No Poop For 5 Days

[Xazzak]

So Smaug hasn't pooped for 5 days now. The last day he pooped was this past Sunday, right before I put him into his 40 gallon breeder (he's 88 grams 12" about 4 months). He has had a normal appetite and today when I came home, I saw chalky urates but still no poop. The temps have been good so I know it's not that. I feed him phoenix worms and finely chopped snap peas this week. I'm going to give him a soak in a warm bath tonight and try some applesauce tomorrow.

Any thoughts? He's gone a period of 4 days without pooping before, on multiple occasions, but this is the first time it has exceeded 4 days.

Thanks.

 

[sweetiepie9]

He needs to be hydrated. He should be given a daily bath for awhile and pumpkin (canned without spices) works great to get mine to poop. But for sure make sure he's getting a 20 min bath daily for awhile. The chalky urates indicate dehydration. Plus, if you've just moved him into a 40 gallon tank, he's going through some relocation stress.

Here's a great list of food for beardies and the best ones to give www.beautifuldragons.com. Check under Nutrition.

Hope that helps. I have an 11 mo old who poops only every 3 days, even with regular baths, so I know how you feel.

 

[PoezDad]

Any News???

I Agree, Smaug needs to be hydrated.
Poe will not poop in her cage AT ALL, she always does it outside the cage.
When I first got her she would only do it when I gave her a bath.
Now she just needs to be out of her cage an I see her start to do her potty dance and I have to run get a towel ready! Lol

PoezDad

 

[Xazzak]

This is a reply to an old post of mine, I apologize for not catching the last reply. As time has passed with a growing knowledge from research, aid from fellow forum members, and experience with him myself, things have been going really well thus far. I have made sure to give him soaking bathes more often and misting daily. I have noticed that while he normally poops every day or every other day, he has no real pattern to his poop schedule, as I document it all (food count and what, vitamins, pooping, shedding, etc.) in an excel spreadsheet. He has times where he won't poop for 3-4 days. He has had one incident where he didn't poop for 6 days. It is what's going on with him now as to why I came back to revisit the post.

If I don't come home to poop today, that means he will have gone 7 days without pooping. Now when I first got Smaug, I freaked out about every little thing. But now that Smaug is almost a year old, I'm far more relaxed and I'm not super concerned yet because he has no real poop schedule and considering other posts I've read where some people have dragons who only poop every week or two, which seems odd to me.

The reason for my concern this go around, is because the day before his last poop, I caught him attempting to woof down a feathery cat toy that I didn't see on the ground. I pulled it out of his mouth, but he managed to get about an inch and a half of feathers down his gullet before I caught him. So now of course my concern is that a small feather came loose, causing an impaction. He is currently in a decent shed on his head and back, so his small level of lethargy is normal and he's been eating regularly over the past week. As the week progressed with no poop, I felt it was safest to not feed him a regular helping over the weekend. I've been giving him some butternut squash, a few servings of baby apple sauce, and a few vegetable oil coated crickets on Sunday in hopes to get things moving, along with a few warm soaks. I don't feel anything odd running my finger across his belly towards his vent, but I still have my concern.

I'm thinking that I will give it one or two more days MAX before I'm calling out of work to take him to the vet for an x-ray.

Thoughts?

 

[CooperDragon]

I don't think the feathers will cause much issue. Just keep up with the soft foods and offer some extra water and everything will likely pass through soon.

 

[Xazzak]

When you say soft foods, could you elaborate a little more? Can I still feed him Phoenix Worms (over crickets)? I usually keep both feeders in stock.

He's very finicky about eating his greens, but I've finally been able to get him eating butternut squash and okra pretty consistently.

 

[CooperDragon]

I was thinking of the apple sauce but Phoenix Worms will be fine. I think the main thing is hydration. Unless he shows signs of struggling to pass a poop then even the crickets shouldn't be an issue. The squash is a very good option and the okra is fine in moderation.

 

[Xazzak]

Alright. I've always heard that apple sauce isn't really food for them if constantly given, as it's not really a substitute food source, but more of a laxative. I will offer him some PWs tonight if he still hasn't gone, so he has something on his tummy, since he wasn't offered much this weekend. I will give him more apple sauce and a warm soak tonight as well.

As far as I can tell (what I can see over the weekend) is that he doesn't seem to have made any attempts to poop (arching his tail up).

 

[CooperDragon]

It isn't a substitute for food but has been known to move things along in their digestive tract. Baby food pumpkin and squash work well too. When you increase fiber it's good to increase hydration as well. It's just a supplement as a way of moving things along rather than a dietary replacement.

 

[Xazzak]

Well he pooped today but it certainly didn't look like a week's worth (lol) and slightly runny (probably due to the laxatives).

 

[CooperDragon]

That's good then. It may not come out all at once. I'd continue offering extra fluids for a while unless it gets REALLY runny in which case you can dial it back.