Long Time Between Bowel Movements - Very concerned

[fergie]

Hi all, hope everyone is well. I know that this is more of a vet related question, however, it's now been 8-days since our beardie has had a poop and we have now become very worried, the vet office is closed tomorrow and the others we can't get her in until Wednesday, but some overview:
cleo is a 3 year old female, eats 3 week old crickets dusted of course (6-7 at a time), eats 7-8 super worms (gut loaded and dusted), green beans (without the seed), leaf lettuce, green peppers and kale. We feed her outside her viv so impaction is not a concern, she gets a bath every 5 days and misted every day, we had her last poop checked by a vet and there was nothing unusual at all.
I've been giving her .02ml of light mineral oil once a day, we've been lightly feeding her, massaging her tummy front to back, she is now lethargic but still loves her petting. Has anyone ever been here and are there any suggestions?
Thanks all!

 

[beardie_love]

Hey there,

What are your temps like? If temps aren't right, she won't be able to digest food properly, leading to her not passing bowel movements. I have a 3 year old that didn't poop for a week and a half to 2 weeks, a few months ago. I never knew what caused it, but it passed with daily baths, massages, and patience. Just keep up with the warm baths, massages, and hopefully she'll leave you a nice present.

Hope everything goes well for Cleo.

 

[ladyknite]

your diet suggests she may be having some issues regarding metabolizing.

green beans (without the seed), leaf lettuce, green peppers and kale.

You've got a ratio of 5.9:5 on a ca flow chart with somewhat high oxalates. This binds calcium processes within the body and can inhibit or cause issues with bowel function.

You have a couple of choices here.

First, you need to change your diet up some. The leaf lettuce, green peppers and kale should be removed for now and you should add some veggies in green from this list. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

The first option is to obtain a CA Blood culture from the vet to check calcium and vitamin B levels. If they're off, he can correct them with a shot.

The second option is to work with your diet, and your supplementation for a couple of weeks. You should begin to see a difference.

The mineral oil will help. You might also try some canned pumpkin.

 

[fergie]

I wanted to apologize for placing this in the wrong part of the forum, I noticed there is a section for health questions.

An update - she did leave us a very small surprise, however, not only is is significantly smaller, there is a lot of white, little brown and a large red spot. I will place that in a container and keep it refrigerated so it can be taken to the vets tomorrow.

Shame that we all try to to the very best but even that isn't enough.

 

[renich]

Sorry to hear you are having issues with your dragon. Ladyknight made some really good points regarding your diet. Kale especially should be offered infrequently. I tend to stay away from it altogether.