beardie PROBLEM

[chameleongirl2]

Hello, i have been having many issues with my beardie. She is about a year and a half old and she not been pooping, eating nor drinking. I read that giving beardies a lukewarm bath would allow your bearded dragon to absorb a bit of water. This is what i hav been doing once every 4-7 days. But she still has not eaten or pooped in about a month (3-4 weeks). My mother and i have been trying endlessly trying to feed her and still have no results. I did some reasearch and found 2 possible results. One: she is hybernating and it is normal and this 'phase' will end and two: she is conjested and cannot poop making eating even worse (if this is the case i should also see a vet ASAP)

these are the sites i found the info on:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120210093701AAWzWBS
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120105190750AANoaRV

P.S. please exuse the poor spelling, i was in a hurry so i could get answers faster.

Thank you!

 

[AngieL]

Hi there! Hybernation (or brumation as reptiles call it) could be possible. I don't keep beardies but I have a dear friend who does and I'm not sure if desert species have much of a seasonal change? Anyway, not pooping can be a bad thing, have you noticed any swelling around her tummy? She may have something wrong with her kidneys if there is.

Also my friends females will lay infertile eggs every couple of years, do you think she has eggs?

If it was me I would go to a reptile vet. Get an X-ray and a blood test done to check on everything I hope she gets better soon! I love beardies!

 

[spencer451]

I have a male beardie that I've had for four years. About this time each year he goes into brumation and doesn't eat or poop for a couple of months, in fact even during normal times he only poops every two to three weeks although he eats and drinks on a regular basis. He was just to theVet for his yearly check up and he is as healthy as a horse. Giving them a warm bath (100-105 degrees) does help them to hydrate as they do absorb water through their vent. Normally during brumation they will hide under something in their enclosure and stay there.

 

[chameleongirl2]

thank you, so should i see a doctor, or should i wait until the brumation ends?

 

[squeekz1992]

thank you, so should i see a doctor, or should i wait until the brumation ends?

I would say see a vet, just to be on the safe side. Our beardie is too young for brumation, so I can't give you much help there, but it will make you feel better if you know whats going on with her

 

[chameleongirl2]

great! thanks for the help! Any ideas when this brumation phase will end? I gave her a lukewarm bath, this time not in my sink but in my actual bath. I turned the lights off, but he had the lights from outside. There is about 2mm on one end of the bath and about 1.5cm on the other.

 

[kinyonga]

If it's not eating you can't expect poop...so if it's brumating that should be okay as long as it is in good health IMHO.

Still, if you're worried you could take it to a vet.

 

[crocky]

Brumation can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to months depending on the animal.
If it is impaction etc then what I have done in the past is while they are in a luke warm bath I stroke their tummies from towards the head (tummy area) to the tail to try and stimulate them, very gently...that has always worked for me. But if they are not eating then likely they are not pooping. Sounds like brumation BUT it is hard to determine without seeing the animal, only basing it on what you are explaining.....It would not be a bad idea to have her checked just in case.
Was everything normal prior to her stating to slow down on eating?

 

[ataraxia]

Soak the dragon in warm water up to its arm pits. Do this once a week.

It is that time of year when most adult dragons here in the U.s and canada go into brumation. They do stop eating, basking, they arent very active, sleep alot and you may find them in a hide or in the corner of the tank. It is imo important to soak them or drip water on there nose once a week. In the wild they dig down till they find moisture as they absorb this moisture during brumation through there vent. If your dragon goes into a "deep" sleep. At this point i dont soak or offer water. They usually dont stay in this state for too long.

 

[djfishygillz]

Does the dragon look thin? Could you post some pictures and tell us a about your husbandry (temps, supplement schedule, sex, weight, length, age, diet) in detail so we can check to see if there are any problems.