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Help, I think there is something seriously wrong with my beardie... Yesterday I saw her trying to go to the washroom, got the urates out but could not poop.. now today I find that it's rectum is red/bluish and swollen.... and kinda mushy urates is comming out.... plz help!
Furious Herps.com

She has a loss of apatite... And I just recently (yesterday) moved her onto bran....

How long have you had her? Have you tried a lukewarm soak & gentle belly rub? What are you feeding her & what are your temps?

I have had her for a little under a year now, has been healthy and a very active eater (would run across the tank to get salad)... I bought her when she was young, I don't have an exact for my temps but I havn't had a problem thus far... I feed her crix (gutloaded with calcium enriched food).. and she has a reptisun 8.0.. This is the very first time she has not eaten, or I have seen her not able to go poo... I'm also worried that she ate the decorative moss on her climbing gym thing... but she has had that ever since I got her....

Hun, I'd get her to a vet ASAP. They can eat anything @ anytime, so it's quite possible she's eaten the fake greens. Keep us posted!

Vet's not open on sundays ... what can I do untill then, should I get a picture?

Might not hurt. Have you soaked her & given belly rub gently?

Haven't tried soaking, but I did try the belly rub... for the belly rub, do I ruber her belly towards the base of her tail? (of course gently) And is it normal to feel some bumbs along her stomach?

Have you noticed a loss of appetite just recently? Has she been around any males in the last month or so? Or even other females? Its possible she may have eggs. Has she been pooping alot the past few days? Sometimes toward the end of their pregnancy they poo alot, stop feeding and display a pushing need. This may include showing some of the inside vent area. Although it does NOT stay exposed long. Try giving her a bath. If she starts pushing, with nothing coming out I bet she has to lay eggs. She is old enough for infertile eggs even if she hasnt been around a male. From what you are saying it kind of sounds like it. Just incase it is a blockage, beginning of a prolapse, you should change her substrate to paper towels to make a more sterile environment..... Keep us updated....

I agree with LinsayMarie, she could possibly be egg-bound.

...I meant to type LindsayMarie. Sorry!

Hmm.. how could I tell if she was pregnant... any ways of visually seeing?

You cant always see when a female is gravid, especially if the eggs are infertile. The best way is a xray and even then they cant always detect them. I usually can tell by my dragons behaviors whether or not they have eggs (infertile or fertile).

You should still be worried. Dragons die from being egg bound as well! When your dragon isnt itself, it is necessary to worry in my opinion. Try a bath for her, make an appointment asap and if she gets real bad you should bring her to an emergency clinic. Also you might want to go to wal mart or something and buy a 40 pound bag of regular soil (1.99) and put it in a rubbermaid bin for her, see if she does anything (gis a hole, lays). It couldnt hurt. But dont do it if she looks like she is prolapsing int he vent area.

Lindsay

Only if she looks like she's got marbles in her belly. Is your vet open tomorrow? It's Memorial Day, remember. In the meantime, SOAK! Keep us posted, & good luck!

Well, she had a bath.. not a long one but a good one... she looked like she was trying to adjust something and the try to go poop... Her vent area was open while she swam, and the white stuff came out again (looks like bird poop)... Then she whent for a few laps around the tub, then whent and rested on the shallow area (I have the perfect dragon tub, It has a deap and a shallow end)... well is this a gin of blockage or a sign of eggs? (also, what are signs of her prolapsing in the vent area)

A prolapse is literally where the inside of the vent area comes out. It can sometimes be pushed gently back in, but I wouldn't advise anyone to attempt it unless shown how by a professional first.

It comes out, but then goes back in in like 10 minutes.... is that a prolaps? (what about the runny/pastey white urates?)

Yes, that sounds like a prolapse. If the urates look normal, I wouldn't worry about them. How is her disposition? Does she appear to be lethargic or depressed? Keep a close eye on her because if she's dystocic (egg-bound) she can become very weak, very fast.

Well, she basks normally, she doesn't just sit in the corner.. she moves around a bit, whenever I take a look back in the cage she is in a different spot... She did go for a swim around my tub... I will get her checked out tomarrow.. (hopefully this vet I found specializes in beardies, it's the only reptile vet in town)

Please do keep us posted!

I will... what are the survival chances if it is a prolaps, or impaction? Also, the stool does not smell (I would know, I got a bit on me )

Prolapses aren't necessarily fatal; make sure to keep her on paper towels & keep the prolapse clean with normal saline. As long as she continues to behave normally, & you get her checked first thing tomorrow, she should be ok. Here's a link to some excellent information for you.
Info on prolapse & egg binding

Hey thanks... now I am not so worried (the vent did go away when I checked the second time)... not that i'm not worried sick .... I got her in August of 02' so would she be old enough to carry eggs? (she was just a very small baby about 5 weeks old at the time)... I hope it's eggs, I will take her to the vet as soon as possible tomarrow (vet's are closed )...

Until you can get her to the vet tomorrow, give her a bath. Go give her a bath now! See what she does.....let us know, Lindsay

It is possible she ate something and it is causing a blockage. If this is the case it can become deadly, fast.

How long has it been since she has ate? If they dont eat, they cant poop! You also might want to consider getting a fecal done to see if she has worms. That could be the cause of her lack of appetite, or her lack of appetite could be caused by a painful blockage.

Also buy a thermometer or temp gun. A sticky thermometer only costs 2.99. Temps are very important and should not be guessed. Please consider a vet trip and you might want to remove the decorative moss (I would). Goodluck. Lindsay

You can try warm baths but I am not sure how much good that is going to do

I also noticed that when she was trying to poop, she got some bran stuck to her... and might have gotten inside, could that be the cause for the swelling? Also, how fast is fast, because my vet is closed on sundays

I have never experienced a dragon with an impaction so I am not sure of the exact signs etc but what you are saying does sound like a female needing to lay eggs. whether impaction symptoms and egg laying symptoms are the same I dont know? What I would do if I were you is buy some soil, put it in a rubbermaid and put her in it. Start a hole and place her in it or by it. See if she starts digging. Also schedule an appointment for the vet and maybe drip some liquids on her nose and let her lick them to help keep her hydrated. Until you figure things out you might want to change her substrate to white, non printed paper towels instead of bran. Just incase she is impacted and is starting to prolapse with all the straining. Definitely try the soil though. Goodluck, let us know. Lindsay

Scott,
I tend to think it is impaction moreso then eggs by your description of how she is acting. Beardies instinctually dig like crazy for several days before laying, I haven't seen mention that she has been.
Another reason is that only urates are coming out, no poop, that would suggest a partial impaction.
She is old enough to produce eggs, but the clues to that just don't seem to be there.
You could try giving her some mineral or vegetable oil, just a drop or two, to see if that will loosen anything up. It won't hurt her either way.
I think someone mentioned that their vet said papaya was a good natural laxative too (fiberous) and I've also heard apple juice works.
If it is impaction she needs that stool to be softened so she doesn't have a prolapse problem from straining.
PS..I took mine off of bran due to the bran getting stuck on their vents, I had to soak them to get it off and was concerned it could cause infection. Couldn't have been too comfortable for them .

He did state that the dragon was in a different place each time he entered the room. Some females dont dig, but rather pace. I have one who paces only. Also he stated he felt bumps, which sound like a sign of eggs. But also could be impaction. I just would have thought that a impaction would be felt as maybe one hard lump, not several.

A few days to a week before laying a female may stop eating. If she doesnt have a suitable laying spot she may strain, push alot and poo alot. After awhile she will only pass urates as there is no food to be digested and freshly pooed. Eventually she will not push anything out!

I am not saying it isnt impaction. I am just saying it could also be eggs. It cant hurt to try a laying site. As long as there is no prolapse.

I would have suggested mineral oil, but if it is eggs, it may cause her to have ntestinal upset as there probably isnt any fecal matter left in her digestive tract. Also if it is a fake plant stuck in there, giving mineral oil may lodge it in more and may even cause a tear in the intestinal tract. I know with humans it is not a good idea to give a laxative for children who have swallowed a large object (especially one with sharp edges).

I highly recommend a vet trip. But if he has to wait a day or two, if I were him I would try a laying site, liquids and a new substrate.

Only a vet can rule out or diagnose a problem. All we can do is offer suggestions. Lindsay

The reason I suggested mineral oil is because it is so mild, I truly don't think it would upset her digestive system whether there is fecal matter there or not.
If his beardie did eat moss, It wouldn't be quite the same as a fake plastic plant. I would think it would kind of wad up in a ball.
I'm not saying it's not eggs, just offering some other suggestions that may help and IMO, cause no harm.

You've been given good advice by the others, I also think she may be trying to pass infertile eggs. If this is her first eggs, I know from experience, they may not LOOK like what you think or have seen beardie eggs to be. We had one this year lay infertile eggs that were oblong and we thought was urates, til I broke the second one open.

Should she prolapse and it not return, you can soak her in sugar water to reduce swelling, as much sugar as you can get to dissolve in warm water. As long as you can keep a prolapse moist and clean, you lesson the chance of serious problems.

We had one prolapse twice last year and she finally had to have surgery, but both times we soaked her in sugar water to reduce the swelling and then wrapped her in a gauge bandaid with K Y jelly... like a big diaper and she had no long term problems.

I agree, everyone posted some good suggestions. Hopefully a vet can confirm the problem and his beardy gets better. Keep us updated Scott. LindsayMarie

If she should actually prolapse and it appears to swell and not go back in, soak her in tepid sugar water, this helps to reduce swelling and then possibly it will retract. If not, be sure to keep it moist until you can get to a vet.