Ella or Eleanor help please or any one knowing about bearded dragons

need a bit of help with my male bearded dragon,Tails,he's not been his self for a couple of weeks now,just picking at his food when normally he's a right little pig!the other day i noticed his bum vent was a little red and his hemipenes was out,i wetted my finger and gently touched it and it went in,it was fine yesterday but this morning it was red again so gave him a warm sugar bath before i went to work,just got in and its out again,just phoned our vet and said to bring him in the morning,they are brilliant with sasha but do not specialise in reptiles,have either of you heard of this?whats the best way to get him to the vets with out him getting cold?

whats his temperatures like? are they still stable

Also when was the last time his UV bulb was changed?

Sounds like he may have an impaction of some sort. It might not be serious, but most vets will know what to do with it - even if they don't, they can look it up on databases.

What sort of substrate do you use for him? Also, what is he fed? :)These are often related to impaction.

I would recommend a vet trip if he has a hemipenal prolapse again, though.

Ella's point about temperature is also good. They need to have a basking surface of around 100-110 degrees for optimum digestion.

i changed his uv bulb last week as i thought that might be the reason why he was'nt eating properly,i think he did get a bit dehydrated when it was hot the other week but have been giving him a bath every other day,i got some critical care too that he is drinking,he normally eats jumping things,wax worms as a treat,likes his fruit but its really hard to get him to eat his greens and veg,he's just got paper on the floor in his viv,feel a really rubbish owner  

Definitely make sure his temperatures are stable and high enough for him to be able to digest food, but it could possibly be impaction if he's kept on loose substrate like eleanor said

You're not a bad owner - animals get a bit off colour sometimes.

Generally, impaction is caused by food too large to digest (especially if it has a hard shell), poor basking temperatures and incorrect substrate. The substrate you're using is fine and you've checked the temperature, so it could be diet related. The general rule for food size is that it should be no bigger than the space between their eyes, preferably smaller if they're being fed things like crickets and mealworms.

If it is an impaction, it doesn't sound like a severe one. Severe impaction usually leads to temporary paralysis of the back legs. It might be a good idea to pop him to a vet just to have a quick check over, though.

he's been going toilet in the bath when he's in it,would he still have an impaction if he's going toilet ok?i've got a small carrier i can take him to the vets in,he's got to be there at 8.40, if i put his lights on a bit earlier than normal will he be ok,he would'nt get to cold will he?

If it's a mild impaction, he will probably still be able to go to the toilet, though it often isn't as much/as frequent as usual.

You could try putting the lights on early, but for a couple of hours it won't harm him, as long as it isn't very cold outside. He might just go a bit sluggish until he heats up again.

nothing else to add really, but does sound like a mild impaction, you could try raising the temperature a little more and see if that helps, otherwise i'd pop him down to the vets in a couple of days

thank you eleanor/ella,i'll let you know how we get on at the vets tomorrow,just worried as our chameleon died a few months ago and now tails is poorly  

Definitely let us know how you get on  

Good luck!  

Impactions happen sometimes; it's not your fault. It definitely doesn't sound severe and a vet will be able to sort it out easily enough.

 to you both,i dont know what i'd do with out this form