Reptile & Amphibian Forums

can a bearded dragon get compacted from eating to many vegetables.

Thanks.

I really doubt it. Might have some stinky green poo though.

They can become impacted when the insects are too large,[ usually babies and juveniles would be affected] also if not enough water is provided, and if the temps. are too low for digestion. Also, from eating the calcium type sand [ which shouldn't be used at all ] or other loose substrates....wood chips, etc. I would imagine that if the veggies you are feeding were thick and woody, like stems from broccoli, or thick slices of carrot, etc, you could also have a problem.

Impaction is caused by blockage in the intestinal tract..Vegetables alone won't cause it, if you are feeding appropriate vegetables and making sure they are of an appropriate size.

Dragons will stop eating once they are full, so over feeding isn't something they are likely to do. Obesity or regurgitation is far more likely to happen if the dragon over eats. I have not heard of dragons regurgitating because they ate too much greens..sometimes it can happen if they are feed too many insects and it goes into a kind of feeding frenzy.

Large hard shelled insects could cause impaction due to hard exoskeleton, but this rarely happens with adults.

More common and likely causes of impaction will be improper husbandry, such as basking temperatures being too low, insufficient calcium, UVB light, vitamin D3 or any combination of these 4 important factors, which can cause digestive issues (among other things). The ingestion of foreign materials, such as calcium sand, gravel, wood chips, etc can cause impaction.

Other less common possibilities would be trauma, tumors, disease or even birth defects.

If you are worried your dragon is impacted and/or your dragon is showing signs of distress (lethargic, straining while defecating, blood in stool, refusing to eat, regurgitating etc.) you best option is to get him in to see a vet. X-rays can determine if there is blockage and depending on how bad it is, surgery may be required.

If your dragon is active, alert and still defecating without signs of straining, then he isn't impacted. If he just hasn't pooped in awhile...detail out his setup, what you feed and how much/frequently, temps both in basking and cool area, what kind of tank you have, substrate, how old the dragon is, his current behavior (hiding all the time, basking normally etc.) and other information and we can see if there's any suggestions we can give to improve your husbandry.
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PHLdyPayne

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