Still not pooping!

[BeardieBaby]

Hi everyone! I know everyone has told me not to worry so much, but I decided to take him to the vet and I called all the vets around me yesterday and NONE of them had exotic doctors working and none of them have them until Monday but what they did tell me is that not going to the bathroom for over 3 days can be extrememly dangerous and they told me to call the ER Hospitals so I did that and even those hospitals wouldn't take Baby because they didn't have an exotic doctor working. So, I did make a vet appointment with him for Monday at 4 but what I am wondering is how worried should I be right now? This is day 4 of no poop and I haven't tried to feed him yet because I want his tank to heat up for at least an hour before I try to feed him. I am sorry If I seem annoying or overly worried but it is true that not going to the bathroom is dangerous, so I want to make sure my baby will be okay and what I can do for him until Monday. I am hoping he will be a good boy today and leave me a nice big poop so I can relax lol but it's just gone on to long and I am just not sure what to do. He is losing weight and he's still barely eating, only ate 2 crickets t he whole day yesterday so I definitely think maybe it was the right thing for me to do to make a vet appt for him, I just want to make sure he will make it until Monday, that's how bad I feel he is doing!

 

[Germ]

I don't think anything is physically wrong with him because he is still doing his poops daily and they don't look different or strange and his urate is coming out fine now(except for that one time it was yellow) but that only happened once and it hasn't happened again.

You made this post late Wednesday, today is Saturday morning, by my calculations that is not 4 days, today would be the 3rd. If you are that concerned, give him a warmer soak & leave him in there until he does poop, adding warm water as it cools. Use water warmer than usual, hot enough that you can still keep your hand in the water comfortably, will not harm your BD & keep it that way so it is quite warm to the touch, armpit deep when standing. An acquaintance's BD was on a 5 day no poop, we did this, it took almost 2 hours but it did poop & was fine afterwards. If it wants to swim around, let it, as I have found mine will let go after a good flailing around in the tub.

Good Luck

 

[BeardieBaby]

Ok I will try that! I bet I have to leave him in the warm water for a longer time than I have been doing. Hope this helps! Thanks!

 

[Germ]

I generally give mine a warm soak for 15-20 minutes under normal circumstances.

 

[BeardieBaby]

I generally give my beardie a bath for about 15 minutes as well. Another user told me that I shouldn't keep him in the water for longer than 20 minutes because they can literally "explode" from inhaling so much air when you put them in the water. That sounds a bit extreme to me, so I am assuming that is just a rumor? Sorry If that sounded stupid, but that's honestly what someone told me so I really wasn't sure...

 

[Germ]

 

[Chris Baez Jr.]

Another user told me that I shouldn't keep him in the water for longer than 20 minutes because they can literally "explode" from inhaling so much air when you put them in the water.

And I thought I'd heard them all...

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Another user told me that I shouldn't keep him in the water for longer than 20 minutes because they can literally "explode" from inhaling so much air when you put them in the water..

LOL...the Old Exploding Beardie Bomb trick...guaranteed to Shock and Awe...smh..Funny foder from the pages of The National Enquirer no doubt and as such NOT likely a morsel of fact to back that statement. I don't think you have to worry, BeardieBaby

 

[BeardieBaby]

Hahaha okay! That is what I thought! It sounded a bit odd to me, and did sound stupid, but I still had to ask! LOL...Baby ate 5 crickets for me today which is better than yesterday. He only ate 2 crickets the whole day yesterday. I gave him a bath and massaged his belly but tomorrow I am going to leave him in for a longer amount of time, because he still hasn't gone. He also is VERY stressed because his beard is black, I feel so bad for the poor little guy!!! If he doesn't go by the time Monday afternoon rolls around, then I am going to bring him to the vet, because I don't know what else to do really. Glad to hear that exploding dragon rumor was just a rumor, LOL!!!

 

[Chris Baez Jr.]

HOWEVER... I'll be sure to tell my mother-in-law (yes, she's still alive), to pinch her nose with a clothes pin when she gets in the tub, and no more long baths. Every time she comes over for a visit she drives me nuts, spending what seems like hours in the bathroom talking to herself. Why sometimes she even gives herself an argument...

Ha...ha...ha... ROFLOL.. Heeehawww... Just a joke...

 

[Noella]

Have you tried a little dab of olive oil on his little nose?

 

[slices mommy]

You can try a small amount of applesauce with a little drop of Veg. oil mixed in. Just dab it on his mouth and he'll lick it off.

 

[BeardieBaby]

I have tried giving him warm baths and massaging his tummy, and yes I have tried applesauce with oil and it STILL hasn't done anything! He didn't eat ANYTHING today at all and he still hasn't gone to the bathroom...luckily tomorrow I have a vet appointment for him at 4:00. Hopefully the vet can either make him go or prescribe me a medication that I can give him to go to the bathroom. He is also losing weight because he has barely had anything to eat and I am more than irritated because I called all the vet clinics in my area INCLUDING the emergency animal hospitals that are open 24/7 and NONE of them had reptile specialists. I live in a suburb in Massachusetts and I even called Boston and the popular animal hospital there didn't even have a reptile specialist, so I have done almost everything I can do until I have my appointment with the vet tomorrow. I hope he'll be okay until then! He is acting OKAY....a little tired but he isn't sleeping during the day which is good but he just had NO appetite today whatsoever. At least the past couple of days he licked some applesauce off his nose but not only would he not eat any crickets today but he wouldn't lick any of the applesauce off his nose either. UGH! I wish I knew how he got constipated, I have no idea what happened because I haven't been feeding him large crickets and he has carpet for his substrate so I am pretty frustrated. He has had a black beard all day but it was a nice day out so luckily I got him in the sun today for about an hour and he lightened up a bit, but as soon as I put him back in his tank he black bearded again. He is really small now because he hasn't been eating but hopefully tomorrow the vet will be able to help me and my Baby will be back to normal soon! ::Crosses fingers::

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

@BeardieBaby...I think it is a wise decision to take him to the vet if for no other reason than it will give you a little peace of mind and make you feel better. There is a possibility that he may have an internal parasite or something like that that has turned him off of food and at least the vet can check him out and make sure he is clear.
I still think that stress may be the main culprit in why he has backed off his eating. You made a huge change to his house only about a week ago and it is a know fact that it can take these lil guys 10 days or more to adjust to enviroment changes even if they are small ones let alone a major one like the change to the 40 gallon breeder tank you have gone too. I have watched your threads and updates over the past week and his appetite has been off all week. The reason he probably hasn't pooped could simply be that he hasn't eaten as much and that what he has eaten has been sporadic. These dragon don't necessarily poop out the next day what they eat today and it can take as long as 36 hours for their digestion to be complete and them poop. Stress is a factor in slower digestion...a big factor.
I haven't mentioned the fact here in the forum but our Mungi has been off of food for the most part for almost a month...he started backing off of greens until he wouldnt touch them and now wants almost nothing to do with feeder insects too. Day before yesterday he would not even look at crickets, superworms,nothing...yesterday he ate 8 crickets but would not chase them and would only eat those from my fingers...today he hasn't eaten anything. I got him to eat some of the RepCal pellets last week after I saw Germ using them in a video of his babies and asked him about them..Mungi used to eat them but had not had them in a while so I decided to get some more and sure enough he gobbled them for two days and shows no interest in them now.
To me just looking at Mungi he looks as if he has lost a little weight but actually weighing him he hasnt lost any at all..just doesnt have much appetite and a stool sample showed that he has no parasites.
I have other reptiles too and have dealt with them at various times when they have taken themselves off of food and I know that it is maddening when they do because we think that they should eat like horses everytime a bowl of food is set down in front of them but truth is reptiles don't all the time and when they are stressed and insecure that is usually the very first thing they do...not eat!
What we can do as keepers is to provide them with proper shelter, proper temps, proper food and barring any unforeseen circumstances such as an internal parasite, the rest is totally up to them and we have to force ourselves to give them the room to make their decisions on whether they want to thrive or not.
Mungi will be fine I am sure by the way. I just have to let him "do his thing, his way" and try and not let it drive me bonkers..He will eat when he is hungry.
As I said I think it is a good thing for you to take him to the vet just to be sure and to ease your mind in that if he is clear it's just a matter of giving him a little room and if he has worms or something then the vet can treat him but either way you will feel better knowing.
I look forward to hearing the update after your vet visit! I know that it is hard but try not to worry yourself sick about it...you are doing what you can and that is all anyone can do,right?

 

[BeardieBaby]

Thank you so much Mungi! I know there is only so much I can do especially when all hospitals I called had no reptile specialist..it was so maddening! I just sometimes read posts on another bearded dragon website that make it seem so easy to make your dragon not constipated anymore and it's not! I don't know exactly what the vet can do with my Baby today considering I have no fecal sample but maybe they can do something without it. And I'm jumping ahead of the game, but if he does have some type of parasite, it was probably from his crickets and if so, I don't know where to get his crickets. I can't order them online because technically I am not allowed to have a reptile in my apartment and for some reason peoples packages go to the main office and not to their apartment itself so I would get introuble. My apartment complex already knows I have a lizard but if they knew I had crickets in here they would freak! LOL...well.....here I go again...worrying and rambling ha! I have the vet appt at 4:00 today so I will update all of you and let you know what happened!! Thank you all so much for helping me throughout this stressful time and being patient with me!!!

 

[Germ]

Almost all reptiles carry tolerable amounts of parasites. That being said, it's when the amounts get too high that problems often arise, if that is the problem. Reptiles have the capacity to naturally deal with low parasite counts. It's when outside issues affect them to a point that lowers their natural capacity to deal naturally with them, like improper husbandry, heat, over handling, constant drastic changes in environment, diet, with stress often being the most common culprit. Your crickets quite likely have very little to do with it.

Good Luck at the vet, really hope that the cause is found by proper tests being done, because while most 'Herp' Vets have the knowledge & tools to do specific tests, very few are hands-on species specific knowledgeable in their care. If specific tests are not done, x-rays etc, they are guessing, just like any one else, possibly educated guesses, but guesses all the same.

 

[Germ]

Patiently waiting for an update with the results\diagnosis of the Vet visit?

 

[BeardieBaby]

Hi everyone! Well..I took Baby to the vet and he was EXTREMELY constipated, just as I thought, and she gave him a catheter and took out some of his stool(the poor thing) and then she gave him some fluids. She also gave me a powder called Critical Care that you're supposed to give your reptile if he is not eating. Well...I figured since he's a little more emptied out that he'd be STARVING right now but I just offered him crickets and he didn't want any of them! So I tried to give him some critical care in a syringe but I can't get his little jaw open! So then I tried putting it on his nose but he didn't even try to lick it up. When the vet was opening his mouth to look inside she made it seem so easy, but I can't figure it out because he's so squeamish and I don't want to break him by mistake! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to feed a beardie with a syringe? And also, the vet said if he still continues to not eat there may be something else wrong. ::Crosses my fingers there's nothing else wrong!::

 

[Germ]

HOW TO ADMINISTER ORAL MEDS OR FLUIDS​

​

Read more: http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/bearded-dragon-exclusive-care-info-library.5565/#ixzz27TtECU91​

 

[khaleesi]

That's a great link I fed Louie and Ozzy with a syringe and I found that entering from the side was always easiest I also found that when they were unsure at 1st that if I gripped the side of the head gently so they couldn't wriggle away while entering from the side was a good way to restrict movement a little. Critical Care is great and I also found little jars of baby food fed via syringe was great for building appetite. Help keep his stomach open, just like us their stomach shrinks I imagine from lack of food. You could always get somebody to hold him steady while you use the syringe if your finding it tricky alone. full control of the head if the best way. Angle the syringe to the back if you can so he can't spit out whatever you get in there.

I am so glad he has some relief at last. He's a poorly little dude but hopefully he will get better soon