Beardie Diarrhea :(

[AthenaTheBeardie]

My beardie Athena (which I've had for 5 days now) is three years old. We bought her off of Craig's list from a family who could not keep her any more. She has only pooped twice, one monday and one today, both runny with hard urate (spellcheck?). They smell AWFUL and make a huge mess. My neighbor owns a leopard gecko and she says it could be a sign of parasites which of course made me super nervous. Athena is not lethargic or showing any sign of illness which is wonderful. Her temps are 80 degrees and 105 degrees and she eats about 10 crickets in the morning (small-medium, dusted 3 times a week) and watercress, carrots, strawberry, kale, blueberry, apple, and sometimes banana as a treat at night. Is she sick or just stressed out from the recent he-homing? I just want my 'lil baby to be okay.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry your girl is having trouble.
Usually a very smelly stool is an indicator of worms or parasites. You should consider getting a fecal done on her to test for them.
Also, too much fruit can cause runnier stools & diarrhea. I would limit the fruit to a few times per week, to see if that helps out.
It sounds like she could be a little dehydrated if her urates are hard, or possibly just a bit backed up.
Do you know what type of substrate she was kept on previously, sand, or another loose substrate?
Which UVB light are you using for her?
Athena is a great name, I am glad she isn't showing signs of illness.
She could be exhibiting a little bit of relocation stress too. Since you have had her less than a couple of weeks, you can hold off on a fecal for another week or so to see if she settles in more.

Tracie

 

[AthenaTheBeardie]

Hello,

Sorry your girl is having trouble.
Usually a very smelly stool is an indicator of worms or parasites. You should consider getting a fecal done on her to test for them.
Also, too much fruit can cause runnier stools & diarrhea. I would limit the fruit to a few times per week, to see if that helps out.
It sounds like she could be a little dehydrated if her urates are hard, or possibly just a bit backed up.
Do you know what type of substrate she was kept on previously, sand, or another loose substrate?
Which UVB light are you using for her?
Athena is a great name, I am glad she isn't showing signs of illness.
She could be exhibiting a little bit of relocation stress too. Since you have had her less than a couple of weeks, you can hold off on a fecal for another week or so to see if she settles in more.

Tracie

Thank you for responding! She currently has reptile carpetting (which I would like to change to textured slate) and has been kept on reptile carpet her entire life. I am not home right now so I am unable to check the exact type of her lighting but she uses Zoomed tube UV light and a Zoomed 100w basking light.

And I will try to limit her on her fruits. Thank you