Bearded dragon black beards when poop and probably hard urate

[Toadleagend]

Hello, my bearded dragon sometimes black beards when she poops. This time it happened again. Her beard is still dark after it. I’m not sure if she will poop again, but it looks like she will. Her previous two poops before this one were fine but watery. She acted normal before them. Almost two weeks ago she had a similar situation. She had a black beard and pooped twice. shes Had black beards before with the poops. It normally returns to normal after she poops. This time it hasn’t yet. She doesn’t want her greens. She will eat crickets. She wanted her greens this morning. Her beard went bright after she pooped. But, returned dark within 5 minutes. The urate seemed very hard. And dry. Her poop was a bit formed. And lots of water. I have tried lowering the calcium. The only thing I can think of is that I might put too much calcium on. She has a tube uvb bulb. It was recently changed. I’ve made two diet changes between this poop and the last poop. I put on orange cube cricket food. And gave her a very small amount of sweet potato. I’m very confused what is happening. I feel like if it was the amount of calcium it would have been fixed by now. Can anyone help me figure out what is causing this?

UPDATE: she pooped again. So far she still doesn’t want greens and her beard is still dark. This poop looked fine. But, seemed like a pain to get out. A lot of wiggling.I’m not sure why her beard is still dark? It looks darker than before.
Now her eyes keeps closing and seem semi-closed too. Kinda tired looking.

UPDATE 2: her beard seems to have gotten better. I’m not sure how permanent that is. She still doesn’t want her greens. The hard urates seems to happen when she has two poops in a row. Like all of the calcium goes to the first poop. Making it too much. I would not know how to fix that. Does anyone know if there is a liquid calcium with d3? I have one without d3. But, I cannot find one with it. Maybe that would help?

Update 3: the beard isn’t as bad as before yet. But, it isn’t the brightest right now either. I was thinking maybe if there is now liquid d3. Give all liquid calcium. And then, for her vitamins. One day of herptivite. And another day of Reptivite with d3. Im not sure if that would work. I just looked at the calcium instructions. Based on them, I think I could have been dusting it too much. It seems i should be giving about 1/8 tsp a day on the greens. If I also give it on her crickets. I feel like my light dusting probably ended up being more than that. So, maybe i should try fixing that.

UPDATE 4: she pooped a third time. This was just a really watery urate. No poop. There might be poop soon to come. But, not as far as I know at the moment.

UPDATE 5: her beard is a bit brighter again. Right now it is good. But, sometimes it is brown. She wanted a green. So hopefully she is feeling a bit better. I also saw multivitamins can also cause hard urates. Is two times a week a good amount? Or is that too much?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Perhaps she is just feeling a lot better now & wont be stressed as much.
Was her beard dark or normal color? I wouldn't worry too much about a
slight behavioral change.

Tracie

 

[Toadleagend]

Hello,

Perhaps she is just feeling a lot better now & wont be stressed as much.
Was her beard dark or normal color? I wouldn't worry too much about a
slight behavioral change.

Tracie

Her beard was a Normal color. I believe she glass surfed today. But, I’m not 100 percent sure. And today she also pooped. Thank you very much!!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Keep in mind also, that reptiles' digestive system is slower than
mammals is so each day may be different. It sounds like she is
a happy dragon!

Tracie

 

[Toadleagend]

Hello,

Keep in mind also, that reptiles' digestive system is slower than
mammals is so each day may be different. It sounds like she is
a happy dragon!

Tracie

Ok, thank you very much!!!

 

[Toadleagend]

Hello, I’m not sure if this poop had a hard urate or not. She had a really big poop. And she didn’t poop for 8 days. The urate was moist. But, it was a hard to squish. And a lot of it was powdery. It was powdery but still moist. Is this a hard urate? Or could it be because the poop took a long time to get out? Maybe, it’s because all the calcium for 8 days went into a smaller urate?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The urate can become a little harder if they don't go to the bathroom as often.
It looks like there is plenty of fluid surrounding the entire stool so he is definitely
hydrated.
Just keep monitoring the hardness of the urate, If it was chalky or powdery, then
backing off of calcium powder or other supplements can be done.

Tracie

 

[Toadleagend]

Hello,

The urate can become a little harder if they don't go to the bathroom as often.
It looks like there is plenty of fluid surrounding the entire stool so he is definitely
hydrated.
Just keep monitoring the hardness of the urate, If it was chalky or powdery, then
backing off of calcium powder or other supplements can be done.

Tracie

Ok, thank you very much!!! Should I wait until she goes to the bathroom again to see if I should adjust the calcium? Or should I lower it now? I did think the urate was powdery. I give the calcium 3 days a week on 7 crickets. And herptivite once a week. Is there anyway I can lower it more?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That doesn't seem excessive to me. You don't want to lower it too much so she doesn't risk
having calcium issues. If this continues, you could consider giving a liquid calcium instead.
The liquid is easier for them to digest sometimes.
See what her next urate looks like first. Are you giving anything else other than the herptivite
& the powdered calcium?

Tracie

 

[Toadleagend]

Hello,

That doesn't seem excessive to me. You don't want to lower it too much so she doesn't risk
having calcium issues. If this continues, you could consider giving a liquid calcium instead.
The liquid is easier for them to digest sometimes.
See what her next urate looks like first. Are you giving anything else other than the herptivite
& the powdered calcium?

Tracie

The only other thing I’m giving is a probiotic. 1/16 teaspoon a week. She pooped again today. The urate was good. But, it and the whole poop were liquidy. So, I’m not sure if that counts. Probably, because I gave her some extra fluids since she was taking a while to poop the last time. And I did not want her to get constipated. I’ll keep keeping an eye on the poops as they get more formed to better judge the urate. Thank you very much!!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How long have you been giving the probiotics? That isn't a lot being given so I doubt that is causing the runniet stools. She definitely doesn't seem to be constipated at all!
You can add some canned pumpkin or squash/sweet potato to help firm up her stools.

Keep us posted on her.
Tracie

 

[Toadleagend]

Hello,

How long have you been giving the probiotics? That isn't a lot being given so I doubt that is causing the runniet stools. She definitely doesn't seem to be constipated at all!
You can add some canned pumpkin or squash/sweet potato to help firm up her stools.

Keep us posted on her.
Tracie

I’ve been giving it for a month or two. Her stools were firm for awhile and she was on the probiotic. I’ll try one of those things to help firm up her stools. How much sweet potato can I give her? Thank you very much!!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You can give the sweet potato a few times weekly. Just mix it in with the other food you give her,
1ML or so, in with the mix. It is healthy so I don't think you can give too much but it will add some
bulk & fiber in her diet.

Tracie

 

[Toadleagend]

Hello,

You can give the sweet potato a few times weekly. Just mix it in with the other food you give her,
1ML or so, in with the mix. It is healthy so I don't think you can give too much but it will add some
bulk & fiber in her diet.

Tracie

Ok, thank you very much!!!