Pooping sand [closed topic]

[Tori]

I woke up to my beardie pooping sand. This is impaction right? should i let him run his course or try to help him? (note he is very aggressive towards me and hates being touched). He didnt show any signs of impaction whatsoever before this and was pooping fine

 

[kingofnobbys]

If he is pooing he's not impacted , but is likely to become so if you continue to keep him on sand.If his poos contain sand mixed in , I STRONGLY RECOMMEND you remove the sand IMMEDIATELY.
Can feel hard lumps in his tummy ?

It is expecially critical that the sand be removed if it is that nasty diablo ical stuff sold by many pet shops called Calci-Sand with claims it's healthy and ideal for bearded dragons , this material should never be used as the substrate for lizards as it's lethal if ingested, where it forms a concrete like mass in the gut of the lizard - a virtual death sentence if this happens.

You could try giving about 0.3ml of olive oil to him every couple of days by mouth using a syringe to help lubricate his internal plumbing and keeping a eye on him , if he straining but not delivering or starts BBing , I recommend a visit to the vet (at least to get xrays and determine if there is a blockage and the best course of action.
Hopefully you can rectify this quickly by no longer having sand as your substrate.

I know some breeders and very vocal beardie keepers advocate sand (playsand to be exact) as a good substrate for bearded dragons , even very young hatchlings , on the false premise that their natural range is the centre of Australia and it's all deserts (and many think sand deserts like the Sahara). This premise is entirely incorrect as most of the interior is arid but it's tropical savannah / grasslands and sparce woodlands and the dominant soil is ancient highly weathered clays (known in Australia as Bull Dust) , very little is actually a sandy desert environment.

 

[Tori]

I think i might have used Calci sand... i fell for the false advertisement. I used it with my last Beardie and she was fine... given she grew up on the mats and not on sand so she never learned to eat it. I called the vet and she said that if soaking doesnt work to take him in after tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be okay. He's only about 6 Months old too. poor guy

 

[kingofnobbys]

I think i might have used Calci sand... i fell for the false advertisement. I used it with my last Beardie and she was fine... given she grew up on the mats and not on sand so she never learned to eat it. I called the vet and she said that if soaking doesnt work to take him in after tomorrow. Hopefully he'll be okay. He's only about 6 Months old too. poor guy

Watch him closely :
>>if he develops a BLACKBEARD === rush him to the vet as he's in pain
>>if he appears to straining to poo and nothing much is coming out == rush him to vet as the stuff has formed an obstruction
>>try to get him to drink some water or prune juice , 0.3ml of olive oil given orally by syringe often helps but I am unsure if it will help if he's got concrete forming in his gut or plumbing ??
>>probably best to cut solids for now - only sloppy fluid foods (wet slurries of repcal juvenile lizard pellets or Grubpie given by syringe) until he passes all the sand and vet can get an xray to ensure there are no impactions in his plumbing or gut and give you the all clear to go back to his normal diet - this is important as the food will rot in his gut or intestines if he can not poo and this can cause nasty complications / death..
>>check for hard masses in his tummy.

At his age there is a very tight bend in the gut of beardies and this often where a bottleneck of undigestable solids can form a blockage.

 

[Tori]

i think its also worth noting that he is very aggressive towards me and didnt even care when i picked him up multiple times today.. I checked and sadly i did use the Vita-Sand sold at my local petstore. He didnt show signs of anything before hand so i didnt know and didnt do anything

 

[Tori]

i dont think hes going to make it... he just keeps getting weaker and weaker and we can afford the vet. i hope he magically pulls through. wish me luck

 

[BeardieLover232]

give him a lot of water, or some baby food, it will give him some energy! good luck on your little guy. i know he is going to make it

 

[CooperDragon]

I think the best thing to do is keep offering water to help him try and flush everything out. Hopefully it hasn't clumped together too much as that sand is known to do, and he can pass everything out of his system. What was his diet like before this happened? What do you have in place for lighting and what are the temps in his enclosure?

 

[Tori]

Update: he's drinking a little but not as much as he used to. He would eat lots of vegetables and 10-20 crickets everyday. I dont know exactly what lights i use but i know his temps are around 100-105 on heat side and 80-85 on cool side

 

[CooperDragon]

That temperature gradient is good. If he had a good UVB light source as well then I think that will help give him a fighting chance. His diet sounds pretty good too. Hopefully he will drink enough to pass everything through and bounce back soon.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I hope he can pass this stuff through his system .


Please , if he hasn't improved in two to three weeks get him to a good herp vet as a matter of urgency at least to have some xrays taken to work out the extent of the impaction and how he can be saved. Personally knowing he's been on calci-sand, I wouldn't wait that long, as it will only set harder.

Please keep him warm (24/7) this will help boost his metabolism and immune system , say warmer than 26oC overnight.

Bare in mind that the vet may decide an enema in required , this comes with significant risks, as does trying to force the blockage through by pumping the stomach and intestines full of water under pressure , this may be called for if the impaction is very stubborn.

I've a friend who works as a vet nurse ( she's a colleague of the lady I bought Rex and Puff as hatchlings, she breeds beardies and small monitors as a "hobby" ) , I asked her what can be done, and she said sometimes the vet uses focused pulses of ultrahigh frequency sonics to breakup these kinds of impactions and sometimes this helps.

There should be all the needed information printed on the uv tube or compact globe , just a matter of turning it off and removing it temporarily to look.

Best of luck, we're all pulling for him.

 

[Tori]

im sorry to say that Toni died after i got home today. i had just finished cleaning his cage completely and he already looked too far gone. he just layed down and every 10 minutes he'd take a deep breath. This morning everything was starting to look up. he was more energetic and even ate/drank. I'll forever miss him. thanks for all the help

 

[BeardieLover232]

im sorry to say that Toni died after i got home today. i had just finished cleaning his cage completely and he already looked too far gone. he just layed down and every 10 minutes he'd take a deep breath. This morning everything was starting to look up. he was more energetic and even ate/drank. I'll forever miss him. thanks for all the help

i am so sorry Toni passed! he is in a better place now, he is not suffering anymore. mine recently passed, but he is always going to be in your heart <3