my beardie is constipated

Question
QUESTION: I gave my beardie an usual diet staple, a frog I caught outside, more than a week ago. He has not fecated since and seems to not move around or act as lively. How can I check that he's ok, or if he's not, how can I remedy this?? I'm worried! It has been over a week since his last bowel movement and he's been a mamber of my family for 6 years now! HELP PLEASE!


ANSWER: Hello Alex,

Do you normally feed him frogs?  If so, that actually is somewhat dangerous as there are toxic & poisonous frogs that can kill them if ingested.
How large was the frog?  I am sure that he is probably impacted.  I don't recommend feeding him anymore frogs, as they are not a normal part of their diet in the wild.
You can attempt to treat him for impaction.  Go ahead & get some canned pumpkin, sugar free applesauce, & some squash baby food.  Mix that together, & put a couple of drops of olive or mineral oil into a small mixture.  Give a few ml's per day to him, along with a daily bath.  Try to gently massage him on the right side starting at the arm pit all of the way down to the vent area.  
Also, give him extra oral fluids daily as well to help him out.
Do you provide UVB lighting too?  How often do you give calcium?


Tracie   


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the help! I will def start him on that ASAP! His usual diet is dry fortified beardie food, and I give him a bag of crickets once or twice a month. His UVA/UVB bulbs blew a couple weeks ago and I haven't been able to replace them yet. He has been seemingly fine tho up until this incident. I do NOT normally feed him frogs, this was the first actually. It was maybe half the size of my thumb and a tannish, almost transluscent color. I'm from TN, and there's a creek in the backyard, so I didn't even think about it being toxic or poisonous. If I can get him over this, I'll definitely know better for the future.


ANSWER: Hello Alex,

How is your boy doing today?  Any improvements?
How big is your dragon?  How old is he?
If you have an adult dragon, he does need 40-50 feeders weekly along with greens & veggies for a healthy diet.  The greens & veggies should consist of mustard greens, dandelion greens or collard greens & squash varieties so he gets enough vegetation.  
The dry food is ok, but they need more variety than just that.  
Do you use calcium a few times per week?

Which UVB light were you using?  Was it a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?  What type of basking light are you using, & what are the temperatures in the tank?  What kind of thermometer do you use?  A stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?

There are a lot of different types of frogs that have toxins in their skin that can be dangerous if ingested.  Also, there could be contaminants in the creek water, unfortunately which could make him sick also.  That is why it is best not to feed insects & other prey items from outside.

Let me know how he is doing.
Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Tracie,
  I was jus bathing Harvey (that's my dragon) and I could feels kinda solid lumps in there. I could just move them around. He still hasn't relieved himself yet.
 Harvey is now over 6 years old and he's about 20-24 inches or so.

 I was using a fluerescent uva/uvb bulb, I use a 40 watt bulb over a stone for a basking light and I have never used a thermometer. He let's u know if he wants his light out tho.
 I feed him salads often actually. He likes lettuce and carrot stick quite a lot actually. And I don't believe I have ever given him calcium drops his entire life. I actually started to get him some not too long ago, but he's been doing fine for so long, I don't know, I guess I didn't want to chance changing what's worked for so long.
  He does seem a bit more active since I gave him this last bath and massaged his belly. He's a bit more perky. He has just been laying around all the time sime he ate that.
 I hope this works and I'm open to any other suggestions you may have.
         Thank You Again,
         Alex

Answer
Hello Alex,

I apologize, you had already told me Harvey's age & I had forgotten to refer to the above message. Sorry!
He is a good sized dragon then, so he should pass that soon I hope.
Well, it would really benefit him if his basking temperatures were stable at a range of 95-105 or so, measured with either a digital probe or a temp gun.  The normal day to night cycle is 12 hours of daylight with 12 hours of night time.
So right now, what type of basking light are you using for him?
It is a possibility though, that he might have low calcium.  If he has never had any calcium, then, he likely is losing bone mass.  Just like with humans, we can't maintain bone mass without calcium intake or supplementation.  
What type & brand of UVB have you used?  If he hasn't had adequate UVB exposure then he wont be able to absorb his calcium very well.  The Reptisun 10 is the best tube bulb here in the US.  
When you refer to lettuce, do you feed ice berg lettuce, & romaine?
Better choices would be collard or mustard greens, along with squash varieties because ice berg & romaine are too watery & lack vitamin & nutrient content.


Tracie