• Hello guest! Are you a Bearded Dragon enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Beardie enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your dragons and enclosures and have a great time with other Bearded Dragon enthusiasts. Sign up today!

Won't poop or drink

momart

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
Hi, I've had my baby Ernie for a little over a month now. I bought him off of a coworker who couldn't take care of him anymore.
However, he hasn't pooped in almost two weeks. I'm so worried. He refuses to drink too, no matter what I try (eyedropper, splashing or putting food in his water dish, misting) so I've been giving him warm baths every day but he still hasn't pooped. I even tried massaging him like a few articles said to do. Still nothing. Im wondering what caused this. Maybe it was his diet? I fed him mostly mealworms. He hasn't eaten anything weird and I didn't give him substrate. Maybe his tank is too cold? The heat lamp I got from his previous owner had two house bulbs so I replaced them with real heat bulbs, but the heat bulbs broke so I had to buy a new lamp. I'm using a single lamp while I wait for my new heat bulbs to come in. Will he be better once I get him properly warm? I tried feeding him banana, since it's soft and squishy, but now he won't even eat. I'm so worried.
I attached photos of him, the enclosure, and the lighting. SOS
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20201201_110839024.jpg
    IMG_20201201_110839024.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 16
  • IMG_20201201_110906559.jpg
    IMG_20201201_110906559.jpg
    834.8 KB · Views: 17
  • IMG_20201201_110829615.jpg
    IMG_20201201_110829615.jpg
    2.4 MB · Views: 16
  • IMG_20201129_163249439.jpg
    IMG_20201129_163249439.jpg
    2.3 MB · Views: 20

Impawsible_Squad

Juvenile Dragon
Messages
109
How big is the tank?? From the looks of it it looks like a TINY box?? That is NOT okay at all. Upgrade ASAP. Beardies need uvb and correct temps. You need a bigger tank and a reptisun T5 10.0 uvb ASAP or your dragon WILL die. It is probably REALLY stressed. Adults need at least a 50 gallon. What is the temp? Measure it with a zoo med thermo (the yellow one) or a temp gun. What do u try feeding him? If you can't give him what he needs give him away to someone reliable. There is no shame in that. If the tank is bigger than what I think it is, I apologize. It just looks really small in the first photo.
 

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,692
Hi, I've had my baby Ernie for a little over a month now. I bought him off of a coworker who couldn't take care of him anymore.
However, he hasn't pooped in almost two weeks. I'm so worried. He refuses to drink too, no matter what I try (eyedropper, splashing or putting food in his water dish, misting) so I've been giving him warm baths every day but he still hasn't pooped. I even tried massaging him like a few articles said to do. Still nothing. Im wondering what caused this. Maybe it was his diet? I fed him mostly mealworms. He hasn't eaten anything weird and I didn't give him substrate. Maybe his tank is too cold? The heat lamp I got from his previous owner had two house bulbs so I replaced them with real heat bulbs, but the heat bulbs broke so I had to buy a new lamp. I'm using a single lamp while I wait for my new heat bulbs to come in. Will he be better once I get him properly warm? I tried feeding him banana, since it's soft and squishy, but now he won't even eat. I'm so worried.
I attached photos of him, the enclosure, and the lighting. SOS
Basking temps need to be 95-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer-- uvb 24" fixture w/ a reflector-- Reptisun 10 T 5 bulb if your tank is 40+ gallon-- mealworms are not a staple feeder please feed greens like collards turnip mustard or kale everyday and a staple insect like crickets dubias silk worms I can post websites for all of these but you must have correct basking temps and lighting for him to digest his food -- you need a bright white basking bulb no colored
 

momart

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
How big is the tank?? From the looks of it it looks like a TINY box?? That is NOT okay at all. Upgrade ASAP. Beardies need uvb and correct temps. You need a bigger tank and a reptisun T5 10.0 uvb ASAP or your dragon WILL die. It is probably REALLY stressed. Adults need at least a 50 gallon. What is the temp? Measure it with a zoo med thermo (the yellow one) or a temp gun. What do u try feeding him? If you can't give him what he needs give him away to someone reliable. There is no shame in that. If the tank is bigger than what I think it is, I apologize. It just looks really small in the first photo.
It's very, very big actually here's a photo... Getting it up the stairs was quite a pain even with assistance.
As far as diet, I usually fed him lettuce and mealworms with treats of banana and grapes. Since he wasn't pooping, I stopped with the worms and have been trying to feed him bananas. They're his second favorite food only to mealworms which is why I'm concerned he won't eat. He licks the bananas but wont consume them.
Again, my new bulbs are on the way. They happen to be Resptisun. The thermometer recommendation is good though and I'll look into buying a temp gun! Thanks for the help even if it was rather aggressive :-P
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20201201_140830972.jpg
    IMG_20201201_140830972.jpg
    4.1 MB · Views: 13
  • IMG_20201201_140821415.jpg
    IMG_20201201_140821415.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 12
  • IMG_20201201_140817993.jpg
    IMG_20201201_140817993.jpg
    2.2 MB · Views: 12

momart

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
Basking temps need to be 95-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer-- uvb 24" fixture w/ a reflector-- Reptisun 10 T 5 bulb if your tank is 40+ gallon-- mealworms are not a staple feeder please feed greens like collards turnip mustard or kale everyday and a staple insect like crickets dubias silk worms I can post websites for all of these but you must have correct basking temps and lighting for him to digest his food -- you need a bright white basking bulb no colored
This is so helpful thank you so much. I will follow your advice immediately
 

Broly

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
217
It's very, very big actually here's a photo... Getting it up the stairs was quite a pain even with assistance.
As far as diet, I usually fed him lettuce and mealworms with treats of banana and grapes. Since he wasn't pooping, I stopped with the worms and have been trying to feed him bananas. They're his second favorite food only to mealworms which is why I'm concerned he won't eat. He licks the bananas but wont consume them.
Again, my new bulbs are on the way. They happen to be Resptisun. The thermometer recommendation is good though and I'll look into buying a temp gun! Thanks for the help even if it was rather aggressive :-P
Hey!
From my own research, it’s not really recommended to feed lettuce or banana often - if at all, neither are necessarily good for the dragon. There are dietary guides online, try offering a different range of foods from recommended lists. He’s probably not pooping and eating if there’s no UVB available or the correct temp from his UVA bulb. Getting the lighting and temps right is more important right now than what food to offer. It’s kinda essential that you have digital thermometers set up so you can get the temps just right. The tank seems quite high, but it’s hard to tell dimensions from images. Could you measure the dimensions? If it’s too high you may find the basking spot isn’t hot enough.. you could use a slightly higher branch or raise what he has there to allow him to get closer to the bulb (as long as it’s not so high that is becomes dangerous). But ideally you need to be able to measure the temp ASAP and monitor this regularly, temperatures can fluctuate. Glass vivs aren’t as good as retaining the heat either. Please keep us posted and offer a little bit more info/detail x
 

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,692
This is so helpful thank you so much. I will follow your advice immediately
Here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder -- please no more lettuce or bananas - lettuce has no nutritional value and will give runny stools the only thing its good for is hydration please look at the website and it can guide you http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Please let me know what you get for the UVB NO coils and if you need help please ask I will be happy to help you -- when you get the fixture let me know what you get so I can help you place it -- certain bulbs have different placement and distance -- defiantly get the 24" fixture from the size of your tank -- the T 5 may be able to go on top of the screen your screen looks wide enough the UVB can sit on top but it MUST BE A T 5-- T 8's are not strong enough to go thru the screen and w / the size of your tank it need to be a T 5 ---
here are some websites for insects / worms
www.dubiaroaches.com great place for roaches they have nice super worms and horn worms -- the horn worms are a hydrating worm and grow VERY FAST -- so only order small amounts --
www.reptilianarts.com great place for silk worms -- they have cupped only and they come w/ food / you need to clean containers out daily --
www.mulberryfarms.com spendy and the only place to get butter worms -- both the butter worms and super worms can be fed every other day they are a good treat worm -- your dragon is how old?
www.coastalsilkworms.com they have east coast and west coast for ordering -- they too come w / food
If you need help w/ any of this please ask -- but you must get your UVB and basking temps in order so he can digest his food --- its not uncommon for them to not to poop for long periods of time -- babies should poop every day or every other but your dragon looks older --
 

Bostonfinest

Juvenile Dragon
Messages
212
How old is your Beardie if he is an adult it is possible that he is going through brumation which is normal during the winter time. In the mean time you definitely need a tube UVB and I recommend a T5 fixture and a T5 tube light I highly recommend the Arcadia 12%. I would also take him to a reptile vet for a checkup and a fecal exam. As far as your beardie drinking water they don’t drink that much water but what you can do is soak him in some warm water if he is thirsty you will see him drink, but don’t put a water dish in the enclosure because that can raise the humidity. If he is an adult 110 might be a lil to hot adults like the temperature to be be 105 at the most baby bearded dragons have to be 110-115.
 
Top