Beardie with distended stomach seems painful

[BeardieLovet]

Hi! I’m new to the world of beardies. I took in a dragon that was no longer wanted a bit ago. I recently put him in a larger enclosure: He was moved from a 3’x18” to a 4’x2’x2’ 3 days ago. I’m still working out the lighting in the new enclosure. I just set up a reptisun T8 but right now I have it sitting on top of the cage. The UVB light from before was very inadequate. I also have 2 heat lamps going. One is on top of the cage, that is a 100w plus I now have a 150w white bulb hanging in the cage. This has brought the basking area up to about 110 for him with the cool side at about 85. My problem is, he seemed fine this morning but this afternoon his belly was distended and it seemed painful to him. He would not lay flat, and was quite ridged when I tried to pick him up. I fed him crickets yesterday and he did go to the bathroom today but it was very small. That is a little unusual for him. I decided to give him a bath to see if he needed a bit more help going. He seemed to strain a bit and nothing really came out. Now when I look at him he seems a bit more relaxed, lying a little flatter on the warm side of the cage. His color looks good. Breathing is normal and he is not smacking his mouth. Wondering if, he was just working on digesting, is the cage warm enough or does this require a vet visit?

 

[Silver dragons]

Hello, I would watch him very closely and if anything more happens I would take him to the vet.

 

[BeardieLovet]

Thank you I definitely will. He’s been moving around a bit more and he keeps trying to dig. Not sure that has anything to do with it‍

 

[BeardieLovet]

Thank you I definitely will. He’s been moving around a bit more and he keeps trying to dig. Not sure that has anything to do with it‍

 

[HoomanSlave]

Are sure you have a boy? I'm no expert, but that sounds a bit like egg-binding.

 

[BeardieLovet]

Are sure you have a boy? I'm no expert, but that sounds a bit like egg-binding.

At what age can this happen? I was told Mango is around 4. What do I need to do to help or is this a vet visit??

 

[HoomanSlave]

First of all, check the sex of your beardie. If it's a boy, then I would suggest visiting the vet to see what's wrong. If it's a girl, I'm guessing the problem is that there isn't anywhere for her to lay eggs. https://beardeddragonsworld.com/bearded-dragon-egg-bound/
Egg binding can happen when the beardie is about 18 months. To sex your beardie, there are lots of videos and articles you can check out. Here is a helpful one: https://reptile.guide/how-to-sex-your-bearded-dragon/
If it's a girl and she still doesn't pass the eggs after caring for her, you'll probably need to take her to the vet because the eggs may be too large to pass.