# Impaction



## deandal (Nov 7, 2009)

hi, am new to forum and to keeping beardies, i have a 6yr old tortoise, the pet shop said i could keep the tortoise and beardie together. i have had the beardie for 5 days and the substrate is cork bark litter, i have since read on this forum that this is wrong and it can cause impaction, could someone please tell me what impaction means and what it does to a beardie:blush:


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## marky0283 (Nov 19, 2008)

Impaction is when the gut gets blocked maining that the affected animal can not digest it's food. As a result it will always feel full and not eat.

I would strongly advise that you seperate the animals. I know nothing about tortoises but you should not keep them together. 

The best substrate for your beardie would be kitchen paper, tiles and some people like to use lino.

Do you have a spare viv or somewhere to put you Beardie?


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## marky0283 (Nov 19, 2008)

Just to add to my last post. The result of impaction can be death if left untreated. How old is your Beardie?


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## Mikeysm (Sep 26, 2009)

Hi 

Firstly Id seperate the Beardie and the Tortoise : victory:

And if its a young beardie, the best substrate to use is newspaper/tiles/lino etc something which cant be swallowed which as you say, could cause impaction.

Impaction is when they eat something that they cannot digest and blocks up the intestines so its best to keep him on something that he cant swallow until he grows a bit larger.


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## deandal (Nov 7, 2009)

*age*

about 5 months old but is very small for its age, and only has three legs. the tortoise and beardie get on ok. as i dont have any where else to keep it, the beardie does not eat much and not sure if i would know when to panic.


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## marky0283 (Nov 19, 2008)

What are the temperatures of the setup, humidity and UV like?


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## deandal (Nov 7, 2009)

i have a 4ft tank with a heat bulb 60w at one end and a uv light wich has 6500 kelvin 15watt 18" written on it. i have never taken temps or know if they would be right. i have had advice from pet shops and this was never mentioned. have had tortoise for 4 years and have really no idea:sad:


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## krytes (Oct 17, 2009)

Hello. Definitely think you should try to separate them, should you get the chance. You need a dimmer thermostat for your bulb. Make sure crickets are fed well and dust them with calcium. Once or twice a week dust with vitamins. Mine enjoy daily warm baths. Not too deep. Helps them rehydrate & poo. DAILY baths are not necessary but mine have become accustomed. They don't like having to poo in their vivarium. If you fear impaction you can try giving them a few drops of olive oil. Worked once for me. I've stopped using sand or such like, as a precaution. I found out that wilkinsons play sand (safe for kids?) contains an orange die which can adversely affect the beardies appetite. Don't get too worried about impaction. Just be cautious of it. Temperature control should be of more concern for both reptiles. Offer your dragon drops of water. New reptiles sometimes take time to settle, before they eat. How are you going to feed insects when you have a tortoise in the viv? A bit scattered but I thought I'd share some of my thoughts.


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## deandal (Nov 7, 2009)

thank you for your thoughts, i need lots of them the more im reading the more im starting to panic. should have found out more before i took them in. am feeding beardie salad that tortoise cant reach(not that it eats it)and the crickets are fed separatly


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## marky0283 (Nov 19, 2008)

Here is a link to a caresheet for Bearded Dragons so you can check what his requirements are.

Bearded Dragon Care Sheet - Emas Bearded Dragons

How long have you had him? It is good that he is getting crickets to eat as well.

What type of tortoise have you got?


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## deandal (Nov 7, 2009)

my tortoise is a hermanns and i have only had the beardie for 5 days think im over my head. the heat lamp is only a spot light i take it this is wrong and there is a special bulb, i also have a heat mat under the tank so there is no light on during night. need to get thermometer!


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## krytes (Oct 17, 2009)

Allot of beardies won't take veg. Lettuce is not much good anyway. A bath isn't vital, they are from the desert. It can help them if they're constipated though. You need a dimmer thermostat though. You need some crickets. I feed the crickets on cereal and veg. because the beardie needs nutritious crickets. You can order crickets from E Bay. I buy standard crickets fron internet reptile on Ebay. I put them in a big plastic tub with some egg boxes cut up for hiding. Make sure the crickets have ventilation but can't jump out. I use the silent crickets. Black crickets need more heat and eat different stuff. As I said, I feed them cereal and veg (spring greens & butternut squash from the supermarket). The veg gives the crickets water. In my experience they thrive better this way because they seem not to tolerate humidity very well.
I would buy crickets, habistat dimmer thermostat and a thermometer. Try and get the temperature at around 85 degrees celsius, at the warm end ground level. Have a raised level where the beardie can bask this should be around 95 to 110 degrees. A branch or ramp is good because then it can get closer or further from the heat source and so regulate its temperature better. Next I would consider getting it it's own vivarium. One dimmer can operate two vivariums. 4X2X2 would be good but 3X2X2 would probably suffice. Oh' it's important to dust the crickets (lightly) with calcium dust and a vitamin supplement as I said before. I put a bit in a small tub (like a beaker with a lid). Then I shake it. A small pie dish or something to serve them up in. If crickets are too active for your dragon. You can put them in the fridge for 10 to 15 mins. This slows them down.


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## Mikeysm (Sep 26, 2009)

A spotlight should be fine. Thats all i use. As long as it gets it up to the right temps 

Mines a 60w in a 3foot viv, i think 100w bulbs are better for a 4ft : victory:


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## deandal (Nov 7, 2009)

thank you for all your help :grouphug:will check the temp and get a larger bulb if i need one. was told to spray with water but shall try a bath tomorrow and hope he settles and eats better soon. :neutral:


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## krytes (Oct 17, 2009)

Mikeysm said:


> A spotlight should be fine. Thats all i use. As long as it gets it up to the right temps
> 
> Mines a 60w in a 3foot viv, i think 100w bulbs are better for a 4ft : victory:


I don't agree. I have two ackies in a 5x2 vivarium and they like it HOT. Even with a 60w bulb and a dimmer, the light fades slightly and the surface temperature reaches 125 to 145 degrees. Correct me if I'm wrong but thats too hot for a bearded dragon.


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## spudsgirl (Jan 29, 2009)

Firstly hun seperate your tort from your beardie although they both may seem happy your tort will thrive better in a table for one and will more than likely take a chunk out of your beardie at some stage.

I went to the pet shop the just the other day and saw a beardie that was in with a tort and the tort had bitten the tip of its tail off, the beardie was returned as the owner wanted to keep the tort more.

Its not really worth a fatality for the tort or for the beardie.

As for impaction, try a drop of veggie oil into the mouth of the beardie see if that lubricates and releases it but please hun I urge you to seperate.


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## krytes (Oct 17, 2009)

spudsgirl said:


> Firstly hun seperate your tort from your beardie although they both may seem happy your tort will thrive better in a table for one and will more than likely take a chunk out of your beardie at some stage.
> 
> I went to the pet shop the just the other day and saw a beardie that was in with a tort and the tort had bitten the tip of its tail off, the beardie was returned as the owner wanted to keep the tort more.
> 
> ...


She's right you know. Even the mellowest of bearded dragons can suddenly spring in to gear and have a bite. I went to a persons house to look at a bearded dragon. He had 18 adults and juveniles in a viv with a chinese water dragon. The water dragon had a broken leg. Made me feel sick.
i met a spud once. Suppose there's alot of them about.


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## spudsgirl (Jan 29, 2009)

You dont use heatmats for beardies either hun its just waste of electric but you not the first to do it bet you got sold it with the set up, also torts dont need heat mats.

Seperate them hun for the health of your reps and remove the heat mat save some pennies. 

If you dont beleive what I am saying about mixing your tort with your beardie ask in the shelled section hun I am only thinking of your pets hun.


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## spudsgirl (Jan 29, 2009)

Hi Krytes, I call our lad spud have done ever since we got together 6 year ago aint called him by any other name apart from TIT a few times:lol2:


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## deandal (Nov 7, 2009)

the two are now seperated and the beardie got tiles sorted it out today. 
just need the beardie to eat and hope its not ate the wrong thing already.


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## marky0283 (Nov 19, 2008)

Well done mate! It's good to see you are taking on board peoples advice. Is the beardie still pooing alright?


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## deandal (Nov 7, 2009)

was pooing ok, but no sign that he has today. give him a bath, but was not fussed. not eaten for 3 days but noticed a few on forum having this prob am i right in saying they can go a few day without or is that wrong :hmm:


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## krytes (Oct 17, 2009)

deandal said:


> was pooing ok, but no sign that he has today. give him a bath, but was not fussed. not eaten for 3 days but noticed a few on forum having this prob am i right in saying they can go a few day without or is that wrong :hmm:


My gecko didn't eat for two weeks after I got him. Now he's pretty long for his type. My beardies both ate well from the start. However my adult bearded dragon doesn't always eat every day. Apparently, reptiles don't necessarily need to because they absorb their heat; Whereas, much of the energy expended by warm blooded animals is done so on regulating body temperature.
On the other hand, I expected my juvenile bearded dragon to eat daily. Again I found that this was not always the case. It appeared that the juvenile (Sam) went through growth spurts. At which point Sam would eat loads and not when growth was slower; Much like my son. It is my understanding that you only need to feed an adult 3-4 times a week.
The fact that the bearded dragon has been sharing it's viv and that you had worries about temperature control could be the reason. Maybe now it will settle down but might take a few weeks. May be if you find it spends most of it's time avoiding the warm end it is too hot. If your judgment is that it is a good weight then don't worry about it's not eating in the short term. Remember that they can brumate for months. Which means that they shut down there body system and don't eat. Discourage brumation if you think it might be ill or it's weight is low by not providing a hide; Or at least by removing it during the day and keep the basking temperature up. 
If you still think that it is ill. May be a trip to the vets would be prudent.
What did it's poo smell like?


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## krytes (Oct 17, 2009)

Oh. I know you said that he wasn't fussed about having a bath. If the bath is warm ((like for a baby) about 95 degrees) and just deep enough to immerse his stomach then you can try massaging the stomach in the water. This often helps them poo. There might be nothing to poo out though.
Even if there isn't, I think I'm right in saying that they can absorb water through their vents (bottom parts) and this can help them hydrate.
If not eating or drinking or possibly ill then this might be benificial; At least I have found it to be.


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## krytes (Oct 17, 2009)

spudsgirl said:


> Hi Krytes, I call our lad spud have done ever since we got together 6 year ago aint called him by any other name apart from TIT a few times:lol2:


I like spuds. Sorry .Rude.


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## krytes (Oct 17, 2009)

krytes said:


> I like spuds. Sorry .Rude.


They are right. I'll have to stop making lame jokes.


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