Bearded dragons and loss of fluids...

[J4ckdaw-]

Hi there, recently there has been cause for concern regarding my poor bearded dragon and his stool. For reference, he is a 4 month old confirmed male and is eating around 20-25 calcium and D3 dusted crickets and 10-15 undusted bsfl daily and occasionally touching his salads (made up of collard greens and spaghetti squash). He had a stable bathroom schedule of once or twice a day, usually when I am not home.

One night, 2 maybe 3 days ago, I had him out of his enclosure for a bit before he decided that there would be a great time and place to pass stool. The only off thing about this was that it was diarrhea! He was tested negative for parasitic infections roughly a month ago and hasn't had many issues since, the odd thing is after that night he kept on having ordinary stool but with each one he lost a few grams of weight.

This has happened repeatedly, the most he'd ever lost from one poop was 5 grams which was about a day ago. I was able to bring him back up to a safe 70 grams but I am concerned about what could occur in the future, he is also losing a lot of fluids when he poops leaving him quite dehydrated. This is happening daily at this point and I am growing concerned, every day he is becoming dehydrated and everyday I have to rehydrate him...

I've been doing emergency baths, offering water on the tip of his nose, offered him a bit of fruit juice on his snout mixed with ordinary water to entice him, offered him seedless watermelon and even put his water bowl back in! None of these are working in the long term! Is this cause for a vet visit or is it something I can resolve myself, I am not in the economical position right now to blow a bunch of money but if he needs a visit I can do it.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hi there, recently there has been cause for concern regarding my poor bearded dragon and his stool. For reference, he is a 4 month old confirmed male and is eating around 20-25 calcium and D3 dusted crickets and 10-15 undusted bsfl daily and occasionally touching his salads (made up of collard greens and spaghetti squash). He had a stable bathroom schedule of once or twice a day, usually when I am not home.

One night, 2 maybe 3 days ago, I had him out of his enclosure for a bit before he decided that there would be a great time and place to pass stool. The only off thing about this was that it was diarrhea! He was tested negative for parasitic infections roughly a month ago and hasn't had many issues since, the odd thing is after that night he kept on having ordinary stool but with each one he lost a few grams of weight.

This has happened repeatedly, the most he'd ever lost from one poop was 5 grams which was about a day ago. I was able to bring him back up to a safe 70 grams but I am concerned about what could occur in the future, he is also losing a lot of fluids when he poops leaving him quite dehydrated. This is happening daily at this point and I am growing concerned, every day he is becoming dehydrated and everyday I have to rehydrate him...

I've been doing emergency baths, offering water on the tip of his nose, offered him a bit of fruit juice on his snout mixed with ordinary water to entice him, offered him seedless watermelon and even put his water bowl back in! None of these are working in the long term! Is this cause for a vet visit or is it something I can resolve myself, I am not in the economical position right now to blow a bunch of money but if he needs a visit I can do it.

Try feeding him some raw shredded sweet potato to see if you can get it to firm up - even baby food sweet potato- let's see if Tracie can give some input on this -
@Drache613

 

[xp29]

Unless he drinks in the bath, baths are pointless and can create other problems if done to often. They have to take water orally to hydrate. If he is eating a lot of the squash that might be the culprit. Maybe try adding other greens like dandelion, turnip, mustard ect. Instead. I could be wrong but i think watermelon is a diuretic and could add to dehydration (anyone feel free to correct me if im wrong, i don't want to spread bad info).

 

[J4ckdaw-]

Alrighty, thanks so much! I'll keep that in mind, everything I've read about watermelon seems to point towards it doing no harm but then again this is the internet after all- I'll research that to be sure. Just curious, what does squash do that causes it to be problematic? Everything I've read and watched from reputable sources says spaghetti squash and butternut squash are good staples, I've used it for a while without issue. Thanks again, all of this is greatly appreciated.

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

Let me start off by saying, you clearly care about your dragon, which is a great thing! Unfortunately, caring goes hand in hand with worrying. And, you are worrying too much, respectfully.

Just like us humans, a one-off odd poo is nothing to be concerned with. Expect them. Try not to worry when you see one. Odd poos are only really a sign of an issue when they are constant, meaning daily for weeks. So many factors can cause the stool to be loose. Too much of a hydrating food, too much of a food the dragon hasn't ate before, a stressful day, oncoming shed, the list is almost endless.

It is also common for your dragon to be losing weight like that with poos. Obviously the poo is going to weight something while it's in your dragon, and once it's excreted, your dragon is going to be that much lighter. It's nothing to worry about. As long as your dragon is eating a healthy diet, he is getting the nutrients he needs. Too many people think health = weight gain and massive quick growth. That couldn't be further from the truth. It used to be the norm that a dragon wouldn't become full grown until 1.5 to 2 years of age. Now we are seeing dragons at adult size by 6-9 months. It's not healthy. Focus on feeding him properly, and don't fret over poos dropping his weight a few grams. His body knows what it's doing a lot better than you or I know.

Your dragon isn't dehydrated. Trust me. The stools are the only way to tell if your dragon is dehydrated outside of bloodwork. You know how to tell if your dragon is hydrated? by the stool having liquid in it. If the stool is coming out with a puddle of liquid, your dragon is likely over hydrated. Spaghetti squash has a lot of moisture in it which is likely contributing to the amounts of liquid coming out in the bowel movements. Cut back the squash to every other day, or every third day and see if the liquid in the stools becomes less.

TLDR, your dragon is not sick. Your dragon is not dehydrated. Try to relax and enjoy your little buddy.

-Brandon

 

[AHBD]

I agree with Brandon and as I read your concerns I was thinking of most of what he wrote in his reply. Don't weigh your dragon after every poo, it won't mean anything. It's when they lose significant weight over a period of time that we would worry.

 

[J4ckdaw-]

I agree with Brandon and as I read your concerns I was thinking of most of what he wrote in his reply. Don't weigh your dragon after every poo, it won't mean anything. It's when they lose significant weight over a period of time that we would worry

I'm sorry for the constant posts... I am a big worrier, after a bad experience with my last beardie's passing I'm scared that something could go wrong and panic at the slightest things that usually I'd know the answers to or understand. There has been a new development as well- I can't upload images due to technical difficulties so I apologize in advance. I will try my best to describe what has happened:

Leo was acting normal, eating normal and seemed overall in great condition but earlier he passed the most abnormal stool I've seen in a bearded dragon. It was small separate pieces of incredibly watery diarrhea with lumps of a strange yellow jelly-like substance covered in a greyish-white sheen, there were multiple semi- liquified sheets of what I think to be urates.

I have to say sorry again in case this is nothing, as it usually is, but have you seen this before and do you know what could have caused it? If not, is this vet worthy? None of the stool he's passed has been relatively solid. Is there a type of parasite that does this? Is it something else, like sickness or stress? He doesn't have stress marks what so ever and he's great with being handled.

 

[Claudiusx]

I'm sorry for the constant posts...

Please don't be. Like I mentioned, it's because you care.

We love the constant posts, we love being able to help out owners and dragons, and we love following along with other owners stories.

Without seeing the poo, it's hard to give you an answer. But more than likely, it's nothing to worry about.

How is he acting today?

-Brandon

 

[J4ckdaw-]

He's been acting for the most part the same, the only side effects are the constant diarrhea or non-solid poos. It's been going on for almost a week now (maybe longer), his urates have returned to normal.