possible impaction?

[dracoowner]

dracos eating has improved since i started giving him only grasshoppers, but he hasnt been pooing as much as i think he should be (either every other day or every 3 days) for the past week or two. so, today i was giving him a bath and rubbed under his stomach, and about 5 minutes later he did quite a big poo that had bits of grasshopper in it, mostly wings i think. also, the poo really smelled. i was wondering whether this could be impaction, but i cant think of anything that would cause it as he is on repti carpet.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Morning, Dracoowner. How old is Draco now ? And how long is he ? You can try to offer a warn bath, up to his shoulders, and gently massage in a downward motion on the right side. Do you feel anything hard ? That would be impaction. To remedy this, offer some 100% applesauce with a drop of mineral oil,slightly warmed up. This will make things easier to soften the poo and lubricate his system to allow for easier passage.

Are you making sure that the hoppers he is eating are no longer than the distance between his eyes ? That is a good rule of thumb when choosing sizes to feed. Larger than that, and impaction can happen.

Also what are his basking temps and how do you measure them ? This sounds as if he wasn't warm enough to digest completely the hoppers.

So there you are. Keep us posted !

 

[dracoowner]

hi, draco was 1 last month and is just under 20 inches. i massaged nder there when he was in the bath before and then 5 mins later he pooed, i couldnt really feel anything, but will give him another bath later to check. the hoppers and the right size, but there have been a few that were massive, ive tried to keep them out but i dont always feed him so wouldnt be able to be certain he hasnt had one of them. his temps and generally in the 90's, but i manage to get them higher occasionally.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Okay, I think the key here is the temps. You will want at least a basking temp of 95* for digestion to go properly. Do try to raise the temps, add a higher watt bulb, oh, and go the cheap way and use a house hold flood light. They will do the same job as those expensive basking bulbs, but waaaay cheaper.

How is draco doing with his greens ? Has he taken to those more now ?
Janie.

 

[dracoowner]

i have put a blanket on top of the viv to try and keep some heat in and have got the bulb as high as it will go, if that doesnt work i will change the bulb.he still isnt a big fan of greens, but he loves his squash.

 

[zebraflavencs]

I wouldn't cover the viv top, you want the Basking temp 95+ not the whole viv!
So do invest those few $$s in a flood light, and see if that helps.
Good he loves that squash ! Squash also helps with keeping his poo softer. Don't worry about those greens yet, he still has 6 months to go before he will start changing over to mostly greens.
Let me know how that flood works ! If he is still having issues, then we will need to make sure that those hoppers available are the correct size, so it won't matter who feeds him
Janie