repeated impactions.. help

[coastergirl946]

Curt (my boyfriend's beardie) is impacted AGAIN.. the FIFTH time in 3 months. The first three were from calci-sand and low temperatures. We have since fixed the problem, but he absolutely refuses to poop unless he is helped with a bath and a tummy rub. When he does poop, he turns black underneath with stress marks, goes limp, and closes his eyes like he is in extreme pain. He isn't brumating, he's very active and his colors are good, and his poop looks perfectly normal when he does go, so I'm lost. He does have a vet appt tomorrow, but I would like some helpful advice. I am wondering if we should change from large crix to small ones as his digestive system may not be able to handle the big ones anymore, or what else we can do for him. We have tried prunes, olive oil, and magnesium citrate to help him go, and it seems to take a long time to work, and doesn't help with his straining or his pain at all. It's awful to watch.
I would also like to know if there is a way to keep Curt warm on the half hour drive to the vet tomorrow.. I won't be able to go, and it's bitter cold here in Ohio, so I'd like any advice for my boyfriend. Thank you.

How old is your dragon? 3 or 4 years old at my best guess
How long have you had your dragon? 4 years
How long is your dragon? 15 inches from nose tip to tail tip
What is the sex of your dragon? male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 20 gallon, hopefully getting a larger one soon
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? repti-carpet
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? not sure
How old is your UVB bulb? a few months
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? about 5 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb? yes, a 75w household bulb
What are the basking temps? 102
What is the cool side temp? 80
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? the highest part of the basking stick he can reach, and the middle of the basking stick
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? yes to the heat rock.. trying to convince him they aren't good for beardies though
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. large crickets, blueberries. flat out refuses to eat greens no matter what, even when they are offered with his blueberries or left in the enclosure all day.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I believe twice a day, once in the late morning and once in early evening
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes, he gutloads crix with calcium enriched cricket food and water crystals
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? I don't think he does
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? not for a long time
Do you bath your dragon? How often? I'm not sure how often he gets a bath
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? he gets a morning mist once a day
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? not that I'm aware

anything else I should answer, let me know please

 

[ziggy23]

Perhaps he doesn't have all the sand out of his system. That's just a guess on my part.

I think at least medium crickets might be a better choice. I've read that after a while the shell-meat ratio gets higher on crickets as they age.

As far as transporting, warm the car up first. The heater in the car should be more than enough to keep comfortable temps for him. You can get these things called hot hands. They are little bitty heat packs that will stay hot for hours. They are very cheap, you can get a 4 pack for like a dollar. As far as getting him to the car, wrap him up in a blanket, t-shirt, or towel. You might want to put him in a box or carrier. Some put them in their shirts or coats. You want him well protected from the cold, but also the wind. I live in indiana, so I know for our area that the wind can often be much worse than the ambient temps. I'm sure it's not much different for you guys.

 

[coastergirl946]

Curt was taken to the vet on the 27th of January, and there was hardly any poo inside him, which made the vet believe he had parasites. He was given a de-worming treatment, and Curt has been active and eating just fine. The problem is that he is still not pooping.. he has not pooped since the vet visit 10 days ago. What in the world is wrong with him?

 

[lauraj1055]

I have a beardie that only poops every 13 days. I got him from a breeder, and the breeder told me that his father only poops once every 2 weeks... So I'm thinking it's hereditary. I've done the same things, prunes, baby applesauce, canned pumpkin and olive oil.. but he is just a 13 day pooper.

 

[diamc]

Oh, poor Curt. He certainly has gone through quite a bit in his 4 yrs.

It would be important to find out the brand and % of output of the UVB light. Also, if you think it's over 5 or 6 mo old, it would be a good idea to change it as that's the time they start to decline. If you think your boyfriend hasn't been dusting with calcium with D3 and vitamins, doing that might really make a difference. Since Curt is 4 yrs old, the feeders should be dusted 3 days a wk with calcium but only 1 feeding a day and dusting with vitamins 1 to 2 days a wk. When they don't get these supplements, it affects their total health.

It is true that some adult beardies only poop 7 to 10 days or so but since he has had so many problems with that, it would be a good idea to make sure he is very well hydrated so bathing 3 to 4 times a wk to try to help get him on a better pooping schedule and to prevent the straining, etc would also be a good idea. Misting doesn't really allow for proper hydration. Giving oral fluids like diluted 100% juice (no sugar added) like cherry, apple, cranberry or grape juice should also help. It should be diluted by using 3 parts water to 1 part juice, you could even use warm water to make it more pleasurable. Put drops on his nose for him to lick off.

What greens have been offered, any idea? Summer or even spaghetti squash could be grated, most really like those. Since he isn't getting hydrated from eating greens, that is just adding to the pooping issue. He could also be offered some baby food of squash, mixed vegetables, green beans or peas as those would also help with the passing of the poop. Do you know if that has been tried? Very warm baby food applesauce or even 100% canned pumpkin help add fiber.

Is he still in the 20 gallon tank or does he have a larger one now? At 15 inches and being in a 20 gallon tank, it doesn't give him much room to run around. Does he get exercise by running around the house, if not, that would also be a good idea.

A 75 watt bulb seems like quite a bit for a 20 gallon tank. When the temp is tested, make sure that the probe is actually touching the basking log and that you wait at least 45 min for the temp to stop rising before getting the final reading.

Please update us on Curt when you can. Sure hope he can get on a better pooping schedule so that he doesn't have to strain so hard which could cause a prolapse.

 

[discojan]

If your beardie isn't pooping regularly and you've tried the usual, you might try and get him/her checked to see if he/she is calcium deficient. Our girl wasn't doing so well after a long round of treatments for some stubborn coccidia, and the vet put her on liquid calcium and she went from pooping once a week or two weeks, to several times a week.

Also if you need to travel in the cold, you can take a cooler (for beer or whatnot) and put a heated bed buddy/rice sock/set of hand warmers inside. The cooler will help insulate against the cold and keep your critter warm. Just make sure the heat source isn't so hot that it will burn the dragon. We were able to keep our girl at a toasty 80 despite low temps outside when she had to travel to the vet this winter.