# male bearded dragon with a bloated belly....help!!



## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

Hello, im wondering if anyone can help me. I have a male bearded dragon approx 3 years ols and all of a sudden his stomach has become bloated. He was his normal self and now he is very quiet and doesnt seem to be himself. I gave him a bath and this normally helps himnpoo but this hasnt worked. His normal diet is spring greens with a few boxes of hoppers a week. All his settings for his viv are within range. He doesnt normally poo on a regular basis and i have spoken to a few reptile vets said this wasnt a problem. Im now getting worried about him. Any ideas or suggestions??? Thanks


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## Ratamahata (Oct 16, 2012)

Pics might help buddy


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

hi 
can you run down your setup temps how your heating, uv and %, substrate,what supplements you use and how often, a photo of him would be good too 


Paul


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

Will try and get some of him


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

your setup? there a number of reason this could be happening the only way to find out really is from a reptile vet check, we ask for your setup to see if there anything wrong in it and this could be the reason


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

the setup is 4ft x 2ft x 2ft, the UV tube is an arcadia t5 12%, the heating is 2 household bulbs one run through a thermostat, temp 85 farenhite in the cool end and 95 in the warm end and 102 in the basking spot. lucky reptile clay/soil. UV tube was changed 1 week ago, fed daily on spring greens and hoppers weekly.


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

1 of the bulbs is a dimming thermostat


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

just spring greens or other items such as peppers , butternut ,parsnips etc does he sit under the basking spot most of the time ? temp hot spot could be higher 110-115, what dusting do you use


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

we have tried him with other veg and fruit like peppers etc but he doesn't eat them. he only seems to eat spring greens. we use to use calci dust but when we put it on his food and hoppers he wouldn't touch them. no he doesn't sit under the basking spot a lot. he tends to sit on the pieces of wood under the UV in the cooler end.


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## Ratamahata (Oct 16, 2012)

Just gna make a swing here.. clay mixed with sand? That could be (in the worst case senario) impaction..

May not be though. My girl is looking very rotund of late, but she weighs in perfectly for her size.

Sometimes dragons will puff out if they feel threatened or insecure?

Another question to add to the current arsenal being thrown at you.. how often do you handle your dragon?


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

to be honest with you 2-3 times a week. we have had the sand/clay since we got him, that did run through my mind tbh. it is one that is recommended for beardies. trying to get pics up but having a little problem.


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

for me I would try a worm bath so he can stand it in , I would look at what your feeding and find a good salad list for him as there is loads out there, change your dusting to repashy calcium plus all in one dusting with every thing he needs in it also take a look at repashy veggie dust too but you need some advice from a vet really were all just picking things it could be but a vet will tell you what it is, there not a chance that your he could be a she is there and graved


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

Iv put an album together with pics of buzz in. iv put captions with the bloaty buzz. they are on my profile. its the only way I could get them on!!!


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

I believe he is a 'he' as he has a set of what look like balls!!! thankyou for the advice. I have a list of foods that they can eat and will go and get some to see if he will eat them and also go and get what you suggested!!


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

this him hope you don't mind me putting this up for you 

must say he look one cool dragon


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

thankyou, it wouldn't let me put them in a post, hence why I did an album!!!


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

no problem you just right click the photo and copy and passed the address URL from there it about half way down


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)




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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

I see what you mean on the belly


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

I just hope he gets better!!! never had any problem with him at all.....


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)




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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

has he been digging a lot in the last few days


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

no he hasn't.


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Have you had him tested for parasites at all?


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

no I haven't, he has never seen a vet


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

jools dose that look like a gravid female to you ? apart from the belly look a nice big well locked after dragon to me


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Madhouse5 said:


> jools dose that look like a gravid female to you ? apart from the belly look a nice big well locked after dragon to me


It could possibly be, yes. The belly is full of something - possibly eggs but could also be substrate, parasites or even - gas!

OP - you can have him tested by post. Contact Pinmore Animal Laboratory. They will send you a sample kit and form. It is a good policy to have your reps tested once a year.


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

I will contact them . I had a feel of his stomach and it wasn't hard it was very soft and when I put him in the bath he flattened out like he normally does.


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

yeah think vets is the only way to get to the bottom of this good luck and keep us posted


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## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

As has been said it could be one or more of many things, a vet check is the only option here. 

One thing I did notice though... You mentioned he tends not to bask and is more often than not chilling "under his uv" down the cool end? This to me sounds as though your uv is set up incorrectly. Your tube should be mounted in the hot end so that your basking spot has a high uv index (about 10" from the T5 with a reflector) and stretches 2/3rds of the length of the viv stopping towards the cool end so that the cool end drops off in to shade. Take a look here for more info on this. I also get the impression that these logs down the cool end may be the highest spot in the viv? You want the basking spot to be the highest spot as they associate height with heat. These two things may help him bask more. 

If I've misinterpreted what you have said then I apologise. Good luck at the vets.


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

good shout tom on the uv lets hope the OP get to the bottom of it 

Paul


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

hello, the UV tube is 2/3 across the viv starting at the hot end, the wood is also near his basking area. the basking lamp is as high as it can go. but thank you for your help, much appreciated


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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)




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## louisehfc (Mar 14, 2013)

the vets have had a really good check over him, he is in good health, he got a bit miffed off but it is constipation and trapped wind!!! I took all the viv set up info to the vet and a list of his diet and I was told not to change anything!!! the lazy git just needs to do more exercise and more swimming to get his bowel moving!!! so im currently taking a small break to update you all, and im going to get back to encouraging to run around the living room!!!! thank you to all have replied and given me their advice, I have adapted his requirements accordingly!! and maybe tonight I can sleep a little better knowing its not too serious. so thank you again xx


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Hi,

The safest thing to do if in doubt is get a good vet to look at a suspected sick animal! you 100% did the right thing.

He looks like a very nice plump dragon with great colours and no signs of waves or kinks so your doing something right :2thumb:

We have a big old male in the office here called george. He really does get spoiled so I make sure that I throw some hoppers around the office (when safe to do so/ when everyones gone) for him to chase about after.

Something similar may encourage your guy to get fit again 

glad it all worked out

John


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

cool that's good , have fun and good its a easy fix 

Paul


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