Smelly Dragon

[Lise]

My Bearded Dragon has recently (as of today) developed a smell resembling and old folks home (not kidding). He never used to smell, and it is not the cage or the interior. It is him. I have no idea what started it...any thoughts?

 

[SouthernDissolution]

Maybe he's gettin old? Maybe its time to get him an oxygen tank and set him up with 3L/min via nasal canula.... Been feeding him old people? LOL

But seriously....

I don't even know... How is he pooping? I noticed when Dillinger was stopped up he smelled like poop, no joke.

 

[Lise]

Heh, no I haven't and he isn't even a year old (if he is, he is barely a year old). The poo I cleaned up today was an all white tube. That is the only thing that I think is strange because usually it only has a little bit of white, with the rest being brown...I don't know if that helps

 

[SouthernDissolution]

He MIGHT be a little stopped up if he's not putting out any actual poop. This is just a guess...I'm a people EMT not a dragons LOL....What are you feeding him and how often do you bathe him?

 

[Lise]

I feed him crickets, lettuce and mealworms with calcium powder (on the lettuce)

He has slowed his eating habits...

 

[SouthernDissolution]

Lettuce is a no no. There is no nutritional value to it for him whatsoever. Feed him Kale, Dandelion greens (and flower petals)...Right now my little guy is piggin out on collard greens. As far as your live food, I would stick to just crickets, and superworms...Mealworms have a hard shell and can be hard for him to digest. Make sure you dust his crickets also (lightly). I generally try to dust my little guys food maybe 5 out of 7 days a week. Make sure he is eating his greens though, like I was told on here when my Dillinger had trouble pooping, they get all of their water through their food. In order for him to properly digest, he needs to be properly hydrated. Also, whats your temps looking like? Are you keeping fresh water available? And how often do you bathe/soak him?

 

[SouthernDissolution]

Another question, What kind of substrate are you using?

 

[Lise]

The mealworms are the small ones, not the ones with the hard shells. I am switching his bedding to the alfalfa as soon as I can and thanks for the tip about Kale. If I could find any Dandelions, I would give him some.

 

[Stephanie Stewart]

How often do you bathe a beardie? I bathe mine about twice a week or more.

 

[Lise]

I just recently started bathing him, but I have only done it once this week

 

[SouthernDissolution]

Ok. I tend to bathe mine every day, or atleast try to every day. As far as your substrate, I would switch to something like paper towels, or ceramic tile, even Repticarpet. I lay tile on the side, so I hooked Dillinger up with a sick tile job LOL