Hello.. As you know, fall and winter are the time for ladybugs in the Midwest. Apparently one found its way into my Beardie's vision cage as I found it in his stool.
How toxic are ladybugs? His stool was watery but I gave him cactus pad the same day so I don't know what's from what. He acts fairly normal but I am worried it could have caused something I'm not seeing.
Should I have a fecal done? Anything else I should do?
This time of year with the beetles and box elders coming into the houses in force it's near impossible to completely bug proof the tank. Keep the screen top on as much as possible and keep the doors closed if you have them. Otherwise just keep a close eye on the tank and remove any bugs you see. I also vacuum almost constantly to keep them off the floor and furniture so they don't get eaten during outside the tank time. I haven't found them to cause a problem if ingested in small quantities but eating a few of them may be a different story (I'm not sure). I keep an emergency activated charcoal kit on hand just in case.
He should be fine ingesting just one. To my knowledge, I don't think they are known to be toxic. He probably would have already had some type of reaction to it by now, too.
This time of year it is hard keeping all bugs out of the house, with cooler weather coming.
I am sure he will be just fine!