Vakon
Member
Hi, I have a juvenile bearded dragon named Gork. I am afraid that he may be suffering from some intestinal problems, but I'm not sure if it's been a series of coincidences or if there really is a problem. I've had him since he was a baby, back in February 2009 and after a while his feces started to appear rather runny (I'm not exactly sure how frequently it was like this or when it started back then). They soon often turned into disgusting puddles of feces with little to no form at all.
I learned during the summer that he shouldn't be eating Romaine/leaf lettuce, so I thought perhaps that was the problem. I quickly switched his daily feeding of greens to more suitable kinds, starting with dandelion greens and kale (though he didn't really like kale). His feces seemed to improve, having more form as opposed to the explosive messes described above. However, recently the condition of his feces been rather messy again and I started to consider getting a fecal examination done by a vet (a vet that I still have to locate here in Scarborough). I started keeping a log of the conditions of his stool, and some days seemed normal, while others did not.
Tonight however, when I got home he appeared very agitated. His beard was black his tail was darker, as if often appears when he's stressed. His body was also "inflated", which I had assumed was part of his display of discontent. He had eaten most of his greens (Baby Bok Choy, which is a first for him) and he readily ate his crickets which I feed to him every other day. His agitated appearance persisted, however, and because I was worried about him I put him on my shoulder (maybe not the best of ideas considering his state, but he didn't express being threatened by it). After a while of sitting on my shoulder he produced this mess onto my floor:
After this disaster, he no longer seemed puffed up, and when I put him back in his cage, the dark colours faded and he appeared like his normal self again.
I've now decided enough is enough and I'm asking some outside advice. Though the following may be obvious questions to answer for somebody more knowledgeable than I am:
1. Is this fecal sample a sign of parasitic infection?
2. Could it be that baby bok choy and bok choy aren't the same thing and the former upset his stomach (probably a stupid question, but I'm paranoid and nothing has given me a straight enough answer)
3. Or are there any other factors I am not aware of that could be contributing to this?
I learned during the summer that he shouldn't be eating Romaine/leaf lettuce, so I thought perhaps that was the problem. I quickly switched his daily feeding of greens to more suitable kinds, starting with dandelion greens and kale (though he didn't really like kale). His feces seemed to improve, having more form as opposed to the explosive messes described above. However, recently the condition of his feces been rather messy again and I started to consider getting a fecal examination done by a vet (a vet that I still have to locate here in Scarborough). I started keeping a log of the conditions of his stool, and some days seemed normal, while others did not.
Tonight however, when I got home he appeared very agitated. His beard was black his tail was darker, as if often appears when he's stressed. His body was also "inflated", which I had assumed was part of his display of discontent. He had eaten most of his greens (Baby Bok Choy, which is a first for him) and he readily ate his crickets which I feed to him every other day. His agitated appearance persisted, however, and because I was worried about him I put him on my shoulder (maybe not the best of ideas considering his state, but he didn't express being threatened by it). After a while of sitting on my shoulder he produced this mess onto my floor:
After this disaster, he no longer seemed puffed up, and when I put him back in his cage, the dark colours faded and he appeared like his normal self again.
I've now decided enough is enough and I'm asking some outside advice. Though the following may be obvious questions to answer for somebody more knowledgeable than I am:
1. Is this fecal sample a sign of parasitic infection?
2. Could it be that baby bok choy and bok choy aren't the same thing and the former upset his stomach (probably a stupid question, but I'm paranoid and nothing has given me a straight enough answer)
3. Or are there any other factors I am not aware of that could be contributing to this?
