Hello all... I might need help!

[Phildo]

Hello...

I hope I am posting this in the appropriate forum. My wife, daughter and I got a beardie memorial day weekend of this year. So we have had him 2 months and I'm assuming he was around 3 months when we got him from the pet store. Since I am new to this site, for simplicity here is a link to another site that has photos of him. This data is a month old! http://www.worth1000.com/stories/thread.asp?cid=4&eid=301419
Now he's almost a foot long and seems fine. Here's the question! As a new owner I don't know what his "stool" is supposed to look like. This might seem stupid but I've read alot about parasites and since I have no reference point as to how his stool is supposed to look, I have no clue! His is always soft but still textured and definintly not like diareah! It also ALWAYS stinks EXTREMELY bad! Does anyone have a pic of some normal stool I could use as a reference? Sorry for such a sick post! Great site... I look forward to checking it out further!

 

[Bianca]

Hi,
If you check http://www.beautifuldragons.com, I think that Veronica may have a picture of a normal stool on there, at least I remember seeing one.
But if his poop smells really bad, that's usually an indication of parasites. Have you had a fecal done on him yet?

 

[Chris]

ok, i dont have a pic of a normal stool, but there is a white part (the urate which is a crystallised version of urine) and a poo part thats browny/greeny/blacky/oragney, depending on waht theyre eating. teh poo part is encased in a mucus coating. so a well formed sausage would be a good description,..!!

when Bug had parasites, her mucus coating was gone, it looked like a little cow pat.

when chub had worms theyre were big white worms wriggling around in her poop,..!!

the parasites reeked, teh worms poos smelt okish fro poo.

if you suspect anything due to a horrible eye watering stench, getting a fecal done is pretty cheap, you just need to deliver fresh poo, you wont need to take your dragon in just for the test. if you catch them early while hes still doing ok(eating etc) it'll be alot easier on him.

hope that helps, if it smells as bad as it sounds like a fecal would be a good idea,..!!

post any meds your vet reccommends here befreo using them, some vets dont know certain meds arent good for reptiles.

 

[Phildo]

Thanks all! While his poop is like Chris describes it should be, "texture/sausage like", the smell is the worst thing I've ever smelled... and I have gone through the child poop stage (humans)... it beats that! Can I take a sample to any vet to check for parasites or does he have to specialize in reptiles? I have a vet 4 miles from where I live but the only reptile vet in town is about 30 miles away! Also... how much damage is being caused to our baby if he does infact have parasites? Thanks again...

 

[Chris]

i think any vet can test fro parasites, but i'd go to the proper reptile vet if he needs treatment.

depending on what he has, some will make them loose their appetite and they starve to death, some still eat, but worms suck them dry. it really all depends, but eventually parasites/worms can and will lead to death.

if hes still eating its not something you need to lose sleep over right away, but you should look into it asap,..! :wink:
the quicker you get onto them, the quicker the road to recovery wil be,..!! :lol:
not to mention you wont have to gag every time he takes a dump,..!!! :lol:

 

[Phildo]

LOL... thanks Chris! His appetite is still rock solid but I need to rid myself of the smell! I'll take a sample to the "close" vet and if parasites are found I'll take him to the "real" vet for treatment. The "real" vet across town comes highly recommended from other vets in the area! Thanks again!

 

[Chris]

haha, i just noticed your quotey thing down the bottom!
that'd suit me quite well too,..!! :lol:

no worries! :lol:
i remember that smell, ewww,...!!!

 

[mad1maddy]

Yeah I quite like the sentence in the sig tag bit...I'm forever saying that to my kids lol Of course, it doesn't apply to me. Ok, I lied :shock: p'raps it does!!! heheh
Hope ya dragon is ok OP!