Oh poop.

[TwistOfCate]

So, Cori has reently been passing very small amounts of poo. He eats regularly and gets calcium about three days a week. I tried putting him in the bath tub to see if he would poo there. But to no avail. Any suggestions?

 

[xavice]

Boris is having the same problem, I find maybe 1 dropping a day or every other. I've tried putting him in a tub as well, when looking for indigestion issues, how solid or large of a bulge on the stomach should I be looking for?

 

[TwistOfCate]

I tought I should add that he is still alert and active. He is about 11 months old.

 

[Judah'sHuman]

Hello~

Coudl you please tell us what your are feeding, Substrate, type of lighting, how you messure your temps (with what) what are your temps?

 

[xavice]

Twisteofcate I hope you don't mind if I use your post as well to address my own issues as we are having similar issues.
I notice a small bulge around his lower left side of stomach area, I was holding him earlier and when I would touch it he would open his mouth and tried to nip at me. He didn't mind me touching the right side with no bulge. I had just fed him no more then 30min earlier though could it just be the crix he just ate?

How old is your dragon? not sure
How long have you had your dragon? Tuesday, Feb,24,09
How long is your dragon? 2.5" nose to vent
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 36"L x 20"H x 25.5"D custom viv
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? white millet
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ExoTerra, Repti Glo 10.0, 18"
How old is your UVB bulb? just more then a week
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? about 15"
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? 50w halogen
What are the basking temps? 100-103 F
What is the cool side temp? 78-85 F
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital with a probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? Probe is on the highest point of his basking rock, directly under the halogen bulb
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. he will only eat 10-15 crix a day, i have a fresh salad avail everyday
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? all crix are equal to eye width5 crix around 620 / 5 till stop eating crix around 1630-1700 / 5 till stop eating crix around 2100
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? Yes, Flukers orange cube complete food diet with grounded dog food and veggies
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? Yes, Flukers calcium with VD3
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Once a day or every other
Do you bath your dragon? How often? I would just mist him everyday have a shallow dish of water i have seen him drink occasionally from available, will now start bathing once a day
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? answered above
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? No

Also just as an informative question when measuring beardies is it nose to vent or nose to tail?

 

[TwistOfCate]

He gets Crickets gutloaded. Also a salad with collards, butternut squash, and sometimes raspberries. I use calcium and Vit.D powder on the crickets. He used to have wax worms for a treat until he beagan passing them undigested. The Temp in his basking spot is 108. The cool side is 96. His substrate is digging sand because he constantly digs. I feed him his crickets in a seperate enclosure so he doesn't eat the sand.

 

[TwistOfCate]

Twisteofcate I hope you don't mind if I use your post as well to address my own issues as we are having similar issues.

I don't mind at all, I'm actually happy I don't have to go through this "alone". I don't feel a lump on Cori... He has as squashy a belly as ever. Haha.

 

[zebraflavencs]

I will try to help both of you out.

Lighting. Reptiglos are really really bad, and have been linked to severe health issues in dragons. ReptiSun 10.0's are the BOMB ! They are the best available florescent UVB tube on the market, and if you order from Pet Mountain, around $20.
This is an excellent guide for feeding dragons.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Has the bulge been passed yet ? If not, then use 100% pumpkin with a drop or two of olive oil, room temp, this will help pass anything hard.

basking temps should be in the range of 100-120 depending on the age of the dragon. Older dragons tend to prefer closer to the 100, while infants and juveniles like the warmer temps. Cool end temps should be in the 80-85* area. If the viv is too warm, than dehydration becomes an issue.

Bathes should be offered for young dragons up to a year in age, 3-4 times a week, more often if shedding or high temps are present. At least once a week for older, mature dragons.
Water level should be even with shoulders, and the temps between 90-100*F.
You should always supervise each bath to prevent mishaps. Placing your hand supporting the front legs and tummy helps the dragon feel more comfortable, you can also place a wash cloth under the dragon for the same effect.
Bath for 10-20 minutes, and many dragons use this opportunity to poo here, instead of in the viv. This also helps with shedding issues, as the warm water helps loosen the dead skin.

Substrate. For young dragons again under a year in age, non particle substrate is recommended. Tile, non adhesive drawer lining, newspaper, paper towels are all great substrates. All are either easily cleaned or removed.

I hope this helps you both out !
Janie.

 

[xavice]

I came home he seems to be somewhat gasping for air, looks like he's pushing air into his mouth and his beard bulges out then he opens his mouth and sounds like some air comes out, then he closes it. What type of pumpkin, like baby food? where could i find it? how do i feed it to him? the bulges seem to be gone but his belly looks fat. i'm removing the millet right now.

 

[Judah'sHuman]

Hello~

I think Zebra gave you guys some really good advise and I hope things are working out. Xavice, I am very worried about your dragon, it sounds liek the subrtrate has coused not only and impaction in his gut but it is also cutting off his air. I hope that you ahve removed it and I really hope he is ok

Also, The highest basking temp should be 110 deg. 120 deg is way too hot for a beardie. 105-110 basking temp for babies is really really good. Your fine at 100-103 but you could stand to up it a little bit. keeping it just a little higher will help the immune system especially if your beardie is impacted. When they go throught his sort of stress and have food backing up in the gut, it offten leads to coccida. If you get the impaction out with the baby food and olive oil, I reccomend you up your temps slighty and alos pick up a probiotic to boost the immune system. You can either get acidophiliz+ from reptilesupply.com or beautifuldragons.comm or you can get soy yogurt from the store (do not feed dairy yogurt).

TwistofCate: I think if you follow the 1-2cc of babyfood olive oil in a baby med syringe, and have the same sort of temps you should be able to get things moving. Sometime is dragons are not hangin out in the hot zone enough they dont digest as well. Judah has this problem, he is about 16 months old and he loves hanging out in the 90 deg zone ALL the time. I have to force him to bask in order to digest his food. he will soemtimes go 8 day with out pooing. :? poor guy. I then do the baby food, probiotic, olive oil duty. I then at his bed time, put him on a heating pad on my belly and rub his back whiel watching tv till he finally poos. I also reccomend the probiotics to you, When ever you ahve a beardie with a digestion problem, the food can rot in the guts and cause coccidia, probiotics help to prevent this.