Worried!!!

[kaitquestions]

I have adopted a 1 year old Beardie, and this is my first time owning one. I have a cat also living in the house who seems uninterested in the lizard.

Since I've adopted him, he has been lounging around and eating. I have cleaned up his poop once or twice, but can't seem to either find it, or it is liquid, and is clumped by the sand.

I believe I have the lighting right, but I am afraid I have play sand as a substrate. My Beardie is still not comfortable with me holding him, so I've been afraid to try to remove him from the cage to change the substrate.

He is eating, but has not been pooping. I have not given him a bath yet either, because I am afraid of him runinng away.

Today he was very anxious, clawing at the walls, moving spastically, trying to push his head on the glass. I had turned off his heating lamp, so I turned it back on and he calmed down and perched. I've been spraying him because he is shedding.

I guess my questions is, what could be wrong? I have him on a diet of greens and pellet food with freezedried mealworms and crickets, and he eats it up. There hasnt been a mess yet I guess. Could he be especially anxious, due to the traveling? I feel like I should take him to the vet soon, just to get a check up, but does it sound like I need to rush??

Oh man, so WORRIED. please help, or give me some advice!
kait

 

[kaitquestions]

p.s. Ive been feeding him small bites of strawberries because he likes them. Are they harmful to my dragon??

 

[spurlee01]

It is possible that your dragon is suffering from relocation stress (can last up to a month, but usually more like 2 weeks), but I worry something else might be going on. Mealworms have a very hard chitin shell which can be difficult to digest. It can become clogged in a beardie's digestive track. I also personally wouldn't use any of the freeze dried feeders. I just don't trust them. Okay, so for getting him unclogged there are a couple of things you can try. First, give him some unsweetened applesauce with a drop of olive oil. Drop it onto his nose with an eyedropper. Second, only feed babyfood until he poops. Mix a small portion of chicken or turkey babyfood with a larger portion of squash, warm it a bit, and feed it with the eyedropper. I know your beardie doesn't like to be handled, but getting him in a warm bath may help stimulate a bowel movement. As for getting him more used to you, try putting a shirt that smells like you in his tank so he learns not to fear your scent. Also, when he is really tired, you can wrap him up and cuddle him. Hope this helps
Sara

 

[spurlee01]

Whoops, forgot to answer your strawberry question. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
That is a link about food you can and cannot feed. I think you can feed strawberries, but need to get the seeds out.

 

[momtothreeboys]

Hi there,

I know exactly how you feel. I also adopted a bearded dragon when he was around 1 1/2 years old. He was my first also and would not let me handle him and I was also scared of him. I thought I had made the worst mistake. But after about 2 weeks to 1 month he started to calm down. I used gloves at first to pick him up. He would hiss and puff out (which scared me even more) but once I got him out of the tank and into a shallow tub of water he calmed down. I would do this every other day for about two weeks. Now about three months later I can pick him up without him hissing. He still tries to puff but I just ignore it and pick him up. He has never tried to bite me so that helps as well. Everything in the above posts is what I have heard to try and I love the beautiful dragon site for advice on what food to give. I have the sheet printed out. I give our bearded dragon strawberries cut into pieces once a week. It says to give them occasionally. I don't take the seeds out, I just chop them into bite sized pieces. I hope this helps and he poops soon. One other thing, the easiest thing to get for the substrate is slate tile. Its easy to clean and you only have to buy it once. Hope this helps, hang in there!

Jennifer

 

[kaitquestions]

Thank you all SO MUCH! I'm happy to say.. HE POOPED!! a LOT too... heres what happened..

I adopted him from an AWESOME lady named Star, and when all my freaking out was going down, she didn't call me back.

I had bought a book from Petco about beardies, thinking it would be helpful to have information on hand... However the information was incorrect.. and made me constipate my dragon! It said the MAX temp for the basking spot was 93 deg., when I had it up to 106-7... and it also said that venting, or sitting under the lamp with his mouth open- meant he was "cooking alive"... so I saw him doing this (he had been pooping normally before) and FREAKed out... moved my heat lamp away thinking im cooking him... Then read a note from his former mom that said he needs 105 deg to digest food... and like a light bulb, I realized he didn't have enough heat! So after moving the light closer to him, and regulating the temperature MUCH better (NEEDED a probe thermometer and cool side therm- so much better with them) he has been pooping regularly. I cant tell you how happy I was to hear he pooped... I was yelling in my car!! haha!

The book also said their poop was solid fecal matter... when his poop had always been a little runny... Star told me that when they eat a lot of greens (and he LOVES his greens) their poop is more watery, less firm... the way it was! I'm so happy to see he's pooping and not impacted... I'm starting to replace his sand with just paper towels and paper bags. Its easy to just pull it out, clean the glass and replace! I might try the slate also, just wash and place back.

So after talking to Star, and returning that book... He seems much more calm and relaxed (he REALLY had to poop! Poor thing!!) and hasnt gotten into scorpion pose. He's still eating and seems happy as a peach.

Thank you all for your suggestions!! This is an AWESOME site! I'm still hoping he warms up to me a little more, but he doesnt seem bothered when I pet him- he closes his eyes and chills! I often catch him waving when I'm not looking, which I know may not mean anything, but I imagine he's warming up to me! He tried to hop out of the cage yesterday, and I wasn't scared to stop him. I think we'll be okay!

But all in all...he's pooping regularly (as of yesterday and today), and someday soon we'll be best friends. Thanks SOOO much fo rall of your help. I 'l lpost pics and let you know how we make out!

Thank you again SOOO Omuch! I have been SO scared!

 

[kaitquestions]

p.s.

This website is AWESOME http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.c ... ition.html
Its SO HELPFUL to see a difinitve chart like this. I printed it out too.. I trust the source especially since you all have happy dragons who live off of it.

I think my biggest issuse was TOO MUCH INFO! Its really hard, especially for a first time owner, to know what the dragons really need. Again, THANK YOU for repling to my crazed post. We're doing much better now

THANK YOU!!!!
-Kait