Bowel movements - when / how frequently should it poop?

[karmakollector]

Got a baby beardie (a little over 4 months) on Saturday and put him up in his new environments. He seems healthy, active, alert, not aggressive... . Loves eating greens (collard/mustard/turnip) for breakfast and then dusted crickets and some mealworms later in the day.

All seems good so far but... I have not seen a poop yet (after 3 days), and not sure if that is a cause for concern. (Especially when I read/learn about impaction)

A few notes:
Currently on reptile carpet (going to switch to tile or linoleum soon, though), but was raised on repti-sand in the enclosure at Petco
Diet is about 20% greens, 60% crickets (about 5 calcium dusted daily), 20% mealworms (after I read that those can be hard to digest, so cut back to 1 or 2 per day)
He seemed kind of skinny (in torso area) when purchased, but seems a lot wider (more typical) appearance now (torso also seems close to shedding, not sure if that affects anything)

 

[KarrieRee]

They should poop everyday-- you can try giving him a good warm soak and that usually stimulates them to go potty!

Karrie

 

[karmakollector]

I tried it... no luck. Hopefully there will be a gift waiting for me in the morning :lol:

Might try giving some applesauce, apparently that can help?

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hatchlings and juveniles have a much higher metabolic rate ,so your juvenile (4 months old) should be going to toilet daily or at least every other day if it's getting enough live insects each day (at least twice per day) and the temperatures are right.

Sorry but , not enough live insects - should be nearly entirely live insects see this
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=244111&p=1859195#p1859195
for best types .
At 4 months old , the juvenile needs the insect proteins and fats to grow and develop so I'd be leaving the salad til later in the day and giving at least meal of live insects per day.

 

[karmakollector]

We have a turd! (and he even politely left it in his easy-to-clean food bowl for me)

Are they normally this dry and compact? (though it's hard to say if it dried up due to heat from the heat lamp, since I wasn't able to check the enclosure after 4:30 yesterday.) Not sure if I need to be concerned about dehydration/constipation.

 

[kingofnobbys]

We have a turd! (and he even politely left it in his easy-to-clean food bowl for me)

Are they normally this dry and compact? (though it's hard to say if it dried up due to heat from the heat lamp, since I wasn't able to check the enclosure after 4:30 yesterday.) Not sure if I need to be concerned about dehydration/constipation.

If it came out as dry looking, he needs more hydration (ie more moist live insects in his diet).

 

[karmakollector]

Okay... trying to feed him as many as he will take, but he seems to lose interest after 3 or 4 at a time (twice per day), and don't want him stressed with extras wandering the enclosure at night...

 

[RarestDragon]

I would suggest offering your dragon some juicy fruit, like a piece of apple with no skin, a few blueberries or perhaps a bite of nectarine with no skin. Nectarine is fairly acidic, though, so don't feed your dragon nectarine too often. My dragon LOVES nectarine. It's her favorite food. But she only gets one or two bites a week at most.

Hold a piece close to his mouth and allow him to do one of those testing licks and see if he likes it. That's how I introduced apples and nectarines to my girl. Held it close to her mouth, she took a lick and after realizing how tasty it was, she snapped it up.

A piece of fruit every few days will help keep him hydrated. Just be sure that you check which fruits are okay for a beardie to eat.

 

[karmakollector]

Thanks... when I was concerned about the lack of BM, I considered getting some baby food (pureed apple or squash) to give a try.

I will probably start introducing some yellow squash, at the very least, but probably also some blueberries (however, since it is still young I know the main thing is high-protein insects.)

I would suggest offering your dragon some juicy fruit, like a piece of apple with no skin, a few blueberries or perhaps a bite of nectarine with no skin. Nectarine is fairly acidic, though, so don't feed your dragon nectarine too often. My dragon LOVES nectarine. It's her favorite food. But she only gets one or two bites a week at most.

Hold a piece close to his mouth and allow him to do one of those testing licks and see if he likes it. That's how I introduced apples and nectarines to my girl. Held it close to her mouth, she took a lick and after realizing how tasty it was, she snapped it up.

A piece of fruit every few days will help keep him hydrated. Just be sure that you check which fruits are okay for a beardie to eat.

 

[BadAtNamingThings]

when i got mine she didnt poop for a couple days either, its just the stress and itll come. If they become sluggish and dont use their back legs thats when you need to go to a reptile vet

 

[karmakollector]

It came at the end of day 3, and now (day 4) there was a big fresh one waiting for me (first one seemed pretty dry/dehydrated, but not the second one), so he seems pretty comfortable and might become "regular" now

when i got mine she didnt poop for a couple days either, its just the stress and itll come. If they become sluggish and dont use their back legs thats when you need to go to a reptile vet