Beardie constipated AGAIN

[BeardieBaby]

well, it looks as if the large crickets just might be too big for my beardie because he is constipated AGAIN for the second time in a week since I have been feeding him the larger ones. I know the basics of what to do if you have a constipated beardie, but nothing seems to be working right now. The other day I gave him a warm water bath and he pooped in almost 2 seconds of massaging his belly but today I tried it multiple times and it did not work. So, I gave him some prune baby food and olive oil and I am going to see if by this afternoon he goes to the bathroom, and if not, I am going to give him another soak. If that does not work, what the heck do I do?? I know it is very dangerous to have impacted beardies, so I want to get this fixed ASAP. I feel the lump right on his vent, so it seems to just be stuck there. And I have been told not to feed anymore crickets to a beardie who is impacted because it will make it worse, but I also don't want to starve the poor little guy. I did not feed him this morning, but I am definitely going out after work and getting new smaller crickets because this is getting serious. Any suggestions on how I can help my beardie would be GREATLY appreciated!!!! Thanks!

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I really think that you may be jumping the gun on panicking about the fact he hasn't pooped. You said that Friday he did. It can take a few days sometimes or more for food to digest and exit via the backdoor. It does not mean that your dragon is impacted,BeardieBaby. I know that you had an issue when he was younger but the truth is that impaction is not as common as most people worry it is or believe it is. There are also plenty of things that can influence his digestion and slow it down. Perhaps he is a little stressed.
What I would recommend is that you give him a 20-30 minute soak and keep the water at 105 degrees the whole time. If that doesn't stimulate him the first time then I would repeat the soak tomorrow and if he is still holding out then I would do it perhaps twice the next day once in the morning and then again that afternoon.
Just as an FYI I think that I have mentioned before that Mungi has gone over 11 days without pooping...it's a little worrisome but nothing to panic about.
I would also not rush and start feeding him a bunch of prune baby food or oil as I don't really think it is a wise thing to be forcing bowel movements on a creature when in all likelihood he will go on his own when he is ready.
That is my 4 cents worth...hope it helps.

On a side note I have to say that until I became a part of the bearded dragon online scene I truly never knew that there were so many poop conscience folks...lol...never woulda guessed it and really wish that folks wouldn't panic when their dragons don't leave a daily "deposit" because it is not the best of things to gauge dragon health by
Enjoy!

 

[Pat B]

Ya just gotta love the poop!!
@BeardieBaby....I agree with Mungi. All of us 'sort of new beardie owners' panic when our babies don't do their poop business everyday like humans. Let nature take it's course and I am sure you will see results. Keep us posted.

 

[BeardieBaby]

@Mungi, trust me, I know, I worry WAY to much about my little baby! Imagine if I ever became a real mother to a baby! EEK! LOL! I have just heard so many stories that if a beardie gets impacted it can kill them so whenever my baby doesn't go I am afraid he's impacted and going to get really sick...I was especially worried because I was convinced the crickets I gave him did it so I was even more worried that it was my fault! I did unfortunately have to take him to the vet again today because he hasn't ate anything in 4 days so I took him in right away and the vet put him back on Flagyl because she said the parasites may have come back even though she did not do a fecal but the good news is I gave him some of the medicine when I got home and within a half hour he did a HUGE poop hehe the only thing is it had a yellow round thing in it which maybe could have been blocking him up and now he has passed it so hopefully he will start to eat soon! Rather than wait to see if he would eventually eat I decided to bring him into the vet ASAP so that he doesn't get as bad as he did last time where he almost died. I'd rather be safe than sorry! I wish I could figure out a way to stop worrying so much.
@Pat-I am not even really a new beardie owner anymore..I mean I am and I'm not...I have had my beardie for 6 months but I still find myself worrying just as much as when I first got him! How do you calm yourself down when you start to worry about your beardie?

 

[Pat B]

Soo glad your beardie pooped!! I have had Spike since the first of April so we are about the same. I have learned thru this forum that beardies
pretty much take care of themselves...provided...we as owners provide the proper environment. That is our responsibility. If you worry then you worry. That is who you are. When Spike started his brumation....I was worried...but...he knew what he needed to do and he did it. This forum will always take care of your worries and concerns...you know that. You will be OK and never stop asking!! Once again....good to hear the baby pooped....

 

[BeardieBaby]

I have a huge problem....Baby has not ate anything in 5 days and I brought him to the vet yesterday and she put him on Flagyl which was the medicine that helped him before when he was really sick but it hasn't seemed to help yet...I don't understand why this is happening again!! The vet told me I could wait until after the holidays to bring him in again if he isn't eating, but can he wait that long?? Also, she said something along the lines of if they have parasites when they are babies, sometimes they come back when their older, but I wish there was a way I could control it somehow. I am also giving him that Asphillas(wrong spelling) that stuff you give them for their tummies the probiotics to help so he doesn't get an upset stomach on the medication. Does anyone have any suggestions on what could be wrong or when you think I should take him back to the vet?

 

[Germ]

Personally, I would have asked for fecal to be done if you are that concerned. I am not a fan of just in case medicating, because they often do more harm than good, or at the very least, may make the critter uncomfortable unnecessarily. I'd keep a eye on his weight before I got overly concerned.

 

[BeardieBaby]

I honestly do not like the fact of just in case medicating either, but I did not know what other options I had. Baby still seems pretty alert for not eating for as long as he has, but I think if he is not eating by Sunday I will call and make another trip to the vet on Monday. Want to make him feel better before it gets to the point where he did last time. It was heartbreaking. He hasn't pooped either so I can't bring in a sample, but maybe they can get a sample from him if I need to bring him back next time. Wish I knew what was going on with the poor little guy

 

[Pat B]

Well....hmmmm....what to do?....what to do? If it were me I would do nothing. If baby is hungry then he will eat and he just gave an almighty poop so he probably doesn't have anything in him to poop. I wouldn't give any medicine and see what he does. I wouldn't pick him up and play with him but would continue the warm bath just for hydration every couple of days and weigh him at the same time. Make sure he has greens and if when he gets hungry he will eat. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[BeardieBaby]

Baby is doing much better thankfully! He won't eat in the afternoon anymore but he is starting to eat a good amount in the morning...YAY!!!! I was so worried about the little guy. I am so thankful I have all your support here on this forum, even though I know I can be a pain in the butt with all my worrying LOL....it's so helpful to know when I need the support I have all of you wonderful animal lovers to help me!

 

[Pat B]

Good to hear baby is doing better. As baby grows he will eat less and get lazy
and you are never a pain in the butt.... If you don't ask then how will you know??

 

[Jaker89]

Not tryin to thread jack but how long is the longest you would let a beardie go before you start to worry? 2 weeks tops?

 

[BeardieBaby]

@Jake...I can't give you much advice on that because I worry about my beardie ALL the time especially when it goes a few days without him pooping.....beardies don't HAVE to poop everyday but they should be on a regular basis if they are eating, and my beardie has been constantly getting constipated so I am constantly worrying because I have heard impaction can be so dangerous for them, but I also hear impaction is not as common as you would think so its a tough call.....I'd rather be safe than sorry and if you are worried about your beardie I would either call the vet and ask for their opinion or make an appointment to bring him in. I know you can help beardies with impaction at home especially with warm water baths so at one point my beardie went awhile without going and my vet didn't seem too concerned she just said to keep giving him warm water soaks and eventually he did go but I feel so bad for him because I can feel the lump near his vent and I have been trying everything to get him to go poop but it's not working. As Mungi said, they will go when they are ready so I need to try not to worry so much, but that is easier said than done! (at least for me!)