Pooping Blood-I Need Immediate Help Please!

[Reptar101]

Please Help!
My 9 1/4 inch long Bearded Dragon is pooping blood. Just blood. Not even poop. I went to pick her up and noticed it. I got her from PetCo about 4 weeks ago, and she has been fine. The blood/poop thing seems to be stuck. It looks like the skin around her vent is ripped. There is just blood all over the rock. I have reptile carpet, and I feed her crickets with calcium.
Please Help!
Thanks,
Reptar101

 

[NCSUCarrie]

Until you can get her to a vet try to keep the area moist - KY jelly works really well for this. Sometimes if they have parasites they can prolapse part of the inside of the vent, which may be what you are seeing. If it is an actual tear and a has a clump of blood/scab on it I wouldn't recommend taking it off as it may continue to bleed. Regardless getting her a vet asap would be her best bet. If it is a prolapse the vet should do a fecal to see if she has parasites that caused constant straining, and should hopefully be able to replace the tissue back where it is supposed to go. If it's a tear it may need stitches.
Keep things moist, give her baths, and you can feed some water or diluted baby food (squash) to her to help with hydration.
The best of luck to you and hopefully she will feel better soon.

 

[Reptar101]

Thank you.
It has gone back in now. I have done some research and it is a prolapsed rectum. I am keeping a close eye on her. There was actually no tear, it just looked like it when it was it the prolapse. If it happens again I will take her to the vet though.
Thanks,
Reptar101

 

[NCSUCarrie]

I'm happy to hear that it went back inside. I would take her to the vet before having it happen again though... With a younger one it's almost surely caused by parasites... and they won't get better on their own. I would have your vet do a fecal float and direct testing to look for things like pinworms, coccidia, protozoans, etc. That way you can start treating whatever you might need to treat and prevent it from happening again. Sometimes the prolapsed part gets too swollen to go back inside and then you usually have to replace it at the vets office and suture the vent closed for a period of time, so not real pleasant for the beardie....
Good luck and I'm glad she's doing better now !

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am glad to hear the prolapsed area has gone back in. I do agree, & think that a fecal should be done to determine if she has a heavy load of worms or parasites. If there was that much blood involved, that is not good. Most likely you are looking at hookworms, & if the load is that heavy they need to be treated.
There are also other problems & issues that contribute to prolapses. Hypocalcemia or other nutritional deficiencies can lead to prolapses too. If she prolapses again, she might not be so lucky the next time it happens.
Are you using a good UVB light & calcium on a regular basis?


Tracie

 

[Reptar101]

It was from too big of crickets, so an impaction. It has been the whole night and there is no blood anywhere, so I'm guessing it was just a one time thing. I am going to get more crickets, like pinhead ones.
Thanks,
Reptar101

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is good news she is much better now. Impactions can be serious.
Make sure that the crickets are no larger than the space between the eyes to avoid impaction in the future. Is there blood anymore? Go slowly now with feeding crickets to ensure that all of the impaction has passed.

Tracie

 

[Reptar101]

Yes he is very good. We went to a reptile expo and found a place that is close that sells crickets. We got 1000 1/2 inch ones, and those are pretty small. He ate 100 of them at least a day, so he is eating well. He pooped and the poop looked like a pink, undigested cricket, so I am guessing the impaction has passed. There isn't any blood anymore. We got another bearded dragon from a reputable breeder at the expo. She is staying dark (when we got her she was bright, but she didn't have light, so she got dark), but I'm sure after time she will get back to normal color. Reptar and her fought a bit, but they friends now.