No Poop

[bromide]

I have no idea what is wrong besides the fact that he isn't pooping. I feed him everyday, and the substrate is just carpet. Oh, one more thing, when I feed him at least 4 crickets, he only eats 2, and when one of the remaining crickets are right in front of him, he doesn't eat it. Sometimes he sees it and it runs away, and he doesn't bother chasing it. He wasn't like this before. Oh yeah, this has nothing to do with the topic, but today is his "birthday." Not really birthday, but I got him on this day. Not THIS day, but you know what I mean...

 

[Dog Shrink]

If he's refusing food and eating less then the first things toat come to mind for me are impaction or parasite invasion. Carpet harbours all kinds of bacteria so have you checked his vent lately for any unusual discharge or discoloration? Are you sure he isn't poo'ing somewhere in secret that you might just be missing or maybe it's really runny and blending with the carpet? Maybe try removing the carpet for a week or so and just go with paper towels to be certain he actually isn't going anywhere. Als you might want to consider warm soaks for a couple few days for 20-ish minutes at a time, you may need to keep adding some warm water to the soak to keep it at a good temo, andmaybe a dab or 2 of olive oil on his nose so he licks it to help kinda "grease" the tracks internally, but if it IS a parasite invasion he needs proper meds from the vet at teh correct doseage. Sometimes a parasite invasion that has gone too long can cause an impaction (in dogs anyway) there simply are too many and they block the intestine with the cysts and worm particles that are shed as they grown and break off the animal is suppose to be shedding esp. if the animal doesn't have enough moisture to maintain proper GI balance. So what I would do if I were you is:
1. warm soaks to help relieve constipation.
2. fecal exam taken to the vet to determine if there is a parasite load.
3. Oil therapy to help grease the tracks and move things along.
4. Remove the carpet and go with paper towels or tile substrait to determine if he is actually poo'ing and you're missing it or to see if he has diareha.

 

[bromide]

Thanks a lot, I didn't know that carpet can have lots of bacteria. His vent his clean, and he isn't pooping anywhere else. He usually poops when I take him out of his tank, but I'm not sure. Maybe I should test it by just taking him out of his tank and see if he poops. Thanks again for the info.

 

[Dog Shrink]

You're welcome and I'd try it if he usually poops when you take him out and not in his tank. I know I have a "litterbox" set up for my leo inhis tank (A box with some desert sand in it) and had the breeder send me some of his poo and he consistantly goes in his litterbox. And yes carpet canharbour all kinds of nasty bacteria if not regulaly washed out. There are much better substraits to use to avoid this problem. I have natural slate simulated vinyl tile in my tank and it's sooo easy to clean and disinfect. Just for an idea here is a pic of my set to give you an idea of what the tile looks like.

 

[bromide]

Do the slate tiles heat up well? And do you put the under tank heater under the slate (since it's thick), or under the tank?

 

[bromide]

Oh, I forgot, would etco have any slate tiles or should I just buy it at Home Depot?

 

[gothra]

If your gecko is healthy, not carrying parasites, then there are several reasons to constipation. He might not be drinking enough, not moving around much, or he isn't eating as much (so there is not enough "stuff" to make poop). How long has he been constipated? If he hasn't pooped in a week, I would try a warm soak and a gentle massage to the belly. Let him climb more, that'll help.

Carpets will not harbour all sorts of bacteria if you spot clean daily and kept well ventilated. I use cotton mats for all my geckos and I only change it out once every 2-3 months. Put some toilet paper on the poop corner and change that out when its soiled, then you don't need to worry about bacteria building up.

 

[Dog Shrink]

The tiles I used are actually simulated slate vinyl tiles that I got at home depot. You can buy them singly or in large packs of 25 or 40 (I can post a link if you'd like to see them on their site). I put the uth on the underside of the tank seeing as how they are self adhesive vinyl tiles, and with the glass I'm lucky if it's a half inch thick. It holds and disperses heat well. I have no trouble making temp (93 degrees F) with a 6x11 7 watt matt on a 20 long tank. As far as the carpet goes, I would worry more about pee spots that you couldn't see to spot clean or if there's a hidden poo somewhere you'd never expect to find one (Good idea about using the tp bonnie in teh potty corner). If you're dilligent about keeping the carpet clean it should be ok, but I wouldn't be comfrotable going more than a week with out washing it out. White vinegar and water (50/50) is a great rinse to use as it removes all the biological element that is left behind when an animal potties.

 

[bromide]

Ok thanks. I might change the carpet to tile; I saw on the internet that a lot of people recommend tile more than anything else. But, with vinyl tiles, I read that it has glue and the UTH melts the glue which makes fumes that are bad for a gecko. My gecko poops on a net which is suspended. I took him out of his tank and he was out for a while, but he didn't poop.

 

[Dog Shrink]

You're lucky if your temps produced by a heat mat are much higher than your body temp considering we're 98.6 degrees.. My cobra mat produces 100 degrees consistantly, Your body temps aren't going to melt the adhesive on the backs of the tile, and your tank shouldn't really be above 95 so logic would dictate it won't melt. I use to install carpet and tile and we would have to use a hot iron at 400 degrees to melt the glue on seam tape so there's no worries of fumes with the adhesive tiles. I've used them for almost a month and have NEVER smelt burning or melted adhesive. The only thing warm adhesive wil do is adhere to the tank better.

 

[bromide]

Oh I see. So I'll probably get the tile. Still no sign of poop... D:

 

[Dog Shrink]

Keep soaking him 2-3 times a day for 20-30 minutes, rub his tummy a little while he soaks, increase his activity levels as movement creates movements (if you get my meaning ) When you reduce the amount of exercise you decrease GI motility so... maybe give a little oilive oil to help grease the tracks, a couple few drops on his nose to lick off.

 

[bromide]

Ok, also I forgot to mention, before he started to not poop I rearranged his hides. Maybe he's just getting used to it or he's stressed? Would that be another cause?

 

[bromide]

I got up this morning and went to his cage and saw.......POOP! Thanks for all your help, I appreciate it.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Hopefully it's good poop

 

[bromide]

Yeah, it's normal poop.

 

[Dog Shrink]

You may want to take that in for a parasite check just to be safe. It shouldn't cost much and for the piece of mind I think it's well worth it. The stress from re-arranging his habitat could have been a contributing factor. YAY for poop You might still want to do the warm soaks for a couple more days just to make sure the rest of the "hard stool" from the constipation gets all worked out and maybe stay on the reduced feedings another couple days just to make sure he doesn't constipate again. Just my opinion.