watery poop

GrumpyOptimist · Feb 19, 2018

hey guys. so my bearded dragon for the last few weeks has been having watery poop. when i first got him, his first poo wasn't watery but the guy wasn't giving him much of a variety in terms of diet. i was wondering if it was because of his diet that he was getting watery poop? he isn't acting differently and he is having consistent bowel movements (about once every 3 - 4 days). i also changed the lights from what the guy had to new lights.

his diet: usually butternut squash (his favourite). i also will add in bell peppers, sweet potato, snap peas. his greens are usually endive and escarole but will also include collard greens. he eats crickets (around 20 per feeding 3 times a week, dusted with calcium with d3).

his set up: 40 gal tank, arcadia 12% t5 22", basking light zoomed reptisun 100w basking spot lamp. his basking rock is 95f - 105f, his cool side is about 80f and his warm side is 85f.

i don't know what it could be. i could need to take him to a vet but i'm unsure if i should just take out the squash for a few weeks and see if that helps as i know they have a high water content. any suggestions would be great, thanks.

Drache613 · Feb 19, 2018

Hello,

Does his stool smell particularly bad, or not? Excess veggies can cause looser stools, yes.
You can try taking out some of the squash to see if it improves. What type/kind of squash
are you using & how do you prepare it?
Your setup sounds great also! The Arcadia D3 12% T5 tube is a terrific light so as long as you
have it placed 10 or so inches from him he should be getting great UVB. Do you have it on
top of a screen or underneath of the screen?
Since his appetite is good, I wouldn't think he has an excess of worms or parasites present
right now.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Drache613 · Feb 19, 2018

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

GrumpyOptimist · Feb 19, 2018

Drache613":zyg0qpps said:
Hello,

Does his stool smell particularly bad, or not? Excess veggies can cause looser stools, yes.
You can try taking out some of the squash to see if it improves. What type/kind of squash
are you using & how do you prepare it?
Your setup sounds great also! The Arcadia D3 12% T5 tube is a terrific light so as long as you
have it placed 10 or so inches from him he should be getting great UVB. Do you have it on
top of a screen or underneath of the screen?
Since his appetite is good, I wouldn't think he has an excess of worms or parasites present
right now.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

well i can tell if he poops as soon as i walk into the room he's in, but i feel like that's with every animal. he has only had these kind of poops since i've had him really so i don't know how "bad" it's suppose to smell or not. either way, i feel like it smells bad.

the arcadia is on top of the screen and it's 12 inches from his basking spot. it doesn't have a reflector yet but that is next on my to buy list. he has been doing so much better since he got the t5 (he previously had a coil bulb from his other owner) and his appetite is good. he eats his salads every couple days (i guess some days he doesn't feel like eating it, but he gets a fresh one every day either way) and he loves to eat his crickets and hunt for them.

i think i will try to limit the squash he gets and see if that helps. i currently have sweet potato and green bell peppers, would that be alright and not contain too much water for him to have for the next week or so?

it's a butternut squash and i just peel it and cut it into tiny cubes for him.

EllenD · Feb 19, 2018

How old is your Dragon? How long have you had him?

First off, ALL Dragon poop smells bad, lol. I've yet to have a Dragon who's poop didn't smell horrible, and as Tracie already said, since he's eating very well, active, etc. it doesn't at all sound like he is suffering from high parasitic counts/loads at all.

If he's an adult Dragon, or at least a year or so old, then he's going to be eating mostly fresh greens/veggies, so naturally his bowel movements are going to contain more water than a younger Dragon's bowel movements do, one who is eating mostly live insects, or all live insects. The fact that he's well-hydrated is not at all a bad thing, remember, they get most all of their daily hydration from their fresh greens/veggies and live insects, they don't drink much, if any standing water.

If you see excess water that comes out with his bowel movements, then this is a good thing, it means that he's very well-hydrated and you don't want to stop that. If his actual feces is itself runny, again, it's not necessarily a "bad" thing, but yes, you could try cutting out one of the more watery veggies that he's getting, or cutting back on it. Everything that you are feeding him is excellent and very, very healthy for him, so just look at the veggies that you're feeding him and determine which ones contain the most water, and then just cut-back a bit on them. You don't necessarily have to totally eliminate them, especially if he's eating them and likes them, as Butternut Squash is very good for him. The Bell Peppers have a lot of water too, as do some greens. Just try out cutting-back on the veggies that contain the most water, and go from there. I don't think what you're dealing with is necessarily a "problem"...

GrumpyOptimist · Feb 19, 2018

EllenD":oajaajxk said:
How old is your Dragon? How long have you had him?

First off, ALL Dragon poop smells bad, lol. I've yet to have a Dragon who's poop didn't smell horrible, and as Tracie already said, since he's eating very well, active, etc. it doesn't at all sound like he is suffering from high parasitic counts/loads at all.

If he's an adult Dragon, or at least a year or so old, then he's going to be eating mostly fresh greens/veggies, so naturally his bowel movements are going to contain more water than a younger Dragon's bowel movements do, one who is eating mostly live insects, or all live insects. The fact that he's well-hydrated is not at all a bad thing, remember, they get most all of their daily hydration from their fresh greens/veggies and live insects, they don't drink much, if any standing water.

If you see excess water that comes out with his bowel movements, then this is a good thing, it means that he's very well-hydrated and you don't want to stop that. If his actual feces is itself runny, again, it's not necessarily a "bad" thing, but yes, you could try cutting out one of the more watery veggies that he's getting, or cutting back on it. Everything that you are feeding him is excellent and very, very healthy for him, so just look at the veggies that you're feeding him and determine which ones contain the most water, and then just cut-back a bit on them. You don't necessarily have to totally eliminate them, especially if he's eating them and likes them, as Butternut Squash is very good for him. The Bell Peppers have a lot of water too, as do some greens. Just try out cutting-back on the veggies that contain the most water, and go from there. I don't think what you're dealing with is necessarily a "problem"...

he's 4 and i've had him for a little under a month now. i won't cut it out completely but i will cut back a bit and see how that works out. today his poop was just pure liquid, which is why i was concerned. there wasn't any solid formed poo but that's the first time i've seen that.

watery poop

GrumpyOptimist

Member

Drache613

BD.org Sicko

Drache613

BD.org Sicko

GrumpyOptimist

Member

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member

GrumpyOptimist

Member

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Forum statistics

Share this page