More talk about poop

[chucks parents]

Hi

We have another question already. Our baby Chuck has been with us now since Friday night so 2 days and far as I can tell he has not pooped yet. He is eating. crickets, he ate 3 small crickets this morning and 4 tonight. We are offering fresh greens and although he checked them out he really didn't eat very much just a taste or two. Should we be concerned about his lack of poop? We are dusting his small crickets. How often should be expect him to poop? ok anyone who's not a mommy/daddy would find this line of questions gross, but Chuck seems to be eating so I'm guessing he should be pooping.

Thanks for your help,
Chuck's parents

 

[crypticdragons]

he could be dehydrated and therefore having a problem passing. Have you been giving him warm soaks in the bath? At that age i suggest 3-4 times a week because babies easily dehydrate. Warm not hot and for 15-20 minutes.

 

[chucks parents]

Thank you so much. Has anyone told you guys how great it is that you have this forum? I have already gotten so much useful info that I couldn't find in the books and way more than the people at the pet store... We didn't know that babies this little should get a bath/soak. We were told to not really handle our baby yet. Thank you very much I will keep you guys posted.... ;D

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Hi there,
I handle mine almost right from the egg. I feel it helps with relocation stress as they get older. I could be wrong but hey it works for me. Go with brians advice on the soaks and you will be up to your eyeballs in poop. No wait. thats Me..lol

 

[crypticdragons]

Just make certain the water is no deeper than his elbows. All that needs to be submerged is the vent at the base of his tail. This is where they absorb the majority of their water. And tom isnt kidding about being up to your eyeballs in poop.

Also, when you say small crickets how small do you mean? Just so you know the crickets shouldnt be any longer than 1/4 inch for babies. Best way to judge is the feeder be approximately the same length as the space between their eyes (excluding soft bodied worms)

 

[chucks parents]

The crickets are pretty small. I was aware of the space between the eyes deal and I've been feeding the smallest of the small size to him and I have been dusting them. Should we be dusting every feeding? I've gotten some conflicting info on that as well.

There is so much great info here thanks again everyone,
Chucks parents

 

[crypticdragons]

at such a young age calcium is important you can dust with calcium 2 feedings a day 5 days a week(one feeding each day with no dusting) and only do vitamin dust 2 times a week 1 feeding. Hydration is key and once he gets over his relocation stress he will eat you out of house and home. A healthy baby can down 50-100 crix a day. once he gets accliimated you are going to be stunned how much goes in his little body.

 

[chucks parents]

Really 50 to 100 a day.... We are only eating about 8 to 10 a day now. Where does he put all that. He's so small... We trying the soak this morning and see what happens I will keep you posted.

 

[crypticdragons]

yeah it is amazing how much they will eat. ask tom how many crix he goes through a week with all his babies.
i think his order total is 12000 or something per week maybe even more now.

 

[renich]

I also wanted to comment about your lighting and UVB bulb. If they are not getting the proper UVB through the glass, this will cause issues with digestion and pooping. The temps need to be about 110F on the hot side/basking spot and 85F on the cool side. Wait and feed him an hour after waking up and an hour before lights out.

And I understand about pooping. Before kids, it's how I knew my dogs were ok or not. We get extremely happy when beardies poop!

 

[chucks parents]

I believe we solved the UVB problem, we removed the glass and replaced it with mesh. As for the temp the hot part of the tank, his basking area is about 95 to 100 and the cool side is about 82, but in the basking area he has a log than he can climb up on that takes him to about 10 inches from the heat lamp if he wants and I'm sure it's warmer than 95 there....... We interupt this post to announce we have poop!!!!! The bath thing worked!!!

Thank you so much for all your help,
Chuck's happy mommy ;D ;D

 

[renich]

Great news! Baths work wonders in getting these guys to go. Glad to hear you were able to get a mesh top.

What are you using to measure the temp? If it is the stick on ones that come with most vivs, they are usually off by 20 degrees. A digital probe thermometer is more accurate. His basking area really needs to be around 110F.

 

[chucks parents]

It's the dial style. It came in a package of three 2 thermometers and and hydrometer. I will check into the digital probe because I think it would be easier to read so maybe I can get one of those today. I already have a 100 watt heat bulb in his basking light and other suggestions on how to get that area warmer.

Chuck's mommy

 

[crypticdragons]

You can get a digital probe thermometer at walmart for around 15-20 bux or you can get a point and shoot styled thermometer which i really like and prefer to use. They are called Temp Guns. http://www.tempgun.com/main.html is where you can get them. It is 25 bux but deffinately worth the price in my opinion.

 

[chucks parents]

Just to update, Chuck is doing well he has eaten 5 more crickets and some salad, so that bath/soak really helped and I picked up a digital probe thermometer, the warmest part of his basking area is reading 112.4 right now. He is far more active since he pooped this morning.

Thank you everyone for all the great info and for responding so quickly.
Chuck's Mommy

 

[MsMichRalla]

I would like to add that your beardie should be able to get within 6 inched of the Uvb tube. Glad to hear hes pooping normally now