Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,
How often should my beardy be pooping? He hasnt pooped in about 3 days, and he used to poop every day. I have given him warm water baths the last couple days to help him get regular....but nothing yet. Any suggestions?

I asked this a while back, i was freaking out because mine hadn't gone in 5 days but the sixth day she went. I would give it a little more time. Some people told me that their beardies go everyday, some go multiple times a day, and others only go a couple of times a week.

Is the beardie eating the same? greens and such?

How long are you keeping it in the water. When i was doing it i only kept her in there for like 15 minutes assuming nothing was going to happen. After reading everyoes responses they all recommended actually 20-30 minutes or more. I tried it and after 25 minutes she pooped in the water. So how long are you leaving your beardie in the water? Do you let it be ad swim around or are you holding it. I found that if i left mine to swim, while close at hand of course, she would swim all over the place allowing the water to scoot on up the ole vent, and then she went.

If all else fails i was told to use MINERAL OIL, no other oil, i was going to try olive oil, oops, till someone told me big no no.

I hope everything works itself out, hehe
Good luck
Jeremy

How often they poop depends on a lot of different things - what and how much they ate, how hydrated they are, how warm or cool they are, if they are stressed and many other factors. Three days isn't too bad though. If it becomes serious you may notice some bloating, loss of appetite, and lethargy. If you notice some or all of those symptoms, you probably need to take him to a reptile vet asap. The warm baths are good, but as was already suggested, make sure you keep your beardie in the water for about a half an hour or so. If the water cools down, replace it with fresh warm water. You can also try GENTLY massaging his belly, stroking down towards his vent area. If your weather permits, try giving him his bath outside and them letting him bask in real sunshine for an hour or two after his bath. There is no substitute for the warmth and UV they get from real sunshine! The combination of warm water, lots of UV and basking in the sunshine can do wonders for a beardie!

You can also try adding some high water content greens to his salad temporarily (like red leaf or boston lettuce). They are not nutritious, but will keep him nicely hydrated. You can also sprinkle some metamucil on his salad (my vet taught me this trick and it works well).

I hope these tricks help. I know how scary and helpless you feel when your beardie isn't feeling well. Hopefully, it is just a normal bodily variation and he will be fine in a few days!

Good luck,
Lisa