Bearded Dragon Not Pooping?

[jessethbearded]

This might be a lengthy post but..I got my bearded dragon 2 1/2 years ago. At first she had regular bowel movements and was fine. Then a few months ago they became irregular. This was a couple months after she started limping on her back leg. I took her to the vet and nothing abnormal came up on the X-ray. The doctor also said she didn’t notice any limping when they examined her, and she is perfectly healthy otherwise. But she does limp all the time, and her leg shakes when’s she’s trying to climb. Honestly I think it’s permanent at this point. I think she might’ve fell off of something a while back (you know how bearded dragons are). Anyway, I give her a prescribed laxative and soak her regularly. But sometimes she won’t poop for a whole month. She eats her greens, fruits, and vegetables sometimes, and eats crickets, wax worms, hornworms weekly, and the occasional dubia and supers. And I know someone is going to ask about the setup so she has a T5 10.0 reptisun on top of her enclosure, 34 inches long and she sits about 8-10 inches from it. And a heat bulb at about 100° (She can sit closer or further away if she’s uncomfortable). Shes in a 75 gallon tank with repticarpet. Does anyone have any advice? I hate for her to be uncomfortable and I’ve run out of options at this point. Thanks

 

[Skybug]

This might be a lengthy post but..I got my bearded dragon 2 1/2 years ago. At first she had regular bowel movements and was fine. Then a few months ago they became irregular. This was a couple months after she started limping on her back leg. I took her to the vet and nothing abnormal came up on the X-ray. The doctor also said she didn’t notice any limping when they examined her, and she is perfectly healthy otherwise. But she does limp all the time, and her leg shakes when’s she’s trying to climb. Honestly I think it’s permanent at this point. I think she might’ve fell off of something a while back (you know how bearded dragons are). Anyway, I give her a prescribed laxative and soak her regularly. But sometimes she won’t poop for a whole month. She eats her greens, fruits, and vegetables sometimes, and eats crickets, wax worms, hornworms weekly, and the occasional dubia and supers. And I know someone is going to ask about the setup so she has a T5 10.0 reptisun on top of her enclosure, 34 inches long and she sits about 8-10 inches from it. And a heat bulb at about 100° (She can sit closer or further away if she’s uncomfortable). Shes in a 75 gallon tank with repticarpet. Does anyone have any advice? I hate for her to be uncomfortable and I’ve run out of options at this point. Thanks

Can u pick her up so i can see the bottom if her legs? And can u picture the enclosure for us, how much fruit is she getting? This sounds like a diet issue possibly, some bearded dragons do take a long time to poop , up to a week, not that its normal, but it is common, a monthly poop is a little worrysome…

 

[Sadie]

This might be a lengthy post but..I got my bearded dragon 2 1/2 years ago. At first she had regular bowel movements and was fine. Then a few months ago they became irregular. This was a couple months after she started limping on her back leg. I took her to the vet and nothing abnormal came up on the X-ray. The doctor also said she didn’t notice any limping when they examined her, and she is perfectly healthy otherwise. But she does limp all the time, and her leg shakes when’s she’s trying to climb. Honestly I think it’s permanent at this point. I think she might’ve fell off of something a while back (you know how bearded dragons are). Anyway, I give her a prescribed laxative and soak her regularly. But sometimes she won’t poop for a whole month. She eats her greens, fruits, and vegetables sometimes, and eats crickets, wax worms, hornworms weekly, and the occasional dubia and supers. And I know someone is going to ask about the setup so she has a T5 10.0 reptisun on top of her enclosure, 34 inches long and she sits about 8-10 inches from it. And a heat bulb at about 100° (She can sit closer or further away if she’s uncomfortable). Shes in a 75 gallon tank with repticarpet. Does anyone have any advice? I hate for her to be uncomfortable and I’ve run out of options at this point. Thanks

The UVB is placed on top of the screen? If so what kind of screen do you have -- for it to be on top of the screen it MUST BE A WIDE HOLE type--- if its a fine mesh like a screen door its blocking 30% of the rays --- you then need to get it unobstructed or inside the tank and it should be 12- 15 inches directly over the basking decor piece - how old is that bulb? They need to be changed out every year I recommend a month prior to --- did the vet look for calcium levels around her back legs and head --- they will show up on X rays they would be white in color - your UVB is going to control the pooping besides diet-- please NO more wax worms they are real fatty and should ONLY be fed occasionally I would get her on a regular diet of dubias and cut the cricket amounts - dubias are a better feeder the super worms can be causing the pooping issues as well - cut them back to 2-3 times per week and only a couple the horn worms are a good hydrating worm - also the fruit should only be fed occasionally as well -- the repticarpet I would replace w/ some textured NON adhesive shelf liner its going to be easier to clean w/ vinegar/ water 50/50 and less hassle -- you can get it from Walmart or your local home improvement store - and I would quit w / the laxative - it is not uncommon for dragons not to poop for long periods of time like a month - what are the basking temps and how are you taking them ? NO stick ons you need a digital probe thermometer and they should be 95-100 --- this is what starts digestion and if those are incorrect pooping is going to take longer ---

 

[jessethbearded]

The UVB is placed on top of the screen? If so what kind of screen do you have -- for it to be on top of the screen it MUST BE A WIDE HOLE type--- if its a fine mesh like a screen door its blocking 30% of the rays --- you then need to get it unobstructed or inside the tank and it should be 12- 15 inches directly over the basking decor piece - how old is that bulb? They need to be changed out every year I recommend a month prior to --- did the vet look for calcium levels around her back legs and head --- they will show up on X rays they would be white in color - your UVB is going to control the pooping besides diet-- please NO more wax worms they are real fatty and should ONLY be fed occasionally I would get her on a regular diet of dubias and cut the cricket amounts - dubias are a better feeder the super worms can be causing the pooping issues as well - cut them back to 2-3 times per week and only a couple the horn worms are a good hydrating worm - also the fruit should only be fed occasionally as well -- the repticarpet I would replace w/ some textured NON adhesive shelf liner its going to be easier to clean w/ vinegar/ water 50/50 and less hassle -- you can get it from Walmart or your local home improvement store - and I would quit w / the laxative - it is not uncommon for dragons not to poop for long periods of time like a month - what are the basking temps and how are you taking them ? NO stick ons you need a digital probe thermometer and they should be 95-100 --- this is what starts digestion and if those are incorrect pooping is going to take longer ---

It is a fine mesh screen, it’s fine to be placed on top because it is a t5 bulb and placing it under the screen would be too much exposure. I had another bulb previously mounted underneath the screen and that didn’t help at all. I bought the bulb 10 months ago. Yes the vet looked and did bloodwork. She confirmed that my beardie is healthy and that my husbandry is good. She’s a picky eater and doesn’t care for Dubias. She’s a more of a worm girl. I give her crickets but half the time she’s too lazy to chase them around or she loses interest and won’t even eat them by hand. I don’t feed her bugs often, wax worms and horn worms a couple of times a week, she doesn’t get super worms often at all because they’re not easy to digest. She gets crickets a couple times a week when she wants to eat them. I give her fruit 1-2 times a week and offer her greens daily, and vegetables are 3-4 times a week. The repticarpet is fine, I only clean it once with vinegar and water then I replace it. Al though I will take your suggestion and look into replacing it. I appreciate the advice but I do trust a vet more than a stranger on the internet so I will continue giving her the laxative unless you have a more natural alternative. Her basking spot is 100 and she can move so it is hotter/cooler. I measure it with a temp gun. Thank you for the feedback and I am open to any suggestions

 

[Sadie]

It is a fine mesh screen, it’s fine to be placed on top because it is a t5 bulb and placing it under the screen would be too much exposure. I had another bulb previously mounted underneath the screen and that didn’t help at all. I bought the bulb 10 months ago. Yes the vet looked and did bloodwork. She confirmed that my beardie is healthy and that my husbandry is good. She’s a picky eater and doesn’t care for Dubias. She’s a more of a worm girl. I give her crickets but half the time she’s too lazy to chase them around or she loses interest and won’t even eat them by hand. I don’t feed her bugs often, wax worms and horn worms a couple of times a week, she doesn’t get super worms often at all because they’re not easy to digest. She gets crickets a couple times a week when she wants to eat them. I give her fruit 1-2 times a week and offer her greens daily, and vegetables are 3-4 times a week. The repticarpet is fine, I only clean it once with vinegar and water then I replace it. Al though I will take your suggestion and look into replacing it. I appreciate the advice but I do trust a vet more than a stranger on the internet so I will continue giving her the laxative unless you have a more natural alternative. Her basking spot is 100 and she can move so it is hotter/cooler. I measure it with a temp gun. Thank you for the feedback and I am open to any suggestions

All I can tell you is the screen is blocking 30% of the rays w/ the fine screen ----and if shes limping now and not getting the UVB she needs it will get worse ---- greens should be fed daily and for a laxative you can use canned pumpkin w/ 2 drops of olive oil and make sure shes hydrated --- as far as vets good ones are few and far between - did your vet go over the UVB w/ you? the basking temps and UVB are the two most important things in that tank and if they are incorrect they will have health issues ---all kinds of health issues --------- are you using a hammock in the tank? like a green mesh one? what kind of stools are you getting? besides going so long w/ out pooping-- are they runny and smell to high heavens like the kind to make you leave the room? there are many reasons a dragon will go along time w/ out pooping -- but usually it is the basking temps and UVB unless they have parasites - too many can make them not eat be lethargic and the poop stinks so bad it makes you leave the room and they can loose weight as well -- its a guessing game as far as cause --- so things need to be ruled out --- if all is good w/ temps and UVB correct distance and placement is key then time to move on to something else for reason - dragons have some parasites in the intestine its when they get too many that they cant control them and they become a problem -- the basking temps and UVB helps them control the amount they have -- thats all I can tell you -- good luck and I hope you get it figured out