Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my bearded dragon seemed to throw up all the crickets he ate yesterday whats goin on i need avice befor i send him to the vet caus eit can be a natural thing idk some one help!

mine has done this once or twice when he has over eaten, he seems no worse for the wear

It depends...what are your temps? how is the tank heated? how do you measure the temps?

Low temperatures, GI upset, and stress can all lead to vomitting...it is well worth a trip to the vet, or at least a short stint on probiotics (such as acidophiliz www.reptilesupply.com) to help his tummy feel better

Mim
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0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
2.1 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo,Jeffrey Nothing, Louise)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
1.0 Blood Red Corn (Virus)
0.0.1 Mali Uromastyx (Scuttle)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)

A dragon throwing up could be caused by many things. Eating too fast or too much food is one of them. Prey being too big or incorrect temps are more common causes.
A dragons prey should not be any longer then the space between the eyes. Anything larger could cause impaction. Impaction is when the chiton (exoskeleton of the prey) becomes lodged in the digestive track. This can cause extreme discomfort, thowing up, paralysis or even death.
Incorrect Temps in your dragons cage can effect its ability to digest its food. Basking temps for young dragons under a year should be 105 to 115, for adults, 95 to 110. Both need cool side temps to be around 80 degrees so they can regulate their body temps. If it is too cool the food can sit in their tummys and spoil causing them to vomit.
Feeding a dragon too late at night causes the food to sit in their stomach and spoil over night again causing GI distress.
Allow 2 to 3 hours minimum after feeding at night before the lights go off.
If non of these are the cause of the problem and it continues to happen or is accompanied by runny stools a trip to the vet is probably called for. Administering any medication to your dragon should be considered a last resort. Some meds, though sometimes nessary, destroy the helpful bacteria in your dragons digestive track which could cause more problems down the road......

throwing up a meal can be cau sed by several things. Eating too much, improper basking temps, feeding too soon before lights out, stress, parasites, gestronic problems and probably other reasons I can't think of.

What is important to know, is has he does this before? Did you feed more crickets than usual? Were the crickets bigger than the space between the dragon's eyes? Are the crickets from a new source? What is his basking temp? Did you feed later in the day than usual? (ie, less than 2 hours before lights out?) If you fed more crickets than you usualy do, by how much was the difference? Did he eat again today after throwing up? How is his overall condition and behaviour today? (ie is he active, alert, basking normally etc, or lethargic or hiding?)

Another thing, are you sure it's not poop? Crickets and most insects have hard exoskeletons which are not digestable in a bearded dragon's stomach. Alot of this can come out in the poop if he has been eating mostly crickets and not enough greens. Poop is almost always accompanied by a white chalky substance called urates. If that was present, then most likely your dragon just had a really big poop. If the crickets are more whole and no urates are present, or of course, if you saw him throw up, then that would be vomit.

As other posters mention, sometimes dragons throw up and are perfectly fine otherwise. If it keeps happening or there are other signs that indicate something is wrong (ie loss of appetite, lethargic, dark colored (darker than normal)) then a vet visit is deffinitely a most. If all his husbandry conditions are being met, (proper basking temps etc) and he is eating fine now without throwing up anymore, active and alert, then you could pass on a vet visit, unless you want to take him to be on the safe side.

One thing you can do now, is give your dragon a bath, to help rehydrate him. A little gateraid to help replace lost electrolites, can be offered as well. Double check his basking temps and try and keep him as stress free as possible. Offer some crickets, maybe smaller than you normally feed, or a soft bodied worm, such as silkworms, butterworms, or freshly molted superworms (as a treat, supers are not good as a stable insect. Silkworms and butterworms are though). Don't feed as much as you would normally, you want to give his tummy time to settle. IF he doesn't eat today, that will be fine. Dragons can survive a day or two without eating, even as babies, adults can go longer.
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PHLdyPayne