Urate Question

I am fairly new to the bearded dragon scene, and this is probably going to sound sick, but what SHOULD a healthy urate look like?( like can someone post a pic of a healthy urate?)

I am just curious because I notice that a lot of people on here use what the urate looks like to decide if a BD is healthy or getting sick.

I really want to make sure that the image I have in my head is what a healthy urate looks like.

Topic moved to Health
A healthy urate will be white and well formed but not hard.It shouldnt be yellow,loose or very hard.It should break up fairly easily if squeezed(i know yuck).

*WARNING* This post contains more information about lizard poop than you will ever desire to know



1) Runny Urate (goopy white around it)
Possibly over-hydration, could also be a sign of illness if accompanied by fatigue and weight loss, though its mostly caused by over-hydration

2) Yellow tip urate
Assumed to be symptom of excess calcium/vitamin powder in diet, they coat their feces in a mucus membrane before excretion, to reduce the stress of passing and probability of injuries,
this is usually what powder looks like inside that mucus membrane (gross, I know.)
If you're giving him extreme doses of powder or if he's eating lots of sand, these things can have a crystalline appearance

3) Bloody urate
Generally the first sign you have an impacted/constipated dragon, keep a close eye on him, & give lukewarm baths regularly
look for unusual lumps in the stomach/back/pelvic region, or for rear leg paralysis, if you see either of these things, and he's not pooping, take him to a vet immediately, they die rather quickly from impaction.

could also be stomach/intestine injury -or- the result of passing a large object
in those instances, provided he's still going regularly, I'd give him a few days (3 days tops) and take him to the vet if he still has bloody stools.

Always take them to the vet right away if he's *actively* bleeding from his or her vent, (and not just blood in the urate) this could potentially be life threatening internal injury/Dystocia (egg binding) or a cloacal prolapse.

Other things to be aware of:
Undigested food in feces - usually caused by lack of proper basking temperatures, over feeding, or feeding to large of prey / critters with hard shells (chitinous shells are hard to digest)

Diarrhea - Over-hydration or potentially parasites (if accompanied by strong smelly odor) or result of lettuce / carrots (carrots have tons of vitamin A, which is toxic in large doses to reptiles) - can also be caused by fasting, Pogonas brumate (reptile hybernation) during winter, they will stop eating, or eat very little during that period, as a result, the bowels evacuate leftovers

Extremely large feces - Cause is usually constipation, keep an eye on him, and give him regular warm baths to help him squeeze them out, -if he frequently struggles to pass his feces- give him smaller food items, or softer items (leafy vegetables/larvae)
and as a last resort, you can feed him lettuce, it will give him diarrhea, but its better than being impacted

Notes:
I often find my dragon will NOT use the bathroom for at least a week if I move him into another, new enclosure which he is not familiar with, keep a close eye on your dragon if you move him, and give him baths daily (by now, he should be well acclimated to pooping in the bathtub, as you're well aware)

Their potty habits should -ONLY- change AFTER their eating habits do,
For example:
if your dragon is eating 50 crickets a day, and pooping once a day, and he misses a day's poop - but is still eating 50 crickets the next day,
he's IS, or IS going to be constipated

If your dragon is eating 50 crickets a day, and pooping regularly, but suddenly drops to 20 or less crickets a day, it might be safe for him to go a day in-between poops without stressing

So what does a poop that has a white tip but is brown in color mean? It is easily squished, so it is the right consistency, but unsure about the coloring. I will try to get a pic of a fairly recent one to see if it is good or bad.

That is a good question?
post pictures of your dragon as well as his poop, it should look something like this:


tell us what you're feeding him and his age

they poop and pee at the same time
the brown part would be feces, and the white tip would be the urine (urate)
generally speaking, a healthy poop would be brown (poop with bits of animal leftovers) with a white tip (urine)

reptiles don't process water the same way we do, they turn it into a nitrogen paste (solid/squishy) and pass it when they poop

When you say poop is brown with white tip,are you referring to the entire bowel movement or just the urate itself?

Both of my dragons are semi brumating. Not sleeping all the time, still eating but at a really reduced rate, great temps, basking area 105, cool side 75, I have UVB reptisun 10, they eat some must greens and superworms. My cages are 48 x 18 x 15 tall.

I have one that only poops once every 3 days, always. Now he is only going once a week and this week its been 10 days. I have been soaking him daily, up to 30 to 45 minutes, warm water. Also massaging his belly, it is soft. He won't poop. He is still eating, he is still active and likes to blackbeard at his neighbor when I let them see each other. His last poop was normal. He is 500 grams and 20 inches and he is about 10 months. He is acting normal, but he won't poop. When in the tub he looks at me like I am nuts.....

Any advice? He doesn't seem ill in any way. Thanks!!

He's fine, if he's brumating, he's fasting, if he's fasting
logically - he's not going to poop

You don't need to entirely starve yourself in order to fast,
you just need to eat less calories than your body burns in energy <- fasting

Its a good idea to keep bathing him to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated, and to help him pass when he's ready to go, But...
Its not a good idea to wake him up repeatedly if he's just laying around and being lazy-

but there's nothing to be concerned about as long as he's fasting,
He knows what he's doing -

Human beings can do the same thing, we just choose not to
Bears, bats, squirrels, (even bugs) ladybugs and (reptiles brumate) frogs, lizards & snakes - and even plants hibernate during the winter, too
Birds & fish Migrate (long periods of flight/long swims without food or rest)
etc. etc.

I was just concerned because he isn't fasting, he ate four superworms yesterday, nothing today. He has been eating worms about every other day to every 3 days.....usually 4 or 5...I just didn't wan't anything sitting in his belly.

He does bask for a few hours between hiding under his branches. Thanks for the quick response....I am just a nervous mom, this is my first winter with beardies..... :mrgreen: I hate it!!!!

vickson420":aa899 said:

When you say poop is brown with white tip,are you referring to the entire bowel movement or just the urate itself?

Click to expand...

I guess I mean the whole thing, Urate and poo. It looks like the picture posted above with the white tip and then the brown feces. So I am assuming that everything is healthy then with it. She does this several times a day. So I know she is eating and eliminating. :lol:

Then my guess is it is totally normal but next time you can snap a pic of it do so, post it here and we can put your mind at ease