Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. My vet isn't in till Monday, and I was hoping someone here might be able to offer some suggestions. I have a 9mo male. He hasn't gone to the bathroom in a week and now has stopped eating. Usually when this happens, a bath does the trick. But thats not helping this time. Any input welcome.
Thank You,
Stephanie

the first thing that i can think of that may work is...

how old is your UVB bulb? they last at most six months. I know that when ever i replace a bulb they become very active and therefore get very hungry.

have you reciently changed the diet? maybe they don't like what they are being offered.

my two cents...
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a free range dragon is a happy dragon

The UVB bulb is fairly new. The diet is the same. We did raise the temperature this morning to see if that will help.

Try offering pureed carrots, summer squash or sweet potato. A little gaterade may also help to stimulate the appetite as well. If he does poo before Monday, or better yet, on monday before going to the vet, bring it with you, this way the vet can do a fecal. If it's before Monday, refrigerate the sample then bring it to the vet with you.

Another question, what sort of substrate are you using? What size crickets are you offering?

You can always offer silkworms or superworms to see if he will take them.
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PHLdyPayne

Its important to note which stopped first, the eating or the pooping? If the pooping stopped first a pysical problem like a blockage or infection would be more likely. If the eating stopped first then its even trickier. When did he stop eating? Was it a slow taper or just an acute onset of anorexia? When was his last bowel?

What substrate is he on? The first thing that usually comes to mind when they stop eating/pooping is impaction. If your substrate is made of anything he could get into his mouth then impaction is a risk.

Parasite over load can also cause constipation. It can also cause appetite loss which leads int urn to less defecation.

Urate stones from improper hydration can also cause a blockage. How often is your beardie soaked and misted?

There are many other reasons such as infection, cancer, low calcium (leading to the inability to contract the muscles that cause defecation). Your beardie really needs to get to a vet. A vet will be able to preform a variety of tests that will rule out various possibilities. X-rays with and without barium can be preformed to rule out impaction, blood work may be able to distinguish calcium levels.

While you are waiting for your appointment, keep your beardies hyrdration up, this is really important. Soak him daily for 30-40 minutes in warm water and massage his belly.

You can also feed pureed squash and mineral oil to try and smooth things along.

Good luck!
Good luck!
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