Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My beardie hasn't had a bowel movement in almost 4 days. He is bloating looking too. I have been feeding him mealworms at night and greens in the day. He has been eating well. Can anyone tell me what to do? Thanks.

you can try to put him in a tub of water. Usually that will get his bowels going.

You mentioned mealworms at night..is this at least 2 hours before lights out? If not then feed earlier. Dragons do need at least 2 hours under the basking light to ensure proper digestion else problems can occur.

Also, mealworms are very hard to digest due to the high content of chitin to body ratio. Mealworms are not recommended for any dragon under the age of about 6 months. If your dragon is an adult, mealworms should only be served as a treat, not daily. Superworms, silkworms, butterworms or hornworms would be better as a worm treat.

To address the constipation problem, adding vegetable oil to the diet (about a drop or two per day till things start to flow). Also, pureed or finally shredded carrots or squash can be added to teh salad. These act as natural laxatives being very high in water content. Soaking in luke warm water, no deeper than the dragon's armpits, for about 15-20 minutes also helps to hydrate the dragon and for things to flow.

If you do the above and nothing happens after a couple days, take your dragon to a vet for treatment. Constipation can also be caused by blockage in the bowel or intestines. Blockage or impaction can be caused by too large prey items (usually for large crickets or roaches bigger than the space between the dragon's eyes), too much chitin and dehydration. Impactions can also be caused by the injestion of substrate, such as calci-sand, walnut shells, regular sand, or other loose substrate.
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PHLdyPayne