Impaction tips and tricks

[Eavlynn]

Hey everyone. Lady, the latest rescue is presenting with signs of impaction. She has a hard lump in her lower abdomen, and isn't pooping. Being in poor health, and having been fed mealworms prior to arrival has led me to the dreaded conclusion of impaction. I've moved her vet appt up to this coming Saturday. In the mean time we're doing warm soaks, belly massages, and I'm picking up prune juice tonight. Impaction in snakes, no big deal. Impaction in lizards isn't an obstacle I've had to face before now, so any tips from those who've experienced this before would be lovely!

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[Zaiden07]

The warm soaks, massages and prune food will definitely help. You can also look into mineral oil, which is a laxative. A drop or two of those depending on the size of your dragon. Another thing that has helped me as well ( I deal with a lot of impacted beardies) is getting them to swim a bit when they are in the tub. Them swimming helps get the bowels moving a bit easier on their own without us pushing them out. Hoping for the best!

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[Eavlynn]

Thanks Zaiden! I'll see how she does with prune juice. She can't swim since she doesn't have much use of her back legs. I assumed it was the MBD, now I wonder if some of it may be due to the impaction. We won't know until she passes the blockage.

Thank you for your help. I hope this is the only impaction I ever have to deal with! She's got my stress level through the roof with all of the issues she's dealing with. I'll keep you posted!

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[Zaiden07]

I recommend prune baby food over juice. There might be more sugars in there that wouldn't be good for the beardie. I'm so sorry about the mbd, how much calcium is she getting? You can never give her too much calcium so pump her up with it! I have a beardie who had a dead arm due to mbd and she recovered completely, so there is hope! Impactions are stressful, they are a lot of work and don't always end well. Give her lots of warm warm baths and massages and she will hopefully poop.

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[Hdrydr31]

Thanks Zaiden! I'll see how she does with prune juice. She can't swim since she doesn't have much use of her back legs. I assumed it was the MBD, now I wonder if some of it may be due to the impaction. We won't know until she passes the blockage.

Thank you for your help. I hope this is the only impaction I ever have to deal with! She's got my stress level through the roof with all of the issues she's dealing with. I'll keep you posted!

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What I found that worked for my Izzy was 100% pure pumpkin you can do the canned just make sure it's pure 100% no added anything. I also added a drop or two of veg oil. and make sure she is good and hydrated so slurries or however you can get it in her coconut water in the slurry works good. I also increase the temp of the bath water a bit warmer than normally. Gentle belly rubs and overall movements as she's able while in the tub knowing you have to help her with her decreased mobility.
wouldn't it be great if some of her mobility issue is because of the impaction. fingers crossed!!

 

[RaeAnn]

For Spyra I take a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and put it on the back of one of her roaches. It has not failed me yet. It's usually a matter of a few hours afterwards and she gives me a big pile of poop to clean up


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[Eavlynn]

On my list to pick up today:
Prune baby food
100% pumpkin puree

And I'll put a drop of organic olive oil in with the food given. She's quite small, so I think one drop should suffice.

Zaiden: she gets calcium in her slurries, as well as liquid calcium via an eye dropper, which I alternate with water.

I don't think I could put into words how thrilled I would be if her motor control issues were impaction related. Due to her spinal deformity, I feel as though we may not be so lucky. I'm hoping to get a better idea on her skeletal issues this Saturday. I'll be requesting x-rays for sure. If possible, I'll post them in her progression thread to share with everyone.

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[Eavlynn]

We have progress! About 3/4 of an inch to be exact. She still has a sizable lump in her belly, but I can feel that it's moved down a bit. I couldn't be happier! The warm soaks, massages and prune baby food shall continue. I pulled a fiber out of her back end, and it looked very familiar. She was on substrate that resembled or was ecoearth, and I'm thinking she ingested some of it when she ate. If she keeps up the good work, our little Lady will be impaction free in no time and we can focus on her wound and MBD

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[RaeAnn]

Such good news. I bet she already feels much better to have at least some pressure off her stomach.


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