Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My adopted bearded dragon is healthy and active and eats well but does not overeat. He eats salad which is offered daily along with insects 2-3 times per week. He does get tired of the same bugs after a while so I have to switch. Lately I have switched to waxworms because he got tired of his superworms. The problem is he does not poop very regularly but when he does it is huge. He has not pooped in about a month. His temps are good and he is soaked 2 times per week. He does not appear to be bloated at all or in any discomfort. He/she is obsessed with my uromastyx. I think I am going to have to move the room around so they cannot see each other.

Is this normal? Should I be concerned?

Thanks in advance
Linda

You said his temps are perfect.....what are they?

I would definitely move the uromastyx so its out of sight. Its possible your dragon is seeing it as a rival male.

I would offer other insects instead of waxworms since they are so fattening. Try silkworms, butterworms, hornworms (not wild caught as wild ones are toxic, but the farm/captive bred ones are fine) or even roaches. Switching insects every couple weeks will help prevent your dragon getting bored. Also, nothing wrong with offering plain old crickets too.

It isn't too unusual for adults to hold their poop in though a month is a long time. What sort of substrate do you have? When he does go, is it hard or soft? (the poop of course) or does he show any signs of straining as though trying to poop but cannot?

More details about your setup will be useful as well, such as cage size, actual temps, substrate, age of dragon etc.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

His basking spot it 104 degrees although he rarely sits there for very long. He visits it mainly in the morning when he wakes up. His Reptisun 10.0 is mounted inside the enclosure which also provides heat from the fixture. His cage is 4' long so the gradient is 90 degrees just off the basking spot which is where he spends most of his time, going down to about 78 degrees at the far end. I use newspaper so no chance of ingestion. He did tire of crickets so I switched to superworms and now to waxworms. I will see if I can switch back to crickets again. He does eat alot of salad and I believe that herbivores generally do not poop as often. He is no distress and does not strain and does not look bloated. He bobs alot and is very alert. When he does poop it is large but soft and stinky I clean it up right after I find it. His cage is kept clean at all times as when I took him he was sitting in his own crap and it was disgusting. I am going to change the room around so he can't see my uromastyx and see if that will help at all. Please let me know if something seems wrong from my set-up. Also, let me know if I should soak him more than 2 times per week. He does have blast during soaks.

Thanks so much. This pic is the day I adopted him.
Linda

Your setup seems alright. Basking under the hottest spot in the mornings and periodically during the day is normal behavior. I bet he also basks there right after eating too. Mine would do that, bask in morning, and right after I feed her.

Giving your descriptions and details, I don't think there's anything really wrong. My female would only poop maybe 2-3 times a month sometimes less. If he's a good weight and eating regularly, and getting plenty of hydration, I don't think there's any problem. If you are still concerned, take him to a vet, he can do x-rays or ultra sounds to check for any issues inside...also, always good to have annual check-ups with your vet, gives them more experience with healthy animals and establishes a nice baseline with your own...so he can better see any early signs of problems.

Bathing to me, is not necessary other than to clean a dirty dragon. A healthily eating dragon will get all the moisture it needs from his greens/insects. Babies need the extra moisture as their metabolism is high and they are smaller, so dehydrate much easier. That and insects don't have as much moisture per volume as fresh greens and babies don't eat as much greens as insects initially.

But if your dragon seems to enjoy his baths and isn't stressed by them, once a week is fine. Too much and it may cause skin issues, especially in the folds.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

Thanks for the help. I will only give one bath/week mainly because he enjoys it and he does drink during it.

Linda