Hello, my bearded dragon hasnt pooped in a few weeks. This…

Thank you for waiting. I suspect you got your information on care from a pet store. Most people do. While we should be able to rely on such information, unfortunately, it is often wrong. They sell people the wrong lighting, advise the wrong foods, and often don't know the correct temperatures for the various reptiles. After months or years of things not being quite right, the animal develops a problem. Almost everything you have been told is wrong, and I suspect that is why Puff has started to have some difficulties. Even though you have been trying so hard to keep him healthy, when you didn't have correct information to begin with, things are going wrong. Bearded dragons don't need to poop every 48 hours - some only go once per week, and that's fine. But, not pooping for several weeks is a problem.

so we'll look at that problem first. Meal worms and super worms are very bad foods for beardies. superworms are nothing but specially bred giant meal worms. Both are extremely high in chitin, which beardies can't digest properly. They're fine foods for some other lizards, such as geckos, but not for dragons. The chitin builds up in the digestive system and causes constipation or even impaction. Start by feeding Puff some baby food prunes. Just drop a little dollop right on the end of his snout. Most of the time they will lick it off. Give him a few small dollops this way. After he eats the prunes, provide a special soak. Buy some Pedialyte (yes, the kind for human infants), and prepare a shallow warm bath consisting of 1/2 warm water (100*F) and 1/2 Pedialyte. Soak your dragon for about 20 to 30 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, with Puff still in the water, gently massage his underside from front to vent for an additional 10 minutes. That may be enough to help him pass some feces. Try to get him to swim while he's in the water, as that can help, too. Be sure to supervise closely. Most of the time, these measures will result in the dragon pooping. You may have to repeat the process a couple of times.

To prevent future problems, there are some changes I recommend.Your cage should have a temperature gradient from hot to cool. Right under the basking light, it should be 105*F to 115*F. Beardies need a hot basking area in order to digest their food properly. The coolest part of the cage should be 80*F to 85*F . At night, temperatures in the entire cage can be allowed to drop into the 70's.

The Reptisun 5.0 does not provide adequate UVB light for a bearded dragon. They need one with a 10% output. The Reptisun 10.0 in the straight tube style is a better choice. Using only the 5.0 light, Puff will eventually develop Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), which causes a s low and painful death.

At age 2, Puff should be eating 80% produce and 20% prey insects. If he won't eat crickets, you may have to order some safe worms for him. Silk worms are great as a basic prey insect. If you can't find them in a pet store, here are some places that will ship them:

http://coastalsilkworms.com/splash.html

http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

http://www.nyworms.com/dubiacare.htm

I'm not sure what you mean by trying every allowable food for Puff. The greens you're giving him are very good choices, but the more variety, the better. Here is a reputable site that has a complete listing of foods. They are color-coded so you know how often each can be fed, and which ones should not be fed at all. I recommend this site to all beardie owners for feeding information:

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

One way to get a reluctant produce eater started is to smear a very thin layer of raspberry baby food or 100% fruit spread raspberries on the produce. Most beardies love the taste of raspberries. Once they start eating the produce, you can gradually decrease the raspberries.

Most of the time, the first aid measures I gave you will result in a beardie pooping. If not, you'll need to take Puff to a reptile vet. An x-ray may be needed to determine what the problem is. Here are some reptile vets in your area:

Preston Road Animal Hospital
Sue Chastain, DVM / Clint Chastain, DVM / Cheryl Pfeffer, DVM
6060 Lyndon B. Johnson Fwy
Dallas, TX 75240

Laura Brazelton
Summertree Animal and Bird Clinic
XXXXX Ste 102
Dallas 75244
(NNN) NNN-NNNNbr/>Telephone:(NNN) NNN-NNNNbr/>
Preston Forest Village Animal Clinic
Larry M. Putnam, DVM
11661 Preston Rd.
Suite 244
Dallas, TX 75230
Telephone:(NNN) NNN-NNNNbr/>
Effie Giannopoulos
Hillside Vet Clinic
6150 E. Mockingbird
Dallas, TX 75214
(between Abrams & Skillman)
(NNN) NNN-NNNNbr/>
Valeri Jaffe
Rutherford Animal Clinic
Haskell near Second
Dallas
(NNN) NNN-NNNNbr/>
Because pet stores give out so much incorrect information, I’m also sending along a care sheet, courtesy of Joan, another of our experts. Joan has many years experience keeping and rescuing beardies.Her care sheet is used on some reputable websites, so you may have even seen it before. I suggest that you use the care sheet as a check list to provide the best possible care for Puff. If you have more questions, just let me know by clicking on REPLY. I hope the first aid measures will be all Puff needs to return to normal..

Anna

My goal is to provide you with excellent service – if you feel you have gotten anything less, please reply back, I am happy to address follow-up questions. Please remember to rate my service only after you have all the information you need. Thank you!


Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

* Bearded dragons should be housed alone.

* Ages of bearded dragons follow these guidelines:

1. 0-3 months- baby
2. 3-12 months-juvenile
3. 12-18 months- sub adult
4. 18 months + -adult

* Bearded dragons live as much as 10-12 years if well cared for properly.
* Bearded dragons have a very good temperament as long as they are cared for and handled.
* When you bring your baby home, it may be quite stressful to him/her to get use to new home. May not eat well the first 2-3 days. They may not need to be handled the first 2-3 days if skittish and nervous.
* Never use sand or any other type of loose substrate: Loose substrates can cause impaction (not being able to go Poop) in all ages of bearded dragons- they lick their environment to explore .It is difficult to keep germ free and clean. Ceramic tile, newspaper, non adhesive shelf liner and reptile carpet is what is most recommended. Use paper towels for the little one and as they get bigger you can change to something else.
* Be sure you keep your beardies home as clean as you can. Clean up by spot cleaning when needed. Clean & sanitize entire tank every 10-14 days. A good cleaning solution is a 20% bleach solution. If you choose to use wood climbing branches etc, these should be soaked in the bleach solution and rinsed well. Then bake in 250 degree oven for 30 minutes.
* Need a climbing accessory: to bask and to warm up under basking heat light and lower branches or platforms to come down and cool off.
* A hide of some sort like a cave.
* A food dish and water dish.
* Plastic spray bottle
* Can use artificial plants when they get older- 3 months or so.
* Digital thermostat and/or temp gun
* Tank size: Minimal size tank for this age is 20 gallon long
* Minimal size for older beardie: 4 months of age: 40 gallon breeder is the minimal tank size for older dragon. Can divide a 40 gallon breeder for a smaller dragon. Must have two lights for your beardie.

1. A UVB light source-best is 10.0 Reptisun that runs the length of your tank. Your dragon must have this light to metabolize calcium. If not he will get metabolic bone disease, a serious condition. You can also take your beardie outside to bask in the sun for 15 minutes each day if your temps are 80 degrees or above outside. You can purchase cages or reptariums from your pet store. Never leave a beardie outside unattended.
2. A basking type light that puts out heat and warmth above basking spot. Your beardie must have warmth to digest food & thrive.

* Lights should be on for 12-14 hours each day. Follow the seasons and light timers are a great luxury if you can get them. 6 dollars at Lowe's. No lights or warmth needed at night unless your temperatures get below 62 degrees. If they do, there are ceramic heat emitters that put out no light, only heat. Use these at night if temperatures fall below 62 degrees.



* Temperatures have to be kept at the following ranges during the day:

Warm basking log: 105-115 degrees F (40.5* to 46*C)
Cool side: 85-90 (29.5* to 32*C) for babies,
80-85F (27*C to 29*C) for adults.

Measure temperatures with a digital probe type thermometer or a temp gun-these are most accurate. Stick on thermometers unreliable.

* Feeding a Beardie: Beardies eat live prey consisting of crickets, roaches and/or silkworms. Never feed any size of mice to your beardie. Never feed mealworms. They also must be given greens/veggies everyday. The younger they are the more live prey they should have. As they grow older the live prey decreases and the veggies/greens should be the major part of diet. Never feed anything bigger, than the space between your beardie's eyes. This includes both live prey and pieces of veggies/greens,
* A chopper or food processor is a huge help when your beardie is small. Always offer greens and veggies: collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, cabbage, red cabbage, fresh green beans, yellow summer squash, butternut squash, sweet potato, cactus pad. Apricots, strawberries, apples, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe- fruits are treats only.
* What is live prey? The easiest and less expensive live prey is crickets when you have a young or first beardie. The other live preys you can feed are silkworms, and special types of roaches. You can learn to raise your own live prey. Treats can be waxworms, super worms, and tomato/goliath worms. You may find that ordering live prey from the internet is the way to go..... Never leave live prey or greens/veggies in tank overnight. . Crickets can bite your beardie when sleeping.
* Babies should get 80% live prey, and 20 % greens/veggies. But since the greens/veggies are a must when they are older, get them eating their greens/veggies very early. Give greens/veggies in small pieces everyday. You should eventually start decreasing your older dragon's protein intake when they are about a year to 15 months old. Their protein intake decreases to 20 % live prey and 80% veggies/greens.
* A baby can eat 50-75 crix a day. Never feed crix or veggies bigger than the space between your beardie's eyes. Use this guide when buying crix or chopping your greens/veggies.
* You must provide calcium dust without D3 and multivitamin dust for your beardie. You should dust the live prey with calcium one time a day, and vitamins 3 times a week. Just collect your live prey into baggie and add enough calcium and vitamin to dust them. Then pour a few at a time into your tank. Some people feed their beardie in a separate tank so that no crickets can hide. Or some take out "furniture" from tank and feed this way. As they get older, 4-5 months or so dust live prey with calcium 3 times a week.
* Feed the veggies/ greens 1st thing in morning after lights on for one hour at least. Then after 2-3 hours offer crix. Then freshen green/veggies. Then give more crix. Make sure after last crix feeding there is at least 1-2 hours of lights so that they can digest their food before night time.

*Beardies over the age of one year old during the winter months will go into a Brumation like most Reptiles and Herps. It is a form of hibernation that is governed by the weather and time of year. The lights should be on a shorter period at this time. Fresh greens should be available during this period. Do not feed live prey during Brumation.

Water: Mist your little one with the spray bottle 3-4 times a day. You can also offer a small dish of water in your enclosure but be sure your dragon is not too small to drown in it. It is recommended that when your beardie is 2 months old you can bathe your baby in a small plastic container with warm water- not hot. It will help them to stay hydrated. As they get older you can move up to the bathroom sink and then to the bathtub. Very important for bath enclosure to be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed prior to bath time. Clean between dragons too if bathing more than one.