First time owner...my bearded dragon isn't pooping!!!

[Charlie'sKeeper]

First time owner...my bearded dragon isn't pooping!!! Here is a little history on Charlie. I adopted him from craigslist the week before Christmas just passed. He's been great and I think we have done everything we can to make him happy. He came to us full grown, crammed in a 20 gallon tank with no hide and the owners said he had never been fed fresh fruit/vegetables or live bugs! They always fed him packaged food. Anyway,I have never had a bearded dragon before but from the research I had done before deciding to adopt, I thought this was pretty weird but he was huge and looked very healthy! Since we have had him, my husband built him a HUGE custom home, we feed him fresh fruits and vegetables, a nice variety of live bugs and interact with him daily. The problem is...Charlie has ONLY POOPED 3 TIMES SINCE WE GOT HIM! I have read about brumation and we have only had him since late in December so I thought this might be what is wrong with him but since I have only known him in winter months I have nothing to compare his behavior to. He does spend a lot of time on the cooler side of his home and doesn't have the appetite that I was expecting from what I had read about Beardies. He does eat daily though and doesn't poop daily like our leopard gecko does. Can anyone ease my mind? I've been doing the warm bathes but I think I am just annoying him now with it. It hasn't helped so far. Is this normal?! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Canicke]

He does look well fed. I like the Viv also – the burlap is a great idea! What have you got him eating now? Or maybe I should ask – what is he eating now? Can you provide some info on the set up? What kind of lights do you have? How warm is the basking area? How long are the lights on during the day? Not all beardies poop every day. Brumation takes many forms. Cut back on the baths a little bit. There are some other options but please answer the above questions first. Charlie is a great looking dragon. Welcome

 

[Charlie'sKeeper]

Thanks for the welcome and reply! He eats bits of whatever I have on hand in the fridge. Kale, spinach, bell pepper, carrots, collards, apples, blueberries, strawberries and he really likes grapes. As far as protein I feed him superworms, crickets, roaches or mealworms. An associate at Petco told me he may need more heat so I got a 150 watt bulb which keeps his basking spot around 105 give or take. It was at 95 before I changed the bulb. He rarely ever sits there though unless I put him there. He prefers the other side in the corner which stays at 75 degrees. I have the largest reptisun I could buy at Petco for UV.

 

[Charlie'sKeeper]

My son turns his lights on before he leaves for school at about 7am and we turn them out when he goes to bed around 8pm. I really appreciate your input and time. I'd hate to have to take him in to the vet if I'm just being paranoid. I just keep reading terrible stories about them getting impacted or food "rotting" inside their tummies... fingers crossed we make it through this first winter with him so I can get to know him better.

 

[Mushuandcricket]

Welcome! Charlie is a handsome boy. I love all the room you gave him. What is the temperature were he likes to stay most of the time?

 

[Charlie'sKeeper]

He usually stays on the 74 degree side curled up against the wall. He only basks when I put him there. Even after he eats he either sits on the ramp on the cool side or in the hide in the cool side.

 

[Canicke]

74 is a bit cool for proper digestion. ya know - he wont starve if you dont feed him for a few days. If i may - decrease his light time for a bit. Maybe 7 or 730 to 6 ish. leave the temps the same. i'd be willing to bet he sleeps through - a bit of brumation. (he's choosing the cool side, choosing his hide, not devouring food) my boy - who just came out of brumation a couple of weeks ago, has yet to poop. and didnt poop at all while brumating (since mid oct) It's not a good idea for them to have a full belly while in brumation, but short of an enema - - -. Try the above for a few days - just let him be, dont mess with him (i DO know how hard that is !!!) and see what happens. You can provide some lubricant by injecting a worm with some oil - gotta tell ya - not as easy as it sounds - but do-able. You can also try rubbing his belly to stimulate gut movement. GENTLY please - from ribcage to tail. They're pretty tough little guys. Keep us updated - ok ?

 

[Caitjinoy]

For now I would feed him a few drops of olive oil and gently massage his tummy every day until he passes what is in his gut. Usually if they are constipated you can feel their intestines and they are pretty hard. My female used to only poop every week or 2 and that was normal for her.

It does sound like brumation but my beardies never really Brumated so I don't know what to do in that situation. Some say not to feed them at all at this time but I've heard some people say keep greens in there still if they get hungry...

What I can tell you is get rid of the spinach totally (if you're bent on giving him spinach really limit how much you give him) and don't feed kale more than maybe once or twice a week, use those collard greens as his staple and if you want add mustard greens and/or watercress.

Be careful with mealworms, their hard outer shell is very difficult to digest. In large amounts they can even cause impaction.

 

[jarich]

That massaging of the belly thing is one of those old wives tales unfortunately. Like mammalian intestines, the intestinal tract is not a straight line from the front to the back, but wraps back and forth in the gut area. So any massaging down would be moving it in the wrong direction. The other issue is that the membrane of the intestine is very thin and sensitive, so if there is any obstruction or any hard or pointy material in the gut, you run the risk of puncturing or abrading the intestinal lining. The best thing to do is put them in a bath where their feet can just touch the bottom. Itll force them to swim for awhile and get those back legs moving. This likewise will contract the muscles around the gut and push the food forward. Obviously do not leave them unattended in this deep of water as they will tire out. Its best to do this after having fed them some olive oil or other such thing in a nice fatty and watery hornworm or the like.

Recovering from dehydration takes a long time, months and months. So it may be that your lizard is still recovering from low level dehydration. It may be quite some time before it goes regularly.

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

http://pogopogona.com/content/uploads/bearded-dragon-loss-of-appetite-flow-chart.png

 

[Mushuandcricket]

http://pogopogona.com/content/uploads/bearded-dragon-loss-of-appetite-flow-chart.png

That is a great check list chart.

 

[EmilyNC22]

That massaging of the belly thing is one of those old wives tales unfortunately. Like mammalian intestines, the intestinal tract is not a straight line from the front to the back, but wraps back and forth in the gut area. So any massaging down would be moving it in the wrong direction. The other issue is that the membrane of the intestine is very thin and sensitive, so if there is any obstruction or any hard or pointy material in the gut, you run the risk of puncturing or abrading the intestinal lining. The best thing to do is put them in a bath where their feet can just touch the bottom. Itll force them to swim for awhile and get those back legs moving. This likewise will contract the muscles around the gut and push the food forward. Obviously do not leave them unattended in this deep of water as they will tire out. Its best to do this after having fed them some olive oil or other such thing in a nice fatty and watery hornworm or the like.

Recovering from dehydration takes a long time, months and months. So it may be that your lizard is still recovering from low level dehydration. It may be quite some time before it goes regularly.

Thank you! I put my Beardie in the bath and got him moving around for a while and it happened! He had a bowel movement! I was so worried! I never thought I would be so excited about poop in my life. I appreciate your candid response about the belly massage. Many people suggested that. We were getting into week 4 and I was in panic mode. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

 

[Dragnmum]

I was having a similar issue getting my baby to bask in the sun. So I thought that maybe he just prefers the perch that is in the cooler side. So I switched the light positions so the cool side is now the warm side and he still goes to the same perch, and now he's getting plenty of warmth.


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[Twinkie13]

I put my guy in the water daily....just for like 5 mins and he poops everytime

Is this not good?

Seems like he waits to poop in the water

 

[Dragnmum]

I put my guy in the water daily....just for like 5 mins and he poops everytime

Is this not good?

Seems like he waits to poop in the water

That's GREAT!! I wish mine would. Lol. I gotta clean his viv every day!


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