Constipation in Bearded dragon

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
 I have a Bearded dragon that i got last September that is about 1 1/2 years old.  Around September to October he started acting all funny, he would lie around all day and do nothing and has continued that behavior up untill right now, january.  I read up and though this would be winter shut down so i didnt do anything becasue i thought it would run his course and be over in a couple of weeks.  It hasnt he is still doing nothing and being lethergic. I feed him 10 crickets with repto call every other day and he eats thoose fine, he lovwes thoose.  I give him a salad every day and he never eats that and i dont know why.  He also has rarley pooped maby once in the last 2 weeks is that calcium overdossing? When he was just a few months old he was diagnosed with MBD and had losts of seziures and the doctor told us to give him calcium more then usualy and i have.  So can you tell me whats wrong with him?

Thanks
Josh

ANSWER: Hello Josh,

Do you use a UVB?  If so, what type & brand is it, a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?  How old is it?  
What are the temps in the tank, & how do you measure the temps?  Do you have a stick on thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun?  
At the age of 1 1/2 years old, he needs roughly 50 feeders weekly, so 70 is not too bad, but he does need to begin eating greens & veggies.  A good way to get him to eat his greens & veggies is to get some phoenix worms or butterworms & put them in with the salad to try & entice him to eat it.  
What type of calcium are you giving, powdered or liquid calcium?  How often are you giving the calcium?  
So he was diagnosed with MBD, then, he will be more prone to having bone problems in the future.  I recommend that he be given liquid calcium for life.  
Is he hydrated?  If he is dehydrated, that can cause constipation.  If he is not being exposed to UVB he will not be able to absorb calcium properly which will leach his bones & cause him to have bone problems.  

Tracie

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

QUESTION: I have 3 lights and one of them is a Reptile 2.o UVB light. we didn't have it before thats why he got sick so the doctor recommended we get this kind and also gave me neocalgon to give to him for a month.  The temps in my tank are around 85 in the basking area because for winter and in the summer they get up to 105.  I use a digital thermometer to periodically measure the the temps.  The light is proably 3 to 4 months old because ur supposed to change them every 6 months.  and i rember changing them not to long ago.  And by feeders to you mean crickets?  I have tried putting meal worms into his salad but if he does not eat them right away they climb out and burrow in the sand so he cant find them.  I give him reptocal powder calcium on his crickets every time i feed him crickets but sometimes i forget so he gets calcium 1-3 times a week.  On the calcium giving for life he is hard because since his sickness and me giving him calcium he wont let me pick him up.  When i try he will let me touch him but when i start to pick him up a few inches of the ground he squirms out of my hand.  He should be hydrated i have a huge water basin he can swim in if he would be smart enough to pick up his lazy little self and walk over there and drink some.lol.

ANSWER: Hello Josh,

Oh you really need to get a stronger light!  The Reptile light that is a 2.0 UVB is way too weak.  You will need to get the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb.  You can get that here:  
www.petmountain.com  
You need to place a bright white halogen basking light directly beside that UVB light.  Place the light 6-8 inches from him, as well.  
Yes, crickets are feeders.  He needs roughly 40-50 "feeders" per week, with mealies being a very small number comprising of the total feeders since they are too fatty.  Stick with crickets, & maybe look into phoenix or butterworms, as they are good feeders & are loaded with calcium, too.
You should work on getting a new UVB light for stronger UVB emissions which will help him absorb his calcium much more efficiently.  I do not think that he is fully recovered from the MBD because he doesn't have a strong enough light & is not uptaking calcium properly.  His bones probably hurt him so handling him needs to be very gentle right now.
Good that you use a digital probe, so his temps should be spot on then.  
Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie


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

QUESTION: OK, so i already have a reptisun 10.0 UVb lamp i think my 2.0 is a full spectrum lamp and on the basking side of the cage i have a flunkers basking light and that isnt white light and on the not basking side of the tank i have the repti sun running on the side and the full specturm on the side so am i supposed to move the repti sun up and get a new basking light.

Answer
Hello Josh,
How are things going?  
Great you have a Reptisun 10.  Is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?
Your lighting needs to be arranged with the basking light which is a bright white one that produces heat like a halogen, being placed directly beside the Reptisun 10 tube light on one end.  It creates a basking site which gives off heat & UVB at the same point.  
The UVB needs to be within 6-8 inches of him.  
On the non basking side, you can put the 2 flourescent tube just for some brightness, ok?
Does that make sense?  :-)

Let me know how things are going for you.

Tracie