Okay, so..yesterday I had Auzzie (my female beardie, recently turned two) out and about in my living room, and I was cleaning off a bookshelf under her tank, and I didn't realize that there were some plaster chunks (about the size of a peanut, approximately, give or take) in the back corner behind it (from some construction a few years back, but they never got cleaned up because they were behind the bookshelf) and when I carried one object across the room and picked a piece of dust off of it, Auzzie, who has a strange and awful obsession with the tiny plaster specks she's found at the edges of the room (I've always been very vigilant, and whenever she goes for one, I stop her and clean the area and remove any specks that work their way out into the open) ran back past the bookshelf (it has an open back) and was pecking at the plaster in the corner. I sprinted back across the room, but I don't know if I stopped her in time. She may have eaten one-I don't know why she is so obsessed with the plaster, but I didn't realize it was there until she was eating it, I just recognized the stance she gets into when she's going for a speck. I used my vet's method of opening her mouth to check, but I didn't have a light to see anything, and she doesn't hold still for it very well. I did research, and I had a bottle of mineral oil from when we didn't know if Brother's cancer (male beardie, died of cancer Dec 30th) was an impaction or not, so today I gave her a few drops of that, and a few syringes of water, which she took surprisingly well, since she hates water. I got her veggies, for fiber, which she loves, and she ate plenty. The day before all this, she ate about 8 superworms, and she poops a little bit each day, and she's active and healthy in general. Today my dad said when he got home from work that she pooped only a little of what looked like calcium, which my vet told me in the past was the equivalent of pee. When I got home an hour ago, I saw a dried spot of what looked like actual poop. Tomorrow morning I plan to give her a warm back, more water, a little bit more mineral oil, and plenty of veggies. I'm really afraid though. I know what impaction can lead to, she's the 3rd beardie I've had, so I've had a few years of experience, and I've lost more than my fair share of reptiles due to bad backgrounds, sickness and now cancer, and in all honesty, the hard fact I have to face is that this is my fault, and if she doesn't pass the plaster, I can't bring her to the vet, because I can't afford it. It cost $180, approximately, to have Brother put down when he had cancer, and that's about all I can afford for Auzzie, which is the last thing I want to think about. She's never had to go to the vet before, and I don't want her first and last visit be a euthanasia. I KNOW I over stress and worry over the simplest things, when it comes to my beardies, but this is serious, and I'm really truly afraid. I've never ever heard of a beardie eating plaster before, and I just don't want her to die. So, does anyone know of anything else I can do, besides mineral oil, warm baths/massages/veggies for fiber, and water? I've tried not to freak out over this, but the more I think about it, the more awful it seems. EDIT: Turns out my dad saved the calcium she pooped, and I looked at it, it wasn't a tiny smear like what Brother had at the end, it was a well-formed calcium deposit. I'm taking that to be a good sign. (as well as the tiny smear of normal poop as well)
OWNER INFO Is this your first bearded dragon? Third What area are you located in? San Bruno, CA. (30 minutes south of San Francisco) PERSONAL HISTORY (Dragon) Dragons name: Auzzie Age, weight and length if you know? About 2 years old, 8in snout-vent, 18in snout-tail, weight unknown How long with you? About a year and a half. What is her condition recently and if it changed, when? She ate a peanut-sized chunk of wall plaster on May 8th. Is she active, clear eyes and bright? Yes Is the beard, chest or tail tip darker than the rest or than normal? No Walking/moving normally? Yes Any physical features that do not appear normal? No From Breeder or Pet Store? (this may make a difference) From Petco Has she ever been treated by a vet? No Basking or sleeping during the day? Basking normally, in the morning and in the afternoon, with lots of activity between basking times. Is she going to the bathroom, how often? Yes, every day a small amount If not, when was the last time? A tiny bit today, calcium (pee?) and then possibly a little normal poo Is it formed/normal or runny/smelly Has so far been normal, will update tomorrow Alone or with others? Alone Soaking or misting at all and how often? Baths on a weekly basis or sometimes more frequently (she's messy) ENCLOSURE Set up info tank size? 40 gal Temps -what do you use for heat? 75w heatlamp in a dome Basking point? 105° ish Cool area? 70° ish What are you measure it with? mercury thermometer What Substrate? bath towel, trimmed to size and de-stringed after every wash UVB Lights type (detailed) what brand, model, and length or wattage? Repti-glo 10.0, ExoTerra brand, 36in, 30w How old? about a year or less How close to UVB light when she basks? about 6-8in What hours for day/night? Lights on at 7am, off at 8pm Do you use any type of nighttime heat, if so what? None FOOD How is her appetite? IS there a change? No change, ate a bunch of veggies today, will update as continues What size, kind and how many/much insects does she eat daily? superworms, medium-large, calcium dusted What do you feed the insects normally? potatoes, carrots, Fluker's cricket diet, other veggies and leftovers, fruit when possible Is the dragon eating greens/veggies? Yes, she absolutely loves collard greens What and how much? Collard greens, about a 4-6in leaf-chunk several times a week Supplements? Calcium dusting on almost every worm serving What kind of calcium/how often? TetraFauna ReptoCal 'for all reptiles', includes calcium and vitamin D3 What kind of vitamins how often? Vitamin D3 (in the calcium dust) How are these given to him? Dusted on bugs
Hey there Wren, I only have a couple of minutes before I have to run off but just wanted to make a quick post: It sounds like you are doing everything 100% correct for the situation, so keep up the good work! Baths will be particularly useful because the water can be absorbed both through the vent and via drinking if you can encourage the dragon to do so. Keep the fluids in her, and continue with the routine you are planning on. In addition, if there is any kind of activity that stimulates exercise, encourage it. Exercise can increase peristalsis in the gut, combined with fiber and lots of moisture you will more readily loosen up and clear anything that may be in there. I would also avoid feeding any insects that have a highly chitanous shell (superworms, mealworms, etc) and put a focus on the salad for the next few days. Now, take a deep breath, keep up the good work, and keep a close eye on the little lady. If she only ate a "speck" and it was very small, odds are it will pass. Thankfully plaster is not all that toxic compared to other materials that she could have gotten into, so the only immediate fear I would have is potential impaction which you are actively working on - it is good news that she had at least a small bowel movement recently and is otherwise behaving normally. Also, the white chalky part of the feces is the urates ; ) Good luck Wren! Keep us posted and keep a close eye on her! I know she is in great hands!
Okay, thank you, that is reassuring. It wasn't a little tiny speck though, not this time. D: I've cleaned up all the specks as they've worked their way into the open, but this was a bunch of plaster chunks that had collected behind the bookshelf, out of view until I cleaned the stuff off the shelf. If she did eat one, it was about the size of a shelled peanut, there abouts. She's very active, in general though, so now that I've cleaned up that pile of plaster back there, I'm going to have her out on the carpet again–she's been out on a daily basis, as well as Baby, my male beardie. They take turns, because we have a big skylight, so during the summer months they have a huge patch of sun to enjoy, and they both get very active when they're out, because while they can't see each other from their own tanks, they can see each other from the carpet. (Baby loves Auzzie, and it's his continuous quest to get up to her tank, which he can't physically do) Auzzie tends to ignore him until she's in her tank and he's out, but she's a little quest-mobile when she's out. I really appreciate you taking the time to post, that's really reassuring. I'll continue my treatment plan, and I'll update this thread whenever there's news. It's also good to know that besides it being an impaction risk, she's at least not going to get poisoned by the plaster. Thank you. My beardies mean the world to me, and the idea that anything bad might happen to them is one of my biggest fears, but knowing I'm doing everything correctly for trying to solve this is definitely calming. And she does really LOVE her veggies, at least a greens-diet won't be difficult. XD
So far so good! I wasn't home yesterday, but I did give her veggies/doses of mineral oil/water/a bath before I left home, and this morning when I got home at 9:30am, there was a dried poop in her tank, which means it was from yesterday, and it was actual poop, not just the urates. When I massaged her belly in the bath, I felt a small lump, but I can't be sure if it was the plaster chunk or just normal stuff. Today I gave her her veggie/mineral oil/water treatment, and during her bath-massage, the lump was in a different place, which is a good sign, and it was harder to feel, so I think it was closer to the top of her body, instead of closer to her belly. If it is the plaster, she's moving it around, and that's a good thing! The sun patch on the floor is nice and big now, so I'm going to let her out to run around and be active now!
Great news! On Tuesday morning, Auzzie had eaten a bunch of worms. Tuesday afternoon is when she ate the plaster. JUST NOW, she was out in the sun, and she'd been running around for about an hour, and she just had a larger-than normal poop! It had two chunks of white stuff. I don't know if they were the plaster or just the urates, but one seemed to be kinda squishy, and the other was grainy, when I broke it up. In the normal brown poop I found the remnants of all the worms she'd eaten. The poop was about 2-3 times the size of her normal daily ones. Here's a picture of the overall poo, and of the broken up white thing. I'll continue to update as everything progresses! Later today I'm going to give her another belly massage, and see if I can feel that lump I felt earlier when she was in the bath. : D Poop: http://i.imgur.com/v6PTa.jpg Grainy White Stuff: http://i.imgur.com/FJ6tE.jpg
