Where is a bearded dragons vent

Since then, we've switched to a non adhesive shelf liner. The lights we were given are a watt day white light incandescent spot light for basking, a 15 watt repti-glo light and at night we use a red light, I'm sorry, but I don't know the specifications on that one.

Basking area gets to be around 85 to 90 degrees, humidity is between We have the dial type measuring devices, the humidity reader is suctioned to the tank, the temperature reader has been on the ground near the basking light.

We were told he eats about 5 crickets a day, but since Sunday, we've only seen him eat 1 or 2 total. The other crickets just roam around his tank and hide in some of the shells that are in there. We've also been giving him greens and veggies mustard greens, kale, zucchini, yellow squash and dusting it with reptocal. I haven't seen him eat any veggies. He is spritzed down once a day with Nature's Reptile Vita-spray. He also hasn't been pooing so I've given him a bath the past two nights to see if I can help him out in that department while at the same time clean up the vent area.

So, to sum it up: Lenny isn't eating or going poo, he lays around and is very lethargic all day, and he has redness and other stuff around his vent area that doesn't look like it belongs there.

I looked to see if I could post some before and after bath pics of the vent area, but don't see where I can do that. Poor Lenny! Good he's off the sand, [ especially if he's small ], and he definitely needs many more crickets , more like 30 - 40 daily for a young one, and some will eat more than that, fed twice a day. The crickets should be no longer than the space between his eyes.

Avoid mealworms, especially since he's sick. Now, all of this info is secondary to what sounds like a possible prolapse. Is there an actual red tissue protruding? If so, it's an emergency. First thing to do is put him in cool shallow water with a few tablespoons of sugar. That can help the swelling.

If this doesn't help, a vet is needed ASAP, like tomorrow [ if it's late there now ] If you don't have an experienced reptile vet, or one that will take him, you must push it back in yourself. It can be done by a vet, and again, if that is his problem, it must be done within a day. There are instructions on how to ad photos at the top of the page under " website comments " I hope you can help him!

The first two pics were taken yesterday, the first before putting him in water and the second when he came out. The third pic is from tonight. Do you think it is prolapse? I'm wondering what happened to the poor guy because it looks like it has been like that for a while.

After his bath tonight, he ate two crickets when he got back to his home! So here is another question for you: If he doesn't eat the crickets, should they be taken out of the tank? Also, when he's basking, he flattens his belly and I swear he looks paper thin. Is that normal? In addition to the info about Lenny from my previous post, he is about 2 years old and I think about 16 to 17 inches long. Thanks, the pics help a lot! I'm glad the swelling is a little better.

The good news is that it's not a rectal prolapse, which comes from straining to poo and part of the rectum pops out. That's very serious and can cause death quickly. It looks like a hemi pene prolapse [ probably ] that has gone back in but the vent area is still swollen and irritated. Do you have a good reptile vet? He may need antibiotics. It looks like there is some tissue damage there, you can apply antibiotic cream [ like neosporin ] and continue the sugar water baths.

Cool water is best, so if he's in a cool bath, keep a small heat lamp over him so he doesn't get chilled. As for lighting, you really need a good UVB bulb Regular reptile basking bulbs don't produce UVB which is critical for over all health.

I think Rio Reptiles carries them as well. Until you can get a good UVB, you might take him outside if it's warm enough , and if it doesn't stress him too much. Be sure not to leave any loose crickets in the tank.

It's good that he ate 2 crickets, hopefully he'll begin to eat more. If you want to try a feeder that most dragons go crazy for, try some hornworms.

If you've ever seen a dragon black down to its stomach, THAT is stress. Putting a dragon in an inch of water for 15 minutes to get them clean and give them the CHANCE to drink, even if they don't use it, is seriously not going to do brain damage to your dragon due to a slightly elevated awareness level, where they're seen trying to get out of the water. Let's get a grip here.

If your dragon's freaking out, put your hand or a washcloth under them. Soaking is about the easiest thing you can do to provide for good health of your dragon. Guess what? The fastest way babies fail to thrive properly and dehydrate is by denying them soaks. Still have questions or are unsure about this or any other topic? Head over to our facebook group and let us help you sort it all out. Everyone is welcome to join, whether you're a new keeper, just interested in dragons, or a seasoned dragon keeper or breeder.

Just in case anyone was curious on the reasoning behind why dragons can't absorb through their vents - Years ago, it was believed that dragons were able to absorb water through their vents.

The main presumption behind this was that researchers were able to observe the opening and closing of the external cloaca while soaking. As time progressed, and research followed, it was discovered that because of the anatomy of the cloaca and the sphincter muscle, actual water uptake through the vent would be scientifically impossible.

Wade Sherbrooke, who is known as a world-leading authority and scientist in the field, then did numerous studies to confirm this assumption, which showed that no water was taken up through the vent, by performing a series of dye tests while soaking. His results were then successfully repeated by other researchers.

In order to properly hydrate your dragons, they can drink while soaking and they also get their water intake from feeding a well-balanced diet. I also mist all greens and veggies for additional water content and I make sure my feeders for them are properly hydrated as well. Powered by GoDaddy. There seems to be a great deal of confusion lately The reasons why its necessary to soak dragons So how do you soak a dragon? So you say -- but Mary, water stresses them. The most obvious way for a Bearded Dragon to drink water is out of a water bowl.

You should always provide your Dragon with a bowl of fresh water each day so that they have the option to drink if they get thirsty. Not all Bearded Dragon will drink from water bowls. Some Bearded Dragon will actually struggle to see still water. This is because in the wild, Bearded Dragon drink dro streams where the water is running. If you find this to be a problem you can get a water dripper or water fountain. This is a specially designed bowl that drips water down into the bowl and the ripples will allow your Dragon to see the water much easier.

There is also a clever way you can train your Bearded Dragon to drink from a bowl. You should check it out if you are struggling to get them to drink water. Insects such as worms have a lot of natural moisture and your Dragon is excellent at using this to aid hydration. How fresh the food is, to begin with, will also play a big part in how much water they are able to absorb. All in all, a good healthy, fresh food diet will aid in hydration for your Bearded Dragon. A cheeky little way to get your Dragon to intake some more water is to mist their food.

If they like a certain fruit or veg you can mist it and then leave a bowl full in the tank. Another technique that is along the same lines as misting food is to take some phoenix worms in a bowl and submerge them in water.

Once the start to wriggle, empty the water out of the bowl and feed them to your Dragon. Knowing how much water your Bearded Dragon needs to drink each day can be tricky. The main thing is that you create a good routine of providing fresh water in a bow daily coupled with misting a couple of times per week and you should be fine.

Here is, however, a daily intake guide that shows you how much water Bearded Dragons need to intake each day. The amount of water needed will vary depending on their size and the overall suggested intake levels are much less than you would expect.

Do baths hydrate Bearded Dragons? Bearded Dragons can hydrate themselves in a bath if they need to.