Raging hormones in male bearded dragons make them into crazy, messy, spastic monsters. It can also drive them to mate with everything and anything (and even nothing). My beardie Tiger once mated with a brown corn bag. It was quite unexpected, but fairly brief.
Dexter must have decided to mate with something tonight and got one of his hemipenes stuck outside of his vent. It's called a "Hemipene Prolapse." Hemipenes are about the size of your pinky finger and pink-- just like the one below. There's two of them in a male beardie-- one on each side of the vent.
At first Dexter's foster mom feared he had a bowel prolapse (which is very serious) and she treated it as one. She soaked him in warm sugar water and kept the area damp. If a beardie pushes out part of his/her intestines while pooping, YOU MUST GET THEM VET CARE IMMEDIATELY! The longer the portion of bowel is out of the body, the more likely it is to become infected, diseased, or to die. Until you can get in to see a vet, keep the prolapse in warm sugar water (sugar helps it to shrink). Don't let it get dirty or dry. Get a vet to get the bowel pushed back in and then you must discover what caused it. Most common cause of prolapses is parasite infestation.
This is what a bowel (or intestinal) prolapse looks like:
A hemipene prolapse can be soaked in warm water too. If you are comfortable, you can lubricate your smallest finger (a pinky is preferable) with KY Jelly or mineral oil or even olive oil, and gently push the hemipene back into the vent. To get it to stay in, you have to push it up over the flap of skin making up the vent and then push it down. Don't shove it in. Don't force it if it won't go. Don't stick more than about the tip of your pinky into the vent. If it comes back out, go see a vet.
KEY- IF YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING THIS OR CAN'T GET IT BACK IN,
KEY- IF YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING THIS OR CAN'T GET IT BACK IN,
DON'T DO IT! SEEK VET HELP ASAP!!
Sometimes hemipenes will have to be amputated because the tissue has died. Not a big or traumatic deal, but definitely something that your vet should do.
Also, another word for male beardie owners. Sometimes the hemipenes release seminal fluid that builds up and forms a sheath or covering around itself. Those sheaths can sluff off and get pushed out of the vent when your beardie poops. So the poop will be left behind but there will be a greyish yellow or tan tube hanging out. It's not a big deal and it's not even a problem. Soak your beardie in warm water for 10 minutes and then you should be able to gently (but firmly) pull the sheath off and throw it away.
The first time I had a male beardie with this kind of "thing" sticking out of his vent, I panicked. I thought he had prolapsed or had a worm coming out or something. Nope. Just dried up seminal fluid. I soaked him and it came right off. Sometimes you don't even have to remove it and it falls out the next time he poops.
Also, another word for male beardie owners. Sometimes the hemipenes release seminal fluid that builds up and forms a sheath or covering around itself. Those sheaths can sluff off and get pushed out of the vent when your beardie poops. So the poop will be left behind but there will be a greyish yellow or tan tube hanging out. It's not a big deal and it's not even a problem. Soak your beardie in warm water for 10 minutes and then you should be able to gently (but firmly) pull the sheath off and throw it away.
The first time I had a male beardie with this kind of "thing" sticking out of his vent, I panicked. I thought he had prolapsed or had a worm coming out or something. Nope. Just dried up seminal fluid. I soaked him and it came right off. Sometimes you don't even have to remove it and it falls out the next time he poops.
