NEED IMMEDIATE HELP!!

[TheDragonTamer125]

So, I own a female bearded dragon named Liza. Ive had her for about a year now. She has been doing well ever since. But some strange things have been happening lately. You see, I usually give her calcium dusted mealworms and collard greens for breakfast. She loves them, but her bowel movement has gotten slower than usual lately. Sometimes, I have to put her in a warm bath to make her actually poop. But she hasnt pooped in her cage alone since probably 4 weeks! She poops only when I give her a warm bath! Her temps are about 80-90 most of the times. I use a PowerSun UV bulb 100 watts. But I think that the bulb is not heating up my 40 gallon tank enough to where she will poop. I have no Idea what is happening! Could someone please help me!

 

[Ara]

Stop feeding her mealworms they are bad for her they have trouble digesting them and the worms can even eat out the beardies stomach if not digested fully. Get a reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb it has to be a UVB and reptisun is the best. Other that that just keep giving her baths and I sometimes use prunes the baby food to help my beardie go not a lot though. What are the basking temps of the tank? Basking is best around 100

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree with varying her diet a bit for best nutrition. Having the lighting just right is also crucial to digestive and overall health. The 100w PowerSun has an optimal UVB output at around 12'' above the highest basking point. I would mount it so it sits at that distance. Then add a second bulb (halogen flood light, ceramic heat emitter, etc) to produce a proper heat gradient of about 100-105 in the basking area with 90s around it and 75-80 or so on the cool side. It's important to get accurate readings so I suggest a temp gun or digital thermometer with a probe to monitor temperatures and adjust the height of your heat lamp accordingly (leave the PowerSun at 12''). In the meantime, offer a bit of extra water via drops on her nose to help her move everything along. You can also offer some drops of baby food green beans or squash which will provide some nutrition and hydration which may help.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....it's not unusual for adult dragons to slow down on the b.m's during cold weather. And although mealworms aren't the best insect [ dubia's, horn or silkworms and superworms as well as crickets are better ] it's a myth that any worms eat through a beardies stomach. But if you need to use a little natural laxative, the baby food prunes along with a few drops of olive oil are helpful as welll as applesauce or canned pumpkin. To get her temps. a bit higher you might cover part of her tank with a large heavy towel but watch you don't get it near the light.

 

[TheDragonTamer125]

Her usual temps stay somewhere around 80•. She also likes to eat these things called bearded dragon bites. They are shaped like little meat cubes. She usually takes a long time to actually move when she wakes up, but I'm worried about her health! I will upload a pic when I, could you guys tell me about her health?

 

[TheDragonTamer125]

OK, so my bearded dragon has been acting strange lately. First of all, I stopped feeding her mealworms about a week ago, and i started to give her NatureZone Bearded Dragon Bites. She usually will eat them on occasions. But now, just this morning, she starts to ignore them. But when I drop just one mealworm in there, she will run to it and eat it. She only wants the mealworms!!!!! Second of all, just the other day, while I was at school, My dad said that when he went to check on her, she had pooped. When I got home, the poop was gone!! It worried me! My dad thinks that she ate her poop, but is eating poop dangerous?! 3rd of all, she only wants to bask under her lamp all day instead of eating her food. Whenever I wake up in the morning, I feed her some of those Beardie Bites. When I come home, they are still sitting there and she hasnt touched them at all!! And by the way, it takes her a really long time to poop, and sometimes, I even have to bathe her to make her poop!! Her temps now go up to about 90 degrees midday. Could someone please help me!! Im extremely worried about her!!!!

 

[Rampagingraptor]

You need to give your beardie some live food. It really encourages them to eat it, as well as provide all the things they need to grow. Try using something like feeder crickets, roaches, and phoenix worms. Those are all pretty good stables to eat. You should try posting some pictures of your beardie and their habitat. You can post pics here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/#new and then post by clicking the XIMG button in the post option.
As for the temperature, you want to make sure that your basking spot temps are around 105-110 for younger bearded dragons. if you are having trouble getting it to that, you should move it closer or use a stronger bulb. What are you using to measure your temperatures? And are you using a uvb light, and what kind?
I'm not to sure about the poop, but that can't be good.
Edited cause I forgot to post some stuff.

 

[TheDragonTamer125]

It may be hard to believe, but I'm afraid of those weird looking bugs. I have never enjoyed bugs at all. I am using power sun uv right now. What I'm feeding her are those things I was talking about which I will show I pic as soon as I can. She sometimes will eat dried mealworms with calcium, but she doesn't eat anything if she doesn't have her worms first. And another reason I don't feed her live bugs, is the risk of parasites.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Well, depending on the size of your dragon, meal worms are not a good idea to feed your beardie at all, especially as a staple. I wouldn't worry about parasites so much from feeders if you are getting them from reputable sources. They are not that common at all and its better to make sure that your beardie is actually eating something that is good for a growing beardie. I wouldn't say I am an expert on it either, but I highly doubt that those bites give your beardie the proper nutrients that your dragon needs alone. I highly suggest you try a better staple food. You could even try phoenix worms, which might be easier for you to handle.
The bulb sounds fine. How old/big is your bearded dragon?

 

[Rankins]

How old is your dragon?
Coprophagia (stool eating) happens but sometimes it indicates the gut flora needs to be replenished, sometimes its also caused by nutritional issues.
They age of your dragon would help me better answer your post.

 

[AHBD]

Can you post a few pics of beardie + set up ? Here's how:
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
And I agree, try Phoenix worms ... you can handle mealworms you can handle these. They're small and you can put them in a dish near the basking area where she can see them and come down for her meals.

 

[BeardieScout]

Try feeding a different type of insect like small crickets or small dubia roaches. Also, mealworms can cause impaction because of there chitin.