Adult beardie: poop frequency?

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Fishercat

Member
Hi.

Teach is my first beardie. He's 3, and gets fed greens every day, and crickets 3 times a week. There were a few days after switching tanks that the new tank wasn't warm enough, so his appetite diminished and he didn't poop for a day or two. He's now eating hungrily again, but he ate like a little piggie this morning and didn't poop today, even in the bath.

I've got him on washed and screened playsand, which I screened again myself before putting it in the tank. The only water source in his enclosure is his salad, which is quite wet when I give to him; he'll sometimes drink water dripping off leaves I dangle in front of him. He also gets at least 1 20-minute bath a week.

Does a healthy adult BD poop once a day like clockwork, or does it vary? Assuming he's eating, how long before I should start to worry?

Thanks.
 

brittani299

Extreme Poster
Hello :) I answered your other question too. You should remove the sand. It can cause impaction and it isnt the best substrate. It also harbors bacteria. Better options are tiles, paper towels, newspaper, and reptile carpeting. Also you should be bathing 2-3 times a week for 10 mins at a time. Just to make sure that your setup is good can you answer these questions

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB, and where is the UVB bulb located?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?
Di you have any type of night time heat source (ceramic heat emitter, colored bulb, etc)?
How long are lights on each day?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
What is the night time temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
How many live feeders do you offer at time?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bathe your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
 

daner923

Gray-bearded Member
Adults do not always go every day. Some go once or twice a week, some go every 2-3 days. Depends a bit on the dragon and how much he is eating as an adult. I don't think you have to worry quite yet. He may have a small impaction, so you could try giving him a slightly warmer and deeper bath than usual. Rub his belly gently. You can also offer a bit of unsweetened applesauce, olive oil, baby food prunes, or unspiced canned pumpkin to help him pass. As Brittani mentioned, you should increase the baths and change the substrate - those will both make it less likely that he gets/stays impacted.
 

Fishercat

Member
Original Poster
Hi.

Thanks for the replies. I'm sorry I forgot to paste in the answers to the questions; I'd done so in my first forum post on the site, and wasn't thinking when I posted this question. Here's the basic info about Teach.

-----------
He's 3 years old.
I've had him for about three weeks.
He's about a foot long, but is missing roughly half his tail.
The enclosure is is a glass 55 gallon horizontal tank: 4' long, 21" high, 13" deep, with a 1/4" hardware cloth top.
The substrate is washed and screened play sand; I also screened it before adding it to the tank.
I am using a UVB lamp: the bulb is a new ExoTerra 150 desert UVB compact fluorescent. (It's 13 watts)
Teach can get to within 6-8 inches of the bulb.
I'm using a separate basking bulb. It's a 150 watt infrared ceramic heat emitter, made by All Living Things. It provides only heat, no light.
The basking spot is about 100 degrees F.
The cool side temp is about 72 degrees F.
I'm using a heat gun thermometer to test temperature gradient, moving it around inside the tank.
The ceramic bulb is the tank's only dedicated heat source.
I've been feeding Teach salads every day, about 20 large crickets 3x a week, and superworms as occasional treats. His greens were initially just romaine lettuce, then romaine and minced carrot, and a little spinach and bits of grape. This week, he's been eating prepackaged "spring mix" greens, and a little thawed mixed veggies (peas, green beans, corn, carrots). I've been careful not to give him very much carrot, spinach, or grape.
On cricket days, he gets fed twice: first greens, then crickets. He's gotten the crickets after he finishes the greens, or as much of them as it looks like he's going to eat initially. When he's not getting crickets, he gets his salad in the morning, and has whatever's left removed at night.
I gutload the crickets with Fluker's high-calcium cricket diet, but was given to understand the superworms are eating their substrate (wheat bran).
I use RepCal calcium with Vitamin D3 supplement a couple of times a week. No other supplements, since the cricket feed is supplemented; with calcium, among other nutrients.
He was initially pooping regularly every day, a few hours after he finished eating. That's changed, although he's still pooping pretty regularly.
I bathe him at least once a week for 20 minutes at a time to ensure hydration. Sometimes he gets another bath to stimulate his bowels.
I don't mist him, or keep water in the tank anymore, but mist his salads or don't shake the water off when preparing them.
I haven't brought him to the vet or had a fecal check done.
He's the only dragon in the house.
-------------------------------

I understand that sand is a controversial substrate, and why. That was part of the reason I asked this question. I haven't made up my mind about whether or not I'm going to continue using it as a substrate, but if I do, it'll be an informed choice.

He seems to have changed his timing -- initially, he'd poop every day, a few hours after he'd eaten. Now, he seems to be going in the morning, before he's fed. He seems to be going, on average, every day, or every other day. Mostly, every day.

I appreciate the info about frequency, and dietary remedies. I'm less worried now that I know it's not an immediate cause for concern if he doesn't poop every day. He's eating well, is alert, and variably active and mellow, depending on the time of day and brightness of his surroundings. I will continue to pay very close attention to how frequently he's pooping as long as I keep him on sand. As I said, I haven't made a final decision about that yet, and will keep the alternatives in mind.

You both mentioned bathing him more frequently. I'm using baths to make sure he stays hydrated, since there's no water dish in his viv. A book I read said that since the vent's biological purpose is sex and excretion, it absorbs water slowly and inefficiently. The book suggested that if you wanted to use bathing to ensure hydration, it'd take at least 20 minutes at a time, once a week. I have no objection to bathing him more often if he needs it, but in general, I'm trying to opt for husbandry that's as close as possible to the conditions beardies evolved in. It's a compromise, of course. But I'm guessing a desert lizard probably finds baths pretty darn freaky. He certainly scrambles madly enough every time his feet touch the water.

Given that he's pooping pretty regularly, and seems to dislike being bathed, what purpose is served by more frequent, shorter baths?

One more question about pooping: he seems to have established a pattern. Should I save my worries for if and when the pattern changes?
 
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