My bearded dragon has a swollen vent and has poop stuck!

[lalagary]

I need help urgently! My boyfriend and I bought a bearded dragon almost 5 months ago and she is about the size of a 3 month old. Also she has been having trouble with her vent being blocked by dry urate I think that’s what it’s called and poop. I don’t know what to do I’ve tried giving her baths and that helps remover the dry poop and stuff but the swelling won’t go down. I just don’t know what I am doing wrong. She doesn’t eat much and when I pick her up she stays pretty still but has a strong grip on my finger when I turn her over. I’m getting worried because I don’t want her to die but I don’t know how to help her get back to moving and pooping correctly.

 

[KarrieRee]

Is she impacted? NO ENEMAS!!!! You can give her some baby prunes or unsweetened applesauce or baby sweet potato to make her go to the bathroom - you can soak her in some betadine- have the water looking like tea what are you feeding her? Insects should be no bigger than the size between her eyes--- post pic of her and her tank and lighting and her butt --- and a pic of the insect your feeding her
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at the top of the message box then click on the pic it should post let page refresh and check and see if pics posted
Karrie

 

[lalagary]

I haven’t had the chance to clean her cage so don’t mind that but it’s a 40 gallon tank and the lights I got came with the set up. Should I get better light do you think that would help her. Also I forgot to take a pic of the insects but we feed her mealworms and I think the crickets may be too big for her but she loves them. I’m not sure what to do today I seen what looked like poop coming out which I believe is a good sign. But how do I feed her the applesauce?

 

[KarrieRee]

Get her into a betadine bath a little warmer than usual water message abdomen--- do not feed her any more crickets and NO MEALWORMS--- between the two she looks impacted --- feed her some unsweetened applesauce or baby prunes in a syringe about 1/2 ML and keep feeding till she poops -- she will go eventually --- next GET RID of the coil UVB they are inadequate!!! You need to get a 24" fixture w/ reflector and a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb --- you can try the petstore or order on line from here https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html
the fixture comes w/ a 5.0 bulb but I want you to get this bulb https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-t5.html 22" --- ASAP
You need to get small crickets for now --- but at this time do not feed her anymore solid food till you can get her to pass the poop -- basking temps should be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer NO stick ons they are for ambient temps only ---------- in the mean time if its hot outside get her out in the sun in a plastic tote NO glass - since she is small I recommend the tote so she doesnt get a way from you -- place her in half sun / partial shade for 15 minutes NO longer you dont want her to burn up -- this is going to help w/ the UVB - 15 minutes in the sun will equal out to about 4 hrs of UVB --- do this a couple of times per day it will help start absorbing calcium she needs and the digetive process -- do this till you get the proper UVB -- let me know when you get it and I will help you get it placed in the tank ----- this is extremely important
Karrie

 

[KarrieRee]

After she passes the poop I want you to order some BSFL for her also known as phoenix worms calci worms or nutri grubs - they are a great staple feeder --- feed as many as you want and do not dust them order large and you need to start feeding her salads http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing its good to feed as a staple feeder
next I would start her on dubia roaches get small ones - dust them 5 x per week once per day w/ calcium D3 and 2 x per week w/ vitamins once per day - get vitamins w/ beta carotene - also get her some butter worms to add to her salads - you can get them from here www.dubiaroaches.com -- I would get her some silk worms as well they are another great staple feeder order from here www.reptilianarts.com if you order in bulk like 50 they will come small so order food to feed them and clean containers out every day --- these are all a good compliment to the diet -- they are soft -- but for now we need her to go to the bathroom - so dont feed any solid foods as of yet
Karrie

 

[AHBD]

Poor thing, is that the feces protruding from the vent ? She may be impacted from the mealworms and/or crickets that are too large. On top of that it may be that her temps. are not warm enough with that one bulb and if she can't get warm enough she can't digest her food. Temps. should be about 105 in the basking spot , 80 on the cool end. She needs a good uvb bulb as well like Karrie mentioned. Do the warm baths without Betadine, she doesn't have a prolapse or injury so you don't need the antiseptic. Offer the applesauce + baby foods that Karrie mentioned, be sure the temp. is right and give the daily warm bath and hopefully she'll pass the impaction.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, that is most likely an impaction from the mealworms. Are you giving him a soft diet
right now, to help her system pass things through? As suggested, the applesauce & squash
are great, or you could even do canned pumpkin, too.
Definitely keep her a little warmer overnight, to help boost her system up.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[lalagary]

Thank you all for the tips today I am getting the apple sauce and will try to get the light. Will I need a new basking light as well? What type of salads do you guys recommend? She usually just eats cabbage. I will update you all on how she is doing and what other things I have tried due to all of the wonderful advice I am getting. Hopefully she starts to grow

 

[KarrieRee]

No more cabbage please ------------- http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale its a good staple feeder -------------has she gone to the bathroom yet?????? Please feed her baby prunes and unsweetened applesauce --- she needs to go poop before you feed her anymore solid food -- NO more meal worms!!
Karrie

 

[lalagary]

She pooped this morning and it was big but it had little speckles of blood in it is that bad? And ok I will continue to feed her the applesauce no cabbage. Also she seems very tired constantly she moves around but she doesn’t seem active as I thought she should. She just sleeps all day could that be because of her poor diet?

 

[KarrieRee]

Has her vent gone down - please take another picture of her butt - you need to get the correct UVB light for her -- ASAP -- this is crucial to her health -- no more crickets bigger than her --- she is probably weak from pushing out the poop --- not sure about the blood thing please keep an eye on her poops and if shes got blood in it again something is going on --- we need Tracie and AHBD to weigh in on that issue-- I posted websites for you to get other feeders --- you need to order small roaches for her -- she can eat small silkworms --- they are another great staple feeder along w/ BSFL -- here is another website for those www.symptonbsf.com -- order large BSFL and do not dust-- if she has pooped you should not haft to feed the applesauce --- she should not be impacted anymore --- we wanted you to feed the applesauce etc to get her to poop ---
Karrie

 

[AHBD]

That's great news that she passed the impaction, did her vent swelling go down ? A bit of blood is probably the result of straining, it should be just the one time probably. Her being tired would be expected since she's had this severe discomfort for a while. She does need upgraded uvb lighting too, lack of good uvb can cause lots of serious health problems and lethargy as well.

 

[lalagary]

Her swelling has went down a little but now all she does is sleep she doesn’t eat and whenever I pick her up and put her back in her cage she stays
Im the same position I picked her up in. I don’t know if she’s hibernating or what. Isn’t she too young to hibernate?

 

[KarrieRee]

No she should not be hibernating- post a pic of her please-- have you upgraded the UVB?
Karrie

 

[AHBD]

Yes she is too young to brumate. The experience she went through has exhausted her and she's still not well. Were you able to get the better bulbs ? Can you make a smoothie for her out of greens like collards, mustard, turnip, dandelion, arugula, and strawberry for flavor. Use a syringe to feed her, also to drip water on her snout. Check your pet store to see if they have any soft Repashy beardie food [ not pellets ] Offer very small fresh shed insects. No mealworms unless it just shed [ they look creamy white ] and just shed small crickets. Get her out in the sun too, but not in a glass tank. Sit her out in the grass for 30-45 minutes a day.