My beardie smells bad!

[PhoenixBeardie]

He has major BO! He hasn't pooped for a week, either..
I feed him every other day, and he used to poop every two days.
Ive had him for 4 months, he has UV and heat lamps..
Hes also been inactive(doesn't do much in his cage, but when i take him out he's pretty active.)
I JUST gave him a 20 minute bath with warm water, and he still smells bad. D:
You can only smell it if your nose is close to him..
Why does he smell bad, and what can i do about it?

 

[jabronie]

what kind of substrate do you use? neither of my beardies smell bad. especially if you give them a bath every week and are using a correct kind of substrate.

 

[PhoenixBeardie]

Calcium sand.

 

[mistygirl]

could be impacted from the calcium sand. Some beardies will eat that stuff. I would try a different substrate. (shelf paper, tile,)

 

[mistygirl]

keep bathing her to see if you can get her to poop

 

[bdalton]

I agree with changing out the calci sand, but does she sort of smell like burnt hair? I knowing I don't bath my girl for a couple days she will smell almost burnt, but I give her a good soak and rub her back and it's gone.

(at least I'm not the only one who smelled my beardie

 

[JessLC]

Some beardies acquire a taste for calcium sand. You may want to continue soaking him and rubbing his belly from chest to vent to kind of send everything in the right direction.. (if you catch my drift...). He may be impacted.

Although that doesn't explain the smell. But i think the not pooping is what you should be worried about. Is it possible he has a fungus? I'm not familiar with the scents lol. Any discoloration in his scales?

 

[mistygirl]

I just gave mine a sniff! I don't notice any smell at all. She looked at me a little weird when I went up nose to nose with her :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[PhoenixBeardie]

He smells almost like corn.. Lol, I sound so weird for smelling him! Ive never seen him lick/eat the sand.. I'll give him a bath again tonight. Any suggestions on bathing him? I usually just put him in the water and dribble water onto his head. I know I can't use soap on him, and I can't really scrub him, either. Hmmm... :?:

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from Behavior to Health (more fitting)]

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Calci sand to beardies is like kitty litter to cats. The pee/poop smell will be absorbed by the sand granules (regardless of how fast you pick them up or how well you keep it clean), then beardie walks on the sand and eventually picks up on the scents.

 

[PhoenixBeardie]

Oh, i see. Thanks.

 

[JessLC]

You can use a soft bristle tooth brush to bathe them. That's what i use. Mine aren't particularly fond of it.. but what juvenile (human or beardie) ever wants to take a bath anyway..

 

[PhoenixBeardie]

Oh, a toothbrush! Good idea, I'll try it.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

It's most likely the calcium sand. Sand in general isn't very sanitary because everything just seeps into it. It also increases the risk of impaction. When you're able to, I would switch out that sand.

My two Beardies don't smell AT ALL. My room has a bit of an odd smell because when they poop, a faint smell hangs in the air for a little while. I just use some air freshener spray once a day and it eliminates most of the odors (not near the tank, of course).

Fiz and KD don't smell at all, and I use linoleum as their substrate.

 

[Kalyn876]

Well Tyrus smells like his poop but more mild he gets bathed twice a week and when he poops on his shelf liner I clean it up right away not to mention he never runs through it. Hoodoo on the other hand runs all through his poop and gets bathed the same as Tyrus and doesn't stink. Now I'm wondering if some dragons just smell more than others..hmmm.

I also strongly suggest you remove the sand but I'm sure your already planning on it I personally love non adhesive shelf liner "smooth top" is my fave, I also use two tiles in Tyrus' tank one on the warm side and one on the opposite cool side, he likes to run from his basking spot and flop on the cool tile. The tile also helps to wear his nails down while he glass dancing back and forth.

How close can your bd get to the UVB and what brand? Tube or coil?