# My bearded dragon won't poop in his viv please help



## Eckelboppa (Dec 13, 2013)

Hello, so iv'e just got a bearded dragon. Its 4-6 months. He loves being handled and is very friendly. He's only been here for 4 days and he hasn't pooped or wee'd in his vivarium yet only on me and my partner. So we haven't had it out today because of it, now the bearded dragon is trying to climb the glass and has been doing it for quite a while and i don't know if its because it wants to poop etc ... what can i do about it. Please help, thanks


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## Bowells (Dec 12, 2013)

It would help if you provided the following: 


The size of your vivarium
The UVs light - brand and age
Substrate
Temperatures (Hot, Basking, Cool)
Pictures are helpful!
Also it's recommended to give your beardie a week or two to adjust to his new surroundings before handling him (even if he appears like he wants handling).


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## TheGuvnor (Apr 26, 2013)

The stress of you taking him out could be the cause of your poop outside the viv. Like when they swim in a slight panic in the bath. Often that causes a movement.
Leave him alone for a couple of weeks. Just interact on spot cleaning and feeding.
The glass dance will settle down. It's all stressful to him. New sights, smells, tastes, decor, Viv, people. Just leave him to it. He may seem to like to be handled, but often the stress of a move takes a few days to dawn on them. Then it's a
Like a mental breakdown for them lol.
Don't rush things. You will have years together. So a couple of weeks won't hurt 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk


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## Hornatic (Aug 2, 2011)

Ahh yeah, my bearded never poops in his Viv... ever. I have to give him regular bathes as he will only poop in the bath lol but as the other people have said it's most likely the stress of moving, leave him for a few days, let him relax and get used to you and the surroundings. Most beardies do poop in the Viv so no need to worry yet. And I know you may know this already but when you do bathe him ensure the waters Luke warm  

Hope he poops soon lol these amazing reptiles don't half worry us 

H


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## Hardy87 (Apr 7, 2011)

Oh noes, Could be worse My Beardy when he was young used to poo in his viv then do fecal paintings all over his viv and the glass EVERYWHERE!

Not to sure what advice I could give you with this tbh haha, but my beardy bangs on the glass also sometimes it's because he wants to be out and other times he does it before he's about to poop.... Bearded dragons are so strange but ace. :lol2:


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## Spaceisdeep (Mar 19, 2013)

Hornatic said:


> Ahh yeah, my bearded never poops in his Viv... ever. I have to give him regular bathes as he will only poop in the bath lol



Really ?
That doesn't sound right
I think I'd be a bit worried if that's true

How long have you left him in between poos before deciding he needs a bath to induce one ?


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## lupsy (Dec 19, 2013)

hi all, this is my first post as a noobie.

both my female beardies wont poo neither.

ive had them for around 8 weeks, they are around 9 months old, both from the same clutch im told.

the viv is a 3ft one with basking spot around 90-95F and the cool side is around 75.

i have a UV bulb and not a strip light however it is the correct one apparently.

they used to poo with no problem every couple of days however this last 2 weeks they havnt passed anything other than a small white ball.

i was feeding them broccoli in a morning and sprinkled rep mins on their food every couple of days or so. i have tried them with mealworms which as no supprise they love!

however i dont understand why they are not pooing properly, they have regular baths and i have tried them with cod liver oil.

any help would be appreciated


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## Lexy (Jun 21, 2013)

Yep, mine has moved from one to the other. He used to wait until he was settled down on me then do the world's biggest, stinkiest poop before wanting to go back in his tank. I am now wise to this and if he is looking particularly tubby when he does the glass dance then he stays in. He then took to punishing me for my cruelty by walking through his mess and generally spreading it in as many places as possible!
Recently I have moved him into a bigger tank and put kitchen paper down on top of the Lino, which seems to be going ok. As soon as I see he's been, I just whip out that square of paper and replace it. Then every few days I do a general wipe around and new paper throughout. He seems a lot happier with this set up.
I guess I know how he feels though... I wouldn't want to poop in my bedroom, then have to sit next to it for however long... Especially if it smells like festering death as his does!


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## RS Reptile Supplies (Sep 6, 2010)

We have found that some beardies seem to really dislike having to be near their own poo and sometimes this leads them to prefer to poo outside of their tank. Regular bathing will generally encourage pooing (this is similar to if a person becomes impacted that they will get warm baths and a tummy rub!). So you will sometimes find that beardies start to prefer to only poo when they bath or when they are let out, so long as you clean up their tanks quickly they usually don't develop this inclination but it can depend on the beardie. We have 1 at home that poo's like clockwork every couple of days at around 10am and another that scratches on the glass until they are let out so they can have a poo. 

In short I wouldn't worry but try to keep an eye on it, if you are concerned try to keep a schedule of when you have had to clean up poos. Things to watch for are visible swelling around the cloaca, this is often pretty obvious when it happens (you will see the pink skin of the cloaca even when they are not actively trying to poo) and can be a sign that they are having troubles. As always though double check all their environmental settings and make sure they are not eating too much chitin or getting sand in their food if you are on a sand substrate.

As it is so recent that he has moved there just give him some time and space and hopefully things will settle down.

All the best

Tim @ RS Reptile Supplies


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## TheGuvnor (Apr 26, 2013)

I wouldn't advise a tummy rub, if there is any problems, it could cause more harm than good. 
Often a bath in slightly deeper water so they are swimming for a good 10/15 seconds will produce the desired effect ;-). It's the movement of the legs and torso combined. 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk


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## RS Reptile Supplies (Sep 6, 2010)

TheGuvnor said:


> I wouldn't advise a tummy rub, if there is any problems, it could cause more harm than good.
> Often a bath in slightly deeper water so they are swimming for a good 10/15 seconds will produce the desired effect ;-). It's the movement of the legs and torso combined.
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk


I was only mentioning tummy rubs as its what is done for people who are having troubles not for beardies! As TheGuvnor has said don't try doing this unless you know what you are doing it could do more harm than good!

Tim


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