My new dragon

[Queeny]

So I bought my beardie about one month ago and she was around eleven months old. She did fine the first few days but then we noticed she was not pooping. She stopped eating by the third day and we started giving her mineral oil with baby food like the Vet said. She finally defecated four days ago but she still won't eat and is very lethargic. She hasn't eaten and will hardly drink now for about three weeks. Pleeeaasse Help! She is in a 4x2x2 enclosure with temps around 95 to 105 on the warm side and 80 on the cool side. She is also not basking just hiding. The Vet said she is not brumating this time of year and is not gravid. Help!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry she has been so lethargic. She is around one year of age then?
The vet did x-rays to determine if she had infertile eggs & she didn't have any showing on x-ray?
Please run over your tank setup for us, such as the type & brand of your UVB lighting, the temperatures & supplementation, too. The temperatures sound fine, so are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure the temperatures with?
Do you have any pictures of her we could see also?

It is possible that she is slowing down for brumation, some do begin that phase in late summer time.

Tracie

 

[Pixi]

Older beardies defecate less. When mine was 2-3 months old she'd go everyday, but now it's about every four days, and she's eating the exact same thing she was back then. She just turned 1. Also, burmation doesn't always happen at a specific time. In nature it does, but in captivity it depends entirely on the dragon. Not eating does sound like it's slowing down, mine does too.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Queeney....sorry your dragon is not feeling too well. First off, how much mineral oil did you use ? Please discontinue it immediately....it is a by product of petroleum used to make gasoline and can irritate the G.I. very badly and cause much worse problems and lack of appetite. Her not pooing for 4 or more days is totally normal, like Pixi said. Many dragons can have a stretch of time when they may not poo for 2 weeks or so. The best things to use as a natural laxative are baby food prunes, applesauce canned pumkin or squash with a few drops of veg.oil. Your beardie may be hiding now because she's stressed from the nasty mineral oil. It would be good to give her a break from it .

Is she a big healthy girl ? And can you post a few pics of her ? To do so, post them on a site like Photobucket, then copy/paste the img/url here.

Hopefully she'll be feeling better soon.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your girl doing today?
Have you tried the other foods for her yet, to see if that helps out? The sugar free applesauce, canned pumpkin or prunes really helps out if they are a bit backed up. I have an adult who doesn't go potty but maybe 1-2 times per week but another adult who goes more frequently. It is very individual.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[Queeny]

Just to be clear the Veterinarian said to give her mineral oil because the X-rays showed a blockage and she had not gone potty at all for about three weeks. She is not gravid which the X-ray showed as well. She still hasn't eaten except one superworm two days ago. The UVB light I use is a Reptisun 10.0 by Zoo Med. I use a 75 watt intense basking spot bulb by Exo Terra and a 100 watt Daytime Heat Lamp bulb by Exo Terra as well. How do you know if the light you use hurts their eyes? She shuts them a lot but I don't think she is sleeping. I will try to get a picture of her and her enclosure if I can figure out how. Thanks for the replies please any advice would be appreciated as this is my first beardie. It isn't looking to good for her. Trying everything I can.

 

[SukiLove]

If you don't use photobucket you can also use the user image uploader under 'other fun stuff' on the right side of the page. Where did you get her from? Is it possible that she was ill before you purchased her? Maybe the previous owner has some more information, or can give you some idea of what may be going on? I hope she does better.

 

[AHBD]

It's O.K. if she's not eating much, and lots of beardies go through relocation stress and may not poo for quite a while. The sleepiness is possibly from an upset tummy now. I know some vets prescribe mineral oil but It's always best to use the natural " laxatives" and veg. oil to help them poo, so next time just try those things. Not your fault, and it did make her poo, but it's nasty + harsh. I don't think she's going to die on you, just going through some discomfort.