Bearded Dragons & Impactation

Primarily, a number of deaths of bearded dragons are associated with impaction. What impaction? When bearded dragons suffer from impaction, the pet becomes immobile meaning parts of its body or even the whole is suffering from paralysis. Provided that the pet is suffering from a high impaction particularly in the area of the digestive track, all of its legs could suffer from paralysis. On the contrary if the impaction is not as intense, only the back legs of the pet could suffer from paralysis. Provided that bearded dragons are suffering from impaction this means that a particular mass whether it’d be fully solid or not is blocking the digestive tract. In this case, since impaction proves to be a very unpleasant condition for bearded dragons, it would only be logical to examine and enumerate its causes in order to prevent its occurrence.
Causes of impaction

One of the causes of impaction could be food. Normally the problem occurs when bearded dragons consume food items which prove to be larger than what their digestive system could handle. If the food item is large enough, it would have a hard time moving along the digestive system thus it results to problems such as impaction. In order to prevent such things from happening, you should be well aware of the fact that the size of the food items to be consumed by your pet should be not larger than the space between its eyes. This is the most common way of measuring whether the food is digestible for the pet or not. There are food items which bearded dragons could eat, however because of their size they could only increase the chances for impaction to occur, thus you should be cautious in the size of the food item that you would be feeding your pet.

Aside from food, temperature could also contribute to the occurrence of impaction. Basically there are certain temperature levels wherein bearded dragons are able to digest food properly. Bearded dragons have a hard time digesting food if the temperature is not right. It should be noted that the cage of the pet or the place where the pet is placed should be sustained with a temperature between 100 to 115 degrees. This is the most appropriate temperature that encourages proper digestion in bearded dragons. Provided that bearded dragons eat a certain food item which is not easily digested and given that the temperature is not right, impaction is likely to happen.

Aside from the food items that bearded dragons are constantly fed with, there are other materials that may be located near them which they could accidentally consume. Particularly to items placed inside the cage, these items which are not exactly edible could pose a threat to bearded dragons. There are reported cases wherein these materials could also lead to impaction. For example substances such as pellets of any kind and a number of dried plant-based materials have been noted to cause impaction for some case. Available supplements in the market also pose risks for impaction. The more important thing in keeping away from and avoiding the occurrence of impaction in bearded dragons is always a cautious and observant mind. As a pet owner you should be able to guarantee the surroundings of your pet as well as what it consumes.