Poop & Feeding

[Sonyapaint]

I have a male dragon, 10 months old, 15" long. He lives in a 48" x 24" x 24" viv with silica reptile sand as substrate. Daytime heating is by a Realsun UVA and UVB 160 watt infra-red heating lamp, which is time clock operated from 8 in the morning till 8 at night. Night time heating is by a Exo Terra 250w ceramic heating lamp controlled by a pulse thermostat set at 80 degs, both of these are at one end of the viv. Basking temp below the lamp is approx 110 degs, at the centre of the cage 95 degs and at the other end of the cage around 90. He is feed on brown crickets, locust and wax worms all dusted with insect dusting powder. He is also provided with rocket, spring greens, dandilion leaves and flowers, bannana skin all of which he very rarely eats. He is bathed once a week. When he was young he pooped every day but the last 6-8 weeks he poops once a week if your lucky, he has taken to sleeping at the cold end of the tank, very rarely basks on his basking stone which is directly below the heat lamp unless he is put on there manually. He is not eating much of his live food either. He looks healthy and in good condition but is very sleepy and doesn't really do anything anymore which is in total contrast to what he was like 8 weeks ago. Any idea's anyone or is this completely normal.

 

[andkenz2290]

a problem may be your lighting and the fact that you have heater on at night. even i your house drops to the ssixties that is totally fine and healthy for your dragon to have that temp at night. As for the lighting, i only trust the zoomed's reptisun 5.0 or 10.0, they have been tested and proved effective for preventing MBD in dragons as far as UVB output goes. then i just use a regular 60 watt incandescent for heat in addition to the strip uvb. if i were you i would switch those two things, and maybe get her checked at a reptile vet to see if she is showing signs of MBD, if caught early enough it doesnt need to be a life threatening issue and can be reversed.

 

[Neromom39]

The 3 three things I identified right off of the bat were these:

1. The sand: this sand should be removed as more than likely because of the type your dragon has more than likely ingested some of it and this may be the cause of him not pooping frequently. IF you must use sand, and let me advise you, it is not highly recommended, use washed playsand that has been thouroughly sifted. Paper towels, shelf liner, newspaper are all good. Most use tile as it is asthetically pleasing to look at and it retains heat as well as being easy to clean.
In the meantime, I suggest bathing your dragon in warm (baby temp) water daily if not twice a day and massage his belly on the right side from the armpit to the vent. Hopefully this will stimulate him to poop and if he is impacted it will get rid of the sand. You may also want to try some organic applesause w no sugar added. Just dab some on his nose and he should lick it off.

2. His basking temps seem to be a bit high. 110 degrees are sufficient for babies. At 10 months old you dragon could probably do for 102 - 107.

3. His cool side is WAY too warm. The temps should be no warmer than around 82ish. Even by escaping to the "cool" side, he is really not getting much relief.

All in all dehydration may be a factor, so if you adjust your temps and increase the baths, you should see an improvement. Changing your substrate is not related to the dehydration issue but in the end it may be a life-death issue. Of course the decision is ultimately yours but I would seriously consider it. And a trip to the vet would probably be a good idea too, just for peace of mind.


Hope your baby does better