walnut shells. When we saw him, we knew he was malnourished, but no other significant problems were present. He is small for his age, at about 18" and two years old.

When we took him out of the travel case, we saw that his back feet were a little darkened and his belly had a bit of a pattern on it. We figured we would post on here in a little while after setting his cage up to see what everyone said. He seemed happy, alert and active, content with just hanging out on our shoulders.

However, THIS just came out of his vent. What is it? I'm a first time beardie owner so I honestly don't know but when it looks like flesh coming out his behind, I worry. I squished it when I picked it up and it almost looks like a calcium buildup inside - is this what an impaction looks like??

 

[TASTIGER]

his feet look like he ran through poop and it dried on. did you try scubbing it?

 

[Sweetheart1016]

He's going to get a bath for the first time ever in a day or two. His old owners thought misting was was sufficient. I'll admit I'm a bit more concerned about what came out of his behind!

 

[TASTIGER]

i would have him tested for parasites. have you been giving him supplaments? the urate color is strange.

 

[Sweetheart1016]

We literally got him at 6 30 today from his previous owner. He did not give him supplements - if he did, he did not tell us that.

 

[Sweetheart1016]

We're about to feed him some calcium dusted crickets.

 

[TASTIGER]

i would get him tested for parasites as soon as possible. they can do alot of damage the bearded dragons.
what kind of substrate do you have?

 

[Sweetheart1016]

It was ground walnut shells. We currently have him on 2 layers of paper towels. Probably going to move to repticarpet next weekend. He just ate - more than he has probably in his life. The previous owner said he fed him every other day, 10 crickets, and romaine every day. He just ate 18 or so calcium dusted crickets like a madman.

 

[MK5683]

Also, to connect the dots for the rest of the people here, this bearded dragon is the one I posted about in my introduction that I was hoping for help looking for signs of good and/or bad health. We weren't sure about the belly, it's not particularly dark but it seems to have a pattern of darkness as pictured in the beginning of this thread.

 

[TASTIGER]

Also, to connect the dots for the rest of the people here, this bearded dragon is the one I posted about in my introduction that I was hoping for help looking for signs of good and/or bad health. We weren't sure about the belly, it's not particularly dark but it seems to have a pattern of darkness as pictured in the beginning of this thread.

the dark marks are called "stress marks" they are normal.

 

[AHBD]

I agree that the dark feet are just poo stained. A little warm soak and a toothbrush will take care of that. His eating well for you right off the bat is a great sign. Don't overdo it, as he may not be used to that many crix. He overall looks reasonably healthy, no impaction is obvious, since he is able to poo for you, and the color may be from something he previously ate. Belly looks fine, his eating tells you he's not very stressed, ready to become part of your home. I would let him settle in for at least a week before a vet visit. Let him eat and get used to his new place.

 

[Gail]

I bet there is a good change that the tan part was ground walnut shells that he had eaten. If he passes anymore like that, squish it open and see if it granular. He really doesn't look too bad and 18" is a good size for a adult dragon.

 

[Sweetheart1016]

I actually haven't measured, but now that he's more still he looks like he's more like 15" or 16". Not good but not terrible though. What about the pink part? That's what worried me the most.

 

[AtlasStrike]

It may very well be from parasites. In about a week, I would take him and a poop sample o the vet and have him (and it) checked. I will bet a lot that he has worms, they will likely prescribe panacur and all will be well within a few weeks. He may even grow a bit for you, and likley gain some weight.

Don't over do it on the protein if he hasn't had much. Crickets ever few days for a dragon over a year old is not a bad feeding regiment, though the romaine lettuce is not a good staple green by any means. Feed collard, turnip and mustard greens, with squash occasionally and check out beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition for a list of good foods, as well as live feeders every few days. Adults need a lot less protein than babies, so make sure you can get him eating greens, and that the greens you offer are nutritious and varied.

Best of luck!!!

~CK

 

[Sweetheart1016]

Yay! Yesterday he went and it looked pretty close to normal! I had a few people I know say it may have been an impaction that he passed, since he was on calcium sand and it was white and granular inside. It looks like he's gaining weight a little, though we havent been able to weigh him yet. A vet visit is still on the menu, but thankfully I'm not going to go broke over this little guy.