PLEASE HELP My Beardie ate a sandwich baggy!!!

[Mikem]

My full grown female dragon ate a small sandwich bag today!! I was dust the crickets in the bag and leave it in front of her and she eats the crickets as they crawl out of the bag. I am usually sitting with her when i do this to grab any stray crickets that run away, but today i left the room for a few minutes and THE BAG WAS GONE! She is big enough to definitely have swallowed the whole bag and she's a little piggy so i don't put it past her.

She seems to be OK otherwise, no coughing, heaving, puking, or other weird behavior. I know she must of eaten the whole bag which was a clear sandwich baggy. I opened her mouth to hopefully see some of the bag and pull it out but i couldn't see anything down her throat.

Please help me as i don't know what to do i feel so bad and it's all my fault.

Mike

 

[mgodfriaux]

Ok the only thing i can think of is keep an eye on her poop and maybe she will pass it if she Did eat it ... if you don't see anything in a day or two see if she will take some veggie oil from a dropper to lube her insides up

 

[Tonja]

she may need a vet as plastics are made from petroleum products including baggies if she ate it and its wadded up inside her she may not be able to pass it, I would call a vet about it personally

 

[Mikem]

Hi guys! thanks for the responses, i just gave her a little bit of soft mango (her favorite) and she seemed excited to eat it. She then walked around for a bit and is now laying down "sleeping" if you know what i mean, she likes to lay there with one eye open until she sees me looking at her then she shuts it haha.

mgodfriaux: I will take your advice about watching her stool and perhaps giving her a little olive oil from a dropper to lube up her intestines.

Tonja: I am going to call the vet tomorrow but do you think they could see it using an x-ray?

Thanks again for the advice guys i really appreciate it!

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Or perhaps experience with this issue?

 

[Tonja]

It would depend on the density of the baggie but if she ate it and didn't drag it off someplace im sure they would be able to see a trace of it since it would have to be wadded up in there

 

[Mikem]

UPDATE:

Zeussy was acting very normal this morning which seems like a good sign. She warmed up out in the sun for a while then ran onto the grass and did her business, which looked very normal (no blood or sign of the bag).

I gave her about a half a teaspoon of olive oil first to lubricate her tummy then she ate a good amount of a mixed powder formula specially formulated for reptile recovery. I then fed her about a dozen medium sized crickets so hopefully that will help the bag move down her intestine.

Other than that she was alert, breathing, moving and acting normally.

I guess only time will tell and i will keep a close eye on her behavior.

Hopefully she will pass the bag easily and soon.

Anyone have any opinion on what i should feed her the next few days to make the passing easier for her??

 

[Tonja]

Are you sure she ate it and it wasn't drug off or picked up by someone else...a baggie in her system seems like a lot for her to pass. Did you contact a vet?

 

[Mikem]

Hi Tonja, thanks for the reply.

I am 100% positive she ate the baggie, i wish i could say otherwise but i checked every possible place and did not see it anywhere to my dismay.

I havent contacted the vet yet only because i didn't notice any behavioral changes in Zeussy especially when it came to appetite. She was just as hungry and active today as she has always been. I know beardies mask their illness well so i will keep a close eye on her.

I also took a flashlight to look down her throat when she opened it earlier to vent off some of the summer heat and her throat looked clear of anything and did not seem irritated or swollen.

Do you think she can get through this with no issues if i keep her on the same diet i described earlier? (a bit of olive oil, some soft wet mixed food, and a dozen or so crickets)

 

[Tonja]

I hope she can hun but in all honesty I don't know. Ive heard of beardies eating strange things and they ended up being ok. Some not so ok. A sandwich baggie is awfully big for a little system. I would message Drache613 who is very knowledgable about beardies and explain to her what happened and whats going on with your care through this. Tracie would be able to tell you more than I can and I believe <don't hold me to this> she was vet tech.

 

[Mikem]

UPDATE:

Zeussy ate the baggy on sunday, and now five days later she has not shown any signs of anything being wrong.

She pooped again today, which looked very normal with no signs of blood or anything else. She has pooped at the same time each day so she has a very regular bowel movement schedule. I was hoping i would see the baggy start coming out with the poop but still no sign of anything.

I have been feeding her the powder mixture i mentioned earlier which is mixed with water to form a apple sauce consistency, and some smaller crickets that are freshly molten so not much hard exoskeleton to digest or get stuck.

Her behavior has not changed one bit, running around and swimming in her little pool outside that i let her sit in for about a half hour to an hour each day this week.

She is still chasing crickets and acting normally so i'm just hoping for the best at this point.

There is the small chance she didn't eat the bag (which would be odd because the bag was gone and could not be found anywhere).

Is if possible the baggy is stuck in her tummy but the food still able to move through her intestine?

 

[Mediabandit]

From the sounds of it, I do not think she ate the baggie, she would not be acting like she is with the appetite she has and be pooping normally if she had.

 

[Esther19]

Maybe the baggie ran off with the lost sock. Seriously, I'm glad your beardie is showing no ill effects of her encounter with the baggie. It will be interesting to see what the vet has to say.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Mike,

I haven't heard of a sandwich baggie being eaten by a dragon either!
It is a possibility that it could be lodged somewhere thus still allowing food to pass through. Are her stools still the same size as they were previously?
Does she appear to be straining at all?
Was the baggie thin or thicker in nature?

An x-ray would likely show a mass or shadowing of an object in the tummy or colon area. Are you taking her into the vets to get an x-ray?
I would continue on the softer foods though & small food items, laying low on insects until you are sure she is alright. Try to keep her hydrated too just to help her GI tract.
Have you bathed her to see if that will also help her go to the bathroom more frequently?

They can be partially impacted & still go to the bathroom though it may be reduced in size.
Do you have any other pets that could have taken or eaten the baggie instead? Just checking.

I am glad she seems to be doing so well though, all things considered.
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[Mikem]

Hi guys,

Yah it is crazy that she ate the baggy but its my fault for leaving it in front of her with the dusted crickets inside. Im guessing she didn't realize the bag was even there when she lunged for a cricket and that's how it must of happened.

Tracie: Her stools have been the same size as usual, and she doesn't seem to be straining at all, i made sure to watch her closely each time. The baggie was very thin, the type that is completely translucent and just big enough to cover a regular square sandwich.

I havent taken her to the vet yet because i haven't noticed any difference in her behavior or appetite, also i had just gotten x-rays done last month for her leg that she mildly fractured that she has completely healed up now. So money is a little tight also as it costs me $200 at my vet for the x-ray.

I have been bathing her everyday since she ate the bag. She loves swimming so i fill a tub with water (shoulder depth) and put it on the deck so she can get some sun while she's in there. When she's in there she "swims" around sometimes dunking her head and it appears as if she's having a great time.

No other pets that could have taken the baggie, i wish i could say otherwise.

She is outside right now on the deck heating up and i expect her to use the potty soon so i will check back in after to say if it was still normal or not.

Thank you so much for your input and advice!

I will check back within the hour

 

[Mikem]

Well after warming up outside for a bit she defecated and it seemed a little small but i attribute that to her limited diet at the moment. Once again i didn't notice her straining at all to push it out.

Yesterday her stool was bigger with urates, and looked more normal.

She is currently swimming around in her bath and i will feed her soon, i am expecting her to have an appetite as usual.

Updates later.