Impaction

Question
I have a bearded dragon shes about 3 months old and 6 inches head to tail..she has a bump on her back and she has not "had a movement" in about a week.
I have a pretty good idea that she is impacted,now we don't have the money to get her done at the vets,i know that it is not recommended but do you think an enema could be done at home, i have tried warm bathes and mineral oil and the bump appears to have gone down but only slightly.

i wish i had the money to take her in but i just don't,is there anything else i could try and how long should i keep up the routine?
she was on calci-sand and i have changed that out,she is on paper towels now,and when she tries to "have a movement" her tail turns well..starts turning black now i don't know if that was the sand or if thats "normal"
please help me I have not had her long but i have waited for years to get her.

thank you
Renee

Answer
Renee,

I am trying to understand exactly what this bump looks like...the bump itself sounds suspicious to me and it would be useful to know if it is on the skin or if it feelsl like a bony protrusion...has it bled? What color is it? How big? When did this bump appear?
Without knowing more, I can only speculate as to how to to proceed from here.

It is very possible that she is having trouble passing an exoskeleton...sometimes when they eat a lot of crickets and other "bony" insects, and in particular ones that are too big, they get a build up of of exoskeleton.
To the best of my knowledge of what you wrote, it sounds like you are dealing with a blockage and you may need to have the object manually removed, it may just not come out on its own. The best thing you can do is to try and take a little syringe like the ones people use to wash out their ears and then mix up pedialyte or gatorade with water and squeeze it into her mouth. The better hydrated she is, the easier things will move through her.
It would be terribly dangerous to try and administer an enema. I would definately not try something that experimental. In a situation like this, I really can't tell you there is anything you can do that can clear him out for sure other than taking her to the vet and having the build-up removed manually, if that is the case at all.
The only other thing I can make out of this is that the lizard has some sort of internal infection and could benefit from antibiotics. Either way, there sometimes just isn't anything you can do at home that is safe and effective, especially when you don't know for sure what it is. I really think you have a situation on your hands where you have to evaluate whether or not you can sacrifice money in other areas of your life and set some aside for her, otherwise, she may get worse and it could be life-threatening. A lizard should not have a bump and should not turn black from straining to pass a bowel movement. Another thing to consider is that when lizards get sick, it is like boom, all of the sudden they go down hard. They are designed to mask illness and usually once they start to show it to us, it is much worse than we realize, then the timeframe you have to act and save the animal starts to decrease rapidly. Just please consider what I have said.

From now on, try to feed her only insects that are 2/3 the size of her head or smaller and make sure to diversify her diet. She should not just be eating one type of insect; you should be following the following suggestions:
Prey items such as appropriately sized cultured crickets, cockroaches, mealworms, king worms, and wax worms can be fed, along with pink mice. Make sure the invertebrates are freshly molted to reduce the amount of tough, indigestible exoskeleton the dragon will ingest; exoskeletons can cause intestinal impaction so the least amount ingested the better. As the dragon grows, it is better to feed him mice (pinks, fuzzies, crews, young adult) rather than mostly insects. Whole rodent prey is more nutritious - and will not cause the impaction that insect prey can. Also, DO NOT FORGET, beardies require about 20% plant matter such as collard greens, mustard greens, etc. This will definately help with the digestive tract if you are giving them a diverse diet.

I strongly suggest reading up on the topic of Bearded Dragon care as much as you can, you will learn new things every time. I still get surprised every time I read a new website or book or watch a new video...these animals are amazing.

See the following site for a basic overview:
http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html

Thank You and I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Sara J Gwerder
President
Raptor Rescue Iguana Sanctuary
Shreveport, LA
www.RaptorRescue.org

"Good Diet + UVB Radiation + Proper Temperatures + Set Daily Schedule = Healthy + Happy Reptile"