Bad digestion

[cosmoni]

Recently found that Riot's been having trouble digesting. She just finished shedding and her appetite is back up, better than ever. She's been running on salad, crickets, and superworms recently, but she doesn't find as much interest in crickets as she did just a few days ago. Turning 3 years old. Her last poo had whole cricket heads, what looked like cricket wings (hard to tell), and just little bits of foods. She acts normal otherwise, and poo doesn't have too much stink (it isn't room-clearing). She was taken for a fecal around 3 weeks ago for suspicion of parasites, but we were told she was fine and got put on a medication to keep her from having runny poos. I don't feel lumps in her belly, and she poos regularly (everyday/every other day). Should I be concerned, and if so, what should I keep an eye on and/or do to help her?

 

[Emilia Thuet]

This is actually quite normal for beardies actually. You may have never notice it before because (and this may sound strange) their poop is usually incased in some sort of skin, kinda like a sausage. My male beardie’s poop is 99% of the time like that so I rarely ever see what it’s contains. But if it isn’t incased that honestly means nothing because my female beardie’s poop is usually never incased. The reason why I’m telling this is a little background info before I get to my main point, which is that beardies are sloppy eaters and don’t always fully chew their food before swallowing. That’s what leads to the cricket or animal bits in their poop. I remember my vet telling me a story of how a bearded dragon pooped out a superworm that was still alive!!! Crazy right? Anyways I don’t think you have anything to worry about, especially since her fecal test came back clean. She looks very healthy and happy!

 

[cosmoni]

This is actually quite normal for beardies actually. You may have never notice it before because (and this may sound strange) their poop is usually incased in some sort of skin, kinda like a sausage. My male beardie’s poop is 99% of the time like that so I rarely ever see what it’s contains. But if it isn’t incased that honestly means nothing because my female beardie’s poop is usually never incased. The reason why I’m telling this is a little background info before I get to my main point, which is that beardies are sloppy eaters and don’t always fully chew their food before swallowing. That’s what leads to the cricket or animal bits in their poop. I remember my vet telling me a story of how a bearded dragon pooped out a superworm that was still alive!!! Crazy right? Anyways I don’t think you have anything to worry about, especially since her fecal test came back clean. She looks very healthy and happy!

Ah, thanks so much for replying, that clears a lot of things up! I was getting a bit worried, haha.

 

[Julee1971]

Recently found that Riot's been having trouble digesting. She just finished shedding and her appetite is back up, better than ever. She's been running on salad, crickets, and superworms recently, but she doesn't find as much interest in crickets as she did just a few days ago. Turning 3 years old. Her last poo had whole cricket heads, what looked like cricket wings (hard to tell), and just little bits of foods. She acts normal otherwise, and poo doesn't have too much stink (it isn't room-clearing). She was taken for a fecal around 3 weeks ago for suspicion of parasites, but we were told she was fine and got put on a medication to keep her from having runny poos. I don't feel lumps in her belly, and she poos regularly (everyday/every other day). Should I be concerned, and if so, what should I keep an eye on and/or do to help her?

Hi; runny poop is Coccidia which is deadly. Find a better vet; a reptile one and do a fecal sample for Coccidia. Also, do u have sand substrate? If so remove it ASAP. It impacts them & destroys their tummy. The temp should be 95-100 on her basking platform & humidity 30-40 never ever higher. Buy a digital thermometer & a digital Hygometer those are the only accurate ones. If temps are off & she’s not basking; she cannot digest the food. Only feed an hour or more after basking & last Feeding lights out after 2hours. Also; he needs greens & veggies. Salad provides no nutritional value. Do a mix of 2-3 everyday. Dandelions, mustard, collard greens, yellow squash, butternut squash, snap peas and green beans only as the everyday greens. Lastly do u have UVB? The only best & recommended UVB light is the Reptisun 10.0 T5; order a length to cover 70 prcnt of the tank and it goes in the back starting at the hot side. DONOT get the 5.0 that emote little to NO Uvb. These Reptisun need replacing every 6mnths set A reminder on your iPhone. Heat lamp should be clear, ZooMed is best. Hope this helps keep me posted. Not properly digesting is always temps are off & /or Coccidia. Also she mite be Gravid. This happens mainly 2-3 times in the summer where she lays eggs. It’s a big big job and u need to load up on proteins and calcium to the max Dubai’s And crickets and horn/super worms read up on it.

 

[cosmoni]

Hi; runny poop is Coccidia which is deadly. Find a better vet; a reptile one and do a fecal sample for Coccidia. Also, do u have sand substrate? If so remove it ASAP. It impacts them & destroys their tummy. The temp should be 95-100 on her basking platform & humidity 30-40 never ever higher. Buy a digital thermometer & a digital Hygometer those are the only accurate ones. If temps are off & she’s not basking; she cannot digest the food. Only feed an hour or more after basking & last Feeding lights out after 2hours. Also; he needs greens & veggies. Salad provides no nutritional value. Do a mix of 2-3 everyday. Dandelions, mustard, collard greens, yellow squash, butternut squash, snap peas and green beans only as the everyday greens. Lastly do u have UVB? The only best & recommended UVB light is the Reptisun 10.0 T5; order a length to cover 70 prcnt of the tank and it goes in the back starting at the hot side. DONOT get the 5.0 that emote little to NO Uvb. These Reptisun need replacing every 6mnths set A reminder on your iPhone. Heat lamp should be clear, ZooMed is best. Hope this helps keep me posted. Not properly digesting is always temps are off & /or Coccidia. Also she mite be Gravid. This happens mainly 2-3 times in the summer where she lays eggs. It’s a big big job and u need to load up on proteins and calcium to the max Dubai’s And crickets and horn/super worms read up on it.

Hi, yeah I have that all down. I've had my girl for almost 3 years so one would hope I know what I'm doing. I'm in alaska so vet options are a tad bit tight, I took her to the most reputable one in my area. She was put on meds simply for a bacteria flare-up, because she pooed at the vet and they did her fecal there and then. She had an entire general checkup on top of the fecal. Even so, I gave her an entire enclosure deep clean and washed her carpet. She's had many many crickets, hornworms, and superworms recently all dusted with calium powder. I do not use sand, never have. She has a hammock, log, and rock on her hot side to bask and digest on. She isn't gravid, she hasn't had contact with any dragons let alone adult males. I don't see any red flags other than poo, both behavioral and physical. I appreciate you taking the time to reply, I'll keep my eyes open for any other red flags.