Funny poop?

[Fraya]

My bearded dragon has been having stools that look like cow pies. There is a fair amount of liquid surrounding the pile. I am pretty sure that this is not normal and before I run him into a vet I wanted to see if that is what should do. Do you think this could have something to do with being overhydrated?

Info on him
17" long
aprox 8 months old
basking spot 110 F
UVB bulb 3 months old
Vegies cactus pad, collered greens, rechedio, dandilion greens, carrots (on ocassion)
and crickets

He has never been to the vet before and I would appreciate any recomendations for the Seattle WA area if that is the course of action that needs to be taken. No new foods have been introduced for a while, we have been doing different things with the lighting, changed red bulb to a tight beam basking bulb. He did just have a more normal poop in the tub but am not sure if that is a good judge being in water and all. any opinion would be appreciated.

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

Spot has that happen sometimes. She gets bathed a lot because she used the tub for waste and she is always in shed lately so she gets another bath for that. I've never heard of any negative effect of liquid in their stools due to hydration. Your dragon is just a well-hydrated one.

 

[Lennifer]

If the poo is well formed with lots of water/liquid around it, then he/she is probably just well hydrated, however...if it is on the explosive side & smells more fowl then usual, it may be time for a check up as this could be a sign of parasites.

~Sandy

 

[Fraya]

It doesn't smell worse than usual but it is not well formed, and hasn't been for about a week or so. Do you think that this could be because the meat to veggie ratio is not right? He usually eats a fair amount of veggies, a dip sized bowl full and then about 12 or so medium crickets a day. Some days I don't give him any crickets, is this bad?

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

You should be allowing you dragon to eat as many crickets as they can in a 10-15 minute period 2-3x a day. Young dragons (under 18 mo) need more protein(live feeders) than greens. It's the opposite for adults, but the dragons do this naturally themselves. It's important to feed them the crickets everyday.

 

[Fraya]

Thanks, that could be what is wrong then maybe. I was doing that and then someone told me that I was feeding bandit too much and that he was growing to fast. I'll step up the crickets and see what that does. How much time should I give it before I take him to the vet? Thanks for clarifying the age that part has confused me for forever! He isn't skinny by any means, he has quite the belly on him and loves his veggies!

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

I'd give it a week and see if it improves, there is no harm in getting a fecal test done. They're relatively inexpensive, but give a great amount of insight.

 

[Fraya]

Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes.