Impaction maybe? /:

[Nova1014]

So I'll keep this short. I'm not sure if i am being super over paranoid or not, but i think my girl may be a little impacted.. She has been eating normal and all her temps are good for the most part. But she hasnt pooped in about 2 or 3 days and the last poop I got out of her was NASTY. I mean mushy, discolored, stanky.. the works. I bathed her today for about 20 minutes to see if that would help and all I got out of her bum was a little bit of that white stuff, but nothing else. I wanted to get some input from people on here before I went crazy and started calling vets and such. If you have any input at all it would be greatly appreciated, as I may slightly be freaking out over here.. Thanks!

 

[sweetiepie9]

First I need more info on her set up: What type of UVB are you using (brand), temps on her basking spot & on the cool side and what are you using to get the temps, what size is her tank.

Also how old is your dragon and what do you feed her, bugs & veggies.

It sounds like she might have parasites, but if you could give me the info above, we'll figure this out.

 

[Nova1014]

First I need more info on her set up: What type of UVB are you using (brand), temps on her basking spot & on the cool side and what are you using to get the temps, what size is her tank.

Also how old is your dragon and what do you feed her, bugs & veggies.

It sounds like she might have parasites, but if you could give me the info above, we'll figure this out.

Well first off thank you so much for taking a look and trying to help! This is my first beardie so I'm still learning some of the ropes.

My viv is 4'x2'x2' (home made), Her UVB is a Reptisun 5.0 (less than 6 months old) and her basking bulb is an ExoTerra 150w. The cool side of her viv is mid to high 80's averaging about 86 and her basking spot is around 98-100, altough I notice is slowly dropping so I'm not sure if I need a higher wattage or a new bulb? I gauge the temp on the cool side with an Accurite thermometer, and I have an ExoTerra probe on her basking side.

I bought her in June and giving her size I pegged her to be about a month old, so theoretically she just turned 7 months. She gets fed about 15-20 medium sized crickets everyday (although she hasnt the past 2 due to my fear of impaction) Crickets are gutloaded and dusted with calcium. I also mix the calcium powder in with her greens. She gets cut up kale, collard greens and dandilion greens, with the occasional piece of grape.

Here are a few pictures that might help.

I'm sorry, i know this is disgusting! But this was the last poop she took (about 3 or 4 days ago)

I noticed she recently she has also started bloating when she eats, this started the past couple weeks.

Here is her viv. Its kinda hard to tell but her UVB goes along over the left 2 vents

Hopefully this helps. Thanks again!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi, glad you let me know what you have. That viv is wonderful! Great job!

First the UVB isn't sufficient for your dragon, needs to be a Reptsun 10.0 for maximum UVB, that will help her digest & also stop the bloat. Her basking spot needs to be at least 102F-105F for digestion & the cool side shouldn't be higher than 75-80F. So how is the ventilation in her viv?

You should move the light to go straight onto that basking rock, it's at an angle & so the heat is not on the basking spot where it needs to be. Use the Accurite probe & leave the probe for 45 minutes on the basking spot once you've adjusted the light. Being at an angle is also heating up the cool side & cooling down the hot side. So do that adjustment and see what temps you come up with. She's full of gas because she's not getting the right temps as well as not getting the right amount of UVB

Once you get the temps right & the right UVB light, you'll find a big difference in your girl.

Also Kale isn't good as a regular green, it binds calcium & so the calcium doesn't get digested properly. You don't have to do more than dusting the crickets 5x/wk with calcium & 2x per week with min/vit powder. The calcium needs to be without phospherous and with vit d3 and any min/vit powder will do. She might be getting too much calcium, so drop that down. Check out this nutrition chart, it's amazing: www.beautifuldragons.com. The collard greens & dandelion are great daily greens. Try butternut squash, too, or any squash, it's a daily recommendation for veggies for beardies. But check out the chart, it's very long and covers about every type of veggie/green/fruit you can imagine, plus flowers & other plants. I've been using it for 6 years, ever since I got my 1st beardie. Now I have 5 adult males & 2 geckos (yes, I"m a bit of a reptile nut!)

She sure is a cute, I just love beardies! So give those a try, get the Reptisun & you should see a difference in her within a few days. And keep me updated!

 

[Nova1014]

Thanks so much, that is all sooo helpful! I actually have the nutrition guide printed out and in "her notebook." (I have these for all my animals, its great to keep track of bills and such, specially for the horse!) But anyways, I thought kale was on the daily staple list.. guess im a dummy But I angled her light cause I was afraid of the rock getting too hot? I guess thats not a huge concern then but ill go adjust everything now, give it a day or two to adjust and then let you know. Thanks again!!

 

[Nova1014]

So I adjusted her basking light and the temp jumped to 143! :shock: Sooo, I'm gonna try my 100 watt bulb tomorrow and see if that changes.. I feel like 140 may be a bit too hot

 

[sweetiepie9]

It is, so if the 100W is too high try a regular household bulb of 60W, that may be all you need. Household bulbs are great as long as they give off a bright white light, they're less expensive & give off great heat. So let me know, you're going to 105F at the very max. You'll find the cool side will be about 75-80 which is what you want. And don't forget the UVB light, that's really important. Dragons need lots of good sunshine!

Thanks for keeping me updated!

 

[Nova1014]

I am headed out to the movies with the boyfriend and we're making a Petco stop for a new UVB! Ill switch basking bulbs in the am, once it has cooled down over night and see what happens Thanks again

 

[sweetiepie9]

You're welcome, keep me informed. It'll be so nice to see her feeling well again!

 

[Nova1014]

Just a little update, I have everything adjusted but she still hasn't pooped. Today will be going on day 5 /: My mother suggested that maybe I try feeding her some baby food, to help move things along and where it's softer it wouldn't aid to an impaction if that was the case. So I gave her 15 mililiters of stage 2 1/2 pears yesterday. I am off to work until 1 (east coast time) So I will check for poop when I return home and let ya know if theres any. If not, then I am still stuck

 

[sweetiepie9]

Try pumpkin, works every time for me. Just get a can of pumpkin without spices, & freeze the rest in ice trays to use in future. I have a dragon who won't ordinarily poop for days at a time, I give him pumpkin by syringe & pow, the next day there is a huge pile. Unsweetened apple sauce with a few drops of veggie oil mixed in also helps, but I've only used pumpkin. So give that a try, poor girl probably has a bit urate preventing her from pooping. And have her in a warmer than ususal bath when you feed her the pumpkin, may take a day or two, but pumpkin is squash & considered a good daily veggie. Let me know how that goes.

 

[Nova1014]

Try pumpkin, works every time for me. Just get a can of pumpkin without spices, & freeze the rest in ice trays to use in future. I have a dragon who won't ordinarily poop for days at a time, I give him pumpkin by syringe & pow, the next day there is a huge pile. Unsweetened apple sauce with a few drops of veggie oil mixed in also helps, but I've only used pumpkin. So give that a try, poor girl probably has a bit urate preventing her from pooping. And have her in a warmer than ususal bath when you feed her the pumpkin, may take a day or two, but pumpkin is squash & considered a good daily veggie. Let me know how that goes.

Something must have been lodged up there, but I think the pear mush helped. I came home from work and found this sucker..

Poor girl probably had a hell of a time pushing this thing out.. Hopefully all is back to normal, but I'll keep a close eye for the next couple days and let ya know how shes doing.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Usually a hard urate means she's dehydrated; even with baths the urate can be hard, so try to feed her water from a syring for awhile & see if with the new UVB and basking spot, and water, she'll do a regular urate again. That looks just like when Rubio hold on for a few days, so glad that's out of her. Bet the bloating is gone, too, right? Boy that was sure blocking her up!

 

[BrendaKay]

Holy cow!! My beardies poop NEVER looks that formed. EVER. it's very runny and always in a puddle. He tested negative for parasites, but I'm very tempted to find a different vet and get another test.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Brenda, not all beardie poop is formed, especially if they get lots of water. Rubio, my 4 1/2 yr old, never has formed poop, but he also drinks the most water, so if he doesn't have parasites I really wouldn't worry. As long as he has the right UVB & the right basking temps, then he's normal!