Watery Stool and Diet

Status
Not open for further replies.

darlenep

New member
Hello. We have 10 month old bearded dragon who is having watery poops. I was starting to get worried so I called the vet hoping they would allow me to just take a sample to them since we have had him there before. She said to bring him in today because he hadn't been seen since November and the vet is only there on Tuesdays. He has been doing very well since our visit in November except for this new poop issue. He had metabolic bone disease when we got him but is much better now.

Just about everything I have read says to feed the juveniles as many crickets as they can eat in 15 minutes. This got really expensive plus he didn't seem well and slept a lot. Could have been the winter and being an older juvenile maybe it was slightly brumating? A pet store worker said to feed 6 crickets every other day which doesn't seem like enough. We did cut back greatly on the crickets and he really perked up since. I am giving him about 20 freeze dried a day right now. We get live ones periodically too.

My DD doesn't think there is anything wrong and believes the water is due to all the lettuce he eats. After looking into it further he shouldn't be eating the amount of lettuce we've been feeding. Due to that and the fact that he hasn't pooped yet today I cancelled the appointment. I'll start feeding more of the other vegetables.

The vet told us to get him on pellets but DD could never get him to eat them. I just tried myself and he violently ate it off a spoon but will not eat it out of the bowl. I will keep trying but can someone tell me how much pellets to feed and any other diet tips? He has a big appetite but I don't know if I am feeding enough of the right foods.

He was 5 oz and 10 inches in November. He is now 17 inches so I guess he's not starving but I feel like I can't find a happy medium.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
At 17 inches he's pretty big but I'd still offer 1 meal of live bugs per day for another couple of months. It's good to provide a salad for him as well but I'd avoid plain lettuce and use dark greens like collards and turnip greens. Dandelion greens are starting to come back in season now too. I usually add some chopped up squash and chopped green beans to my salad as well. Sometimes I'll add in bell pepper or something along those lines too. The more variety you can provide, the better.
 

darlenep

New member
Original Poster
Thanks for the response.

Yesterday was the first I had seen any type of greens in the grocery stores and most of the fruit and veggies are nasty because apparently people around here just eat junk food. I managed to find a decent looking bag of collard, kale, mustard and turnip greens. Oddly he is not a fan of anything that is not green but we'll keep trying.

Also, and I'm not a scientist, but I put a smear under the microscope and did not see anything that resembled a worm. I'll call the vet again in a week or two if this doesn't improve.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
darlenep":304r8ext said:
Hello. We have 10 month old bearded dragon who is having watery poops. I was starting to get worried so I called the vet hoping they would allow me to just take a sample to them since we have had him there before. She said to bring him in today because he hadn't been seen since November and the vet is only there on Tuesdays. He has been doing very well since our visit in November except for this new poop issue. He had metabolic bone disease when we got him but is much better now.

Just about everything I have read says to feed the juveniles as many crickets as they can eat in 15 minutes. This got really expensive plus he didn't seem well and slept a lot. Could have been the winter and being an older juvenile maybe it was slightly brumating? A pet store worker said to feed 6 crickets every other day which doesn't seem like enough. We did cut back greatly on the crickets and he really perked up since. I am giving him about 20 freeze dried a day right now. We get live ones periodically too.
<<<< pet stores , bad advice as usual.

10 months old requires two feeds of high quality live insect protein per day , as many as he will eat.
Offer the greens and chopped veg with or after his second live insect feed.
At the same age Peppa and Toothless were polishing off 24 medium sized crickets each (split between am and pm meals).

Taking a nap after basking and a feed is quite normal.



My DD doesn't think there is anything wrong and believes the water is due to all the lettuce he eats. After looking into it further he shouldn't be eating the amount of lettuce we've been feeding. Due to that and the fact that he hasn't pooped yet today I cancelled the appointment. I'll start feeding more of the other vegetables. <<< the wet water poos is diet caused, lettuce has nil nutritional value and is really just mostly water.

The vet told us to get him on pellets but DD could never get him to eat them. I just tried myself and he violently ate it off a spoon but will not eat it out of the bowl. I will keep trying but can someone tell me how much pellets to feed and any other diet tips? He has a big appetite but I don't know if I am feeding enough of the right foods. <<<<None of my lizards like them either, but crickets love them.
I'm not a fan of processed foods for reptiles, but if you are going to give processed food BugPie will at least be nutritious.


He was 5 oz and 10 inches in November. He is now 17 inches so I guess he's not starving but I feel like I can't find a happy medium.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,688
Members
75,966
Latest member
georgiarichmond
Top Bottom