I know its Brumation season, and Villain is over one year old. Shes kind of lazy, but she moves around, basks, sleeps, and she will occasionally eat one to three horn worms a day. Only problem is, she won't go to the bathroom. I'm pretty sure its not impaction, shes had it before and she always got through it when I'd rub her belly in the bath. But now she won't poop even if I rub her belly for about 20 minutes. Could this have anything to do with Brumation? Also, she stopped eating her greens when she starting to slow down for the winter.
Should I be worried?
- Thread starter Villain
- Start date
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Ethelia
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Hi there,
Could you give us a little more information? Answering the following always helps for members to give you their best feedback as quick as we can
How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Could you give us a little more information? Answering the following always helps for members to give you their best feedback as quick as we can
How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
How old is your dragon?
A little over a year
How long have you had your dragon?
A year
How long is your dragon?
17 to 17.5
What is the sex of your dragon?
Female
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
40 gallon long
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Half tile, half calcisand
Do you use UVB lights?
Megaray
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
Megaray
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
Not sure, it was the one my local petshop used for their dragons.
How old is your UVB bulb?
About 6 months
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
11 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
No
What are the basking temps?
90 to 95 depending on time of day
What is the cool side temp?
80 to 85
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Thermo with a wire
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
On top of the basking spot and in the far corner of the cool zone
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
Neither
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
Collard greens, peas, strawberries, meal worms, horn worms
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Greens are replaced twice a day, about one to three horn worms a day
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
No
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
No.. hasn't since it started Brumating
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Once a day
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Mist twice a day
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
No
A little over a year
How long have you had your dragon?
A year
How long is your dragon?
17 to 17.5
What is the sex of your dragon?
Female
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
40 gallon long
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Half tile, half calcisand
Do you use UVB lights?
Megaray
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
Megaray
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
Not sure, it was the one my local petshop used for their dragons.
How old is your UVB bulb?
About 6 months
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
11 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
No
What are the basking temps?
90 to 95 depending on time of day
What is the cool side temp?
80 to 85
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Thermo with a wire
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
On top of the basking spot and in the far corner of the cool zone
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
Neither
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
Collard greens, peas, strawberries, meal worms, horn worms
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Greens are replaced twice a day, about one to three horn worms a day
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
No
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
No.. hasn't since it started Brumating
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Once a day
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Mist twice a day
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
No
Hi, thanks for answering the questions as they are always very helpful.
I do see a few things that could use a little changing and that may very well make a difference. Good that you have a 40 gallon tank and a MVB. Do you happen to know the brand name of that bulb and the wattage? I'm wondering if it might be a 100 watt Solar Glo because at a distance of 11" in a 40 gallon long, it seems like you would get a much higher basking temp with either a Megaray or a T-Rex. The minimum distance a 100 watt MVB to your beardie, should actually be 12" as they are all very strong bulbs. So, you're using a digital thermometer that has a probe on the end? If so, when you test the temp, are you laying the probe end so that it is actually touching the basking area, waiting about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before you get the final reading? If that is what you are doing, then I suggest putting a low wattage standard household lightbulb alongside it like a 25 or 40 watt & raising the MVB up just a little so that the temp on the cool side doesn't go up any higher. Then, retest the temps and fill us in on the results. Since the basking temp now is only 90 to 95 it probably is affecting the digestion and pooping process, so just raising it a few degrees may be beneficial. Also, there is a chance that she may be semi-brumating but it is important to get her to clean herself out as if she decides to really sleep, the food could rot in her belly.
Are the tiles you're using slate tiles? We always recommend not using calci-sand as it contains calcium and encourages them to lick it, then hardens in their bellies like cement. So, would suggest you remove that as soon as you can and if you prefer to stay with sand, children's play sand would be safer for your adult.
That's good that you're feeding collard greens but would be a good idea to mix that with some other staple greens and should also help keep your beardie interested in greens. Here's a great site that most of us refer to: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html According to that site, green peas should be fed rarely, unless you're feeding snap peas. Mealworms can actually be an impaction risk if fed too often or too much, even for an adult but hornworms are great. An adult can actually be fed 30 (large) or 50 small feeders a wk, the large being for the big hornworms & the small feeders would be like crickets.
As far as the supplements go, since your beardie is an adult and since you're using a MVB, you should be using calcium without D3 and phosphorus-free on his food 3 days a wk and using vitamins 2 days a wk, but not on the same day. You can read about what most of us use here: http://www.petmountain.com/product/health/105556/rep-cal-ultrafine-calcium-without-vitamin-d3.html Calcium also helps prevent all kinds of health issues and constipation is also one of them. Had you noticed any other signs like twitching, muscle spasms, lethargy, curved tail, lump on the spine?
Good that you are bathing once a day, that should help some with the pooping process. How long has it been since she had one. Yes, rubbing her belly is a good idea, make sure to massage gently on the right side from armpit to vent area, if you feel a hardened area, massage gently in a circular motion trying to move it closer to the vent. Also, during the bath, make sure the vent area is right down in the water about 15 to 20 min each time.
Please keep us updated on her and if you have any questions about the suggestions, please let us know.
I do see a few things that could use a little changing and that may very well make a difference. Good that you have a 40 gallon tank and a MVB. Do you happen to know the brand name of that bulb and the wattage? I'm wondering if it might be a 100 watt Solar Glo because at a distance of 11" in a 40 gallon long, it seems like you would get a much higher basking temp with either a Megaray or a T-Rex. The minimum distance a 100 watt MVB to your beardie, should actually be 12" as they are all very strong bulbs. So, you're using a digital thermometer that has a probe on the end? If so, when you test the temp, are you laying the probe end so that it is actually touching the basking area, waiting about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before you get the final reading? If that is what you are doing, then I suggest putting a low wattage standard household lightbulb alongside it like a 25 or 40 watt & raising the MVB up just a little so that the temp on the cool side doesn't go up any higher. Then, retest the temps and fill us in on the results. Since the basking temp now is only 90 to 95 it probably is affecting the digestion and pooping process, so just raising it a few degrees may be beneficial. Also, there is a chance that she may be semi-brumating but it is important to get her to clean herself out as if she decides to really sleep, the food could rot in her belly.
Are the tiles you're using slate tiles? We always recommend not using calci-sand as it contains calcium and encourages them to lick it, then hardens in their bellies like cement. So, would suggest you remove that as soon as you can and if you prefer to stay with sand, children's play sand would be safer for your adult.
That's good that you're feeding collard greens but would be a good idea to mix that with some other staple greens and should also help keep your beardie interested in greens. Here's a great site that most of us refer to: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html According to that site, green peas should be fed rarely, unless you're feeding snap peas. Mealworms can actually be an impaction risk if fed too often or too much, even for an adult but hornworms are great. An adult can actually be fed 30 (large) or 50 small feeders a wk, the large being for the big hornworms & the small feeders would be like crickets.
As far as the supplements go, since your beardie is an adult and since you're using a MVB, you should be using calcium without D3 and phosphorus-free on his food 3 days a wk and using vitamins 2 days a wk, but not on the same day. You can read about what most of us use here: http://www.petmountain.com/product/health/105556/rep-cal-ultrafine-calcium-without-vitamin-d3.html Calcium also helps prevent all kinds of health issues and constipation is also one of them. Had you noticed any other signs like twitching, muscle spasms, lethargy, curved tail, lump on the spine?
Good that you are bathing once a day, that should help some with the pooping process. How long has it been since she had one. Yes, rubbing her belly is a good idea, make sure to massage gently on the right side from armpit to vent area, if you feel a hardened area, massage gently in a circular motion trying to move it closer to the vent. Also, during the bath, make sure the vent area is right down in the water about 15 to 20 min each time.
Please keep us updated on her and if you have any questions about the suggestions, please let us know.
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