Irregular Bowel Movements

Onwyx

Member
Beardie name(s)
Onyx
Hi everyone, new here to the forum.

My bearded dragon has been having hard urates most of the time for over a year now. I’ve brought her to the vet several times to do lab work and ultimately, the vet told me he’s unsure why her stool is the way they are since I seem to be doing everything right, which is quite disappointing.

My beardie, Onyx, is in a 40 gallon (36x18x18) enclosure, which I definitely plan to upgrade to a 120 when I find the space.
UVB: 34” ReptiSun 10.0 UVB, T5 HO 39W. I change these every 6 months. Being a 34” in a 36” tank, it stretches pretty much the entirety of her enclosure. It sits directly on top of the screen towards the back of the enclosure.
Basking: ZooMed Repti Basking Spot Lamp 100W. I change these whenever they stop working.
Temps/ Humidity: Cool side 70-80F, 30-45% humidity. Basking spot 95-104F, 30-38% humidity.
I’ve attached a photo of her enclosure for reference. UVB lamp is hard to see but it’s towards the back of the enclosure as mentioned.

Onyx is ~4.5 years old now and she loves her greens (mostly collards, occasionally turnip/dandelion greens and butternut squash), which she gets every other day or every 2 days (she doesn’t eat if I give her more often than that). I stopped feeding her bugs for quite a while because her vet and I were afraid she was having indigestion issues because she would only poop once per week or 2 weeks, and her urate would be hard (per the vet, he doesn’t think she was ever impacted since her belly was always soft and she had bowel sounds). I started reintroducing small dubia roaches to her in June, just 1-3 at a time every 2-3 weeks at most.
In April, she was extremely active, scratching at the glass enclosure wanting to come out and had regular BMs all the time. Her stool was formed but urate was on the smaller side. Same thing in May but slightly less active but still active. In June, she was way less active but will still eat, but she started to skip basking. Every time I put her up to bask, she would come down within 20 min to 2 hours, and then she’d remain on the cool side for the remainder of the time until I make her bask again. Sometimes she would go 1-2 weeks without pooping. Recently, she had a BM on 6/24 and then finally again today 7/8 (exactly 2 weeks). Both had watery but formed stool, slightly mucous-looking, with large but somewhat hard, chalky/ crumbly urate. The urate from 7/8 had a hint of green, which I’ve never seen in her urates before. I’ve attached photos for reference.

When she was having hard urates, I stopped feeding her bugs and I’d soak her almost everyday, and mist her greens slightly. But then she started having a small pool of liquid with her stool, so I stopped soaking her and don’t mist her greens as often.

I lightly dust her dubias with calcium and vitamins. But since she only gets these occasionally, I dust her greens every week or so. With the consistently hard urates, her vet and I thought maybe she’s getting too much calcium at one point. Her last 2 lab work showed that her calcium were in normal range, although the most recent one in March was less than the one before. Her vet discussed her lab results with me and he thought that maybe she had some kidney injury, but decided that it’s likely not the case. He suggested using avian red palm oil on her greens to help protect her kidneys, which I do use occasionally.

Of note, I’ve noticed her belly twitch a few times and her arm twitch once. I thought these may point to calcium deficiency but I’m not sure since her lab results suggests that it’s fine. I’ve attached her last few lab results here as well.

Does anyone have any idea what may be the reason for her consistently hard, chalky urates? And why her stool may be mucousy and watery?
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 5
Hi everyone, new here to the forum.

My bearded dragon has been having hard urates most of the time for over a year now. I’ve brought her to the vet several times to do lab work and ultimately, the vet told me he’s unsure why her stool is the way they are since I seem to be doing everything right, which is quite disappointing.

My beardie, Onyx, is in a 40 gallon (36x18x18) enclosure, which I definitely plan to upgrade to a 120 when I find the space.
UVB: 34” ReptiSun 10.0 UVB, T5 HO 39W. I change these every 6 months. Being a 34” in a 36” tank, it stretches pretty much the entirety of her enclosure. It sits directly on top of the screen towards the back of the enclosure.
Basking: ZooMed Repti Basking Spot Lamp 100W. I change these whenever they stop working.
Temps/ Humidity: Cool side 70-80F, 30-45% humidity. Basking spot 95-104F, 30-38% humidity.
I’ve attached a photo of her enclosure for reference. UVB lamp is hard to see but it’s towards the back of the enclosure as mentioned.

Onyx is ~4.5 years old now and she loves her greens (mostly collards, occasionally turnip/dandelion greens and butternut squash), which she gets every other day or every 2 days (she doesn’t eat if I give her more often than that). I stopped feeding her bugs for quite a while because her vet and I were afraid she was having indigestion issues because she would only poop once per week or 2 weeks, and her urate would be hard (per the vet, he doesn’t think she was ever impacted since her belly was always soft and she had bowel sounds). I started reintroducing small dubia roaches to her in June, just 1-3 at a time every 2-3 weeks at most.
In April, she was extremely active, scratching at the glass enclosure wanting to come out and had regular BMs all the time. Her stool was formed but urate was on the smaller side. Same thing in May but slightly less active but still active. In June, she was way less active but will still eat, but she started to skip basking. Every time I put her up to bask, she would come down within 20 min to 2 hours, and then she’d remain on the cool side for the remainder of the time until I make her bask again. Sometimes she would go 1-2 weeks without pooping. Recently, she had a BM on 6/24 and then finally again today 7/8 (exactly 2 weeks). Both had watery but formed stool, slightly mucous-looking, with large but somewhat hard, chalky/ crumbly urate. The urate from 7/8 had a hint of green, which I’ve never seen in her urates before. I’ve attached photos for reference.

When she was having hard urates, I stopped feeding her bugs and I’d soak her almost everyday, and mist her greens slightly. But then she started having a small pool of liquid with her stool, so I stopped soaking her and don’t mist her greens as often.

I lightly dust her dubias with calcium and vitamins. But since she only gets these occasionally, I dust her greens every week or so. With the consistently hard urates, her vet and I thought maybe she’s getting too much calcium at one point. Her last 2 lab work showed that her calcium were in normal range, although the most recent one in March was less than the one before. Her vet discussed her lab results with me and he thought that maybe she had some kidney injury, but decided that it’s likely not the case. He suggested using avian red palm oil on her greens to help protect her kidneys, which I do use occasionally.

Of note, I’ve noticed her belly twitch a few times and her arm twitch once. I thought these may point to calcium deficiency but I’m not sure since her lab results suggests that it’s fine. I’ve attached her last few lab results here as well.

Does anyone have any idea what may be the reason for her consistently hard, chalky urates? And why her stool may be mucousy and watery?
The poops pictured look good --- if they are chalky she is dehydrated -- I would recommend you get the UVB unobstructed--- the screen is blocking 30% of the rays-the twitching can be starting of MBD which is the UVB I mentioned -- this would have something to do w/ the poop as well - it is common for dragons to not poop for several weeks - sometimes as long as a month - but I would get the UVB moved into the tank or take the screen off and have it directly over the basking decor piece 12-15 inches -- the UVB helps the dragon absorb / utilize the calcium shes ingesting -- I would go back to misting or rinsing the greens as that is how they get most of their hydration if she has excess water coming out that is good means shes hydrated -- I have never heard of avian palm oil -- avian is for birds so I am not sure about that w/ kidneys- what is recommended on this board is tart cherry juice for the kidneys - it flushes them out -- I would not soak her every day your drying her scales out -- unless shes is actually drinking from the bath shes not getting water -- the mucous watery poop is common other dragons have it to - we can have Tracie look at your test results and she can help there
@Drache613
 

Onwyx

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Onyx
The poops pictured look good --- if they are chalky she is dehydrated -- I would recommend you get the UVB unobstructed--- the screen is blocking 30% of the rays-the twitching can be starting of MBD which is the UVB I mentioned -- this would have something to do w/ the poop as well - it is common for dragons to not poop for several weeks - sometimes as long as a month - but I would get the UVB moved into the tank or take the screen off and have it directly over the basking decor piece 12-15 inches -- the UVB helps the dragon absorb / utilize the calcium shes ingesting -- I would go back to misting or rinsing the greens as that is how they get most of their hydration if she has excess water coming out that is good means shes hydrated -- I have never heard of avian palm oil -- avian is for birds so I am not sure about that w/ kidneys- what is recommended on this board is tart cherry juice for the kidneys - it flushes them out -- I would not soak her every day your drying her scales out -- unless shes is actually drinking from the bath shes not getting water -- the mucous watery poop is common other dragons have it to - we can have Tracie look at your test results and she can help there
@Drache613
Hi Karrie,

Thanks for your reply. I know I previously said the UVB light sits directly on the screen, but there’s actually no screen directly under it. I meant to say that the UVB light is directly on the enclosure behind the front screen (which does not block the UVB light at all). I actually have emailed Tracie in the past and she agreed that the avian red palm oil would be healthy for her.

And regarding soaking, thanks for that suggestion. I only soaked her almost daily because her vet told me to to help with possible dehydration. She does drink from the water sometimes, but usually she doesn’t.

I forget to mention but she has been shedding around her head/chin/mouth area the past few days. I think the shed is finally about done now.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
Im concerned your vet maybe don't know beardies (or reptiles) very well.
Soaking is ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS unless they actually drink in the bath. That is one of the most detrimental pieces of misinformation out there. Countless beardies have suffered dehydration because of it
Beardies 100% have to take water orally to be hydrated. They can get it from moistened greens, watery bugs 🐛 such as hornworms, or in liquid form from drinking. Even if you feed hornworms and mist/wet the greens, they still need liquid water regularly.
The best way to offer it is by dripping it on their snout with an eyedropper. I don't recommend using a syringe because it's harder to control how much comes out. If your beardie don't lap the water you can add in a little none citrus fruit juice to give it flavor. Be sure to use a wet cloth to wipe away any that runs down their chin. No need to take a chance on causing bacteria or fungus to start in their scales.
Also I agree with Karrieree that poop looks just fine 🙂
 

Onwyx

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Onyx
@xp29 honestly I agree about the soaking, and I had questioned him a few times about it, but he was insistent that it would help more than not, that there’s no harm in doing so. My fiancé and I both knew that beardies don’t actually hydrate by soaking, but I guess I trusted this vet a little too much since he was so insistent. The liquid in her stool suggests that she’s hydrated enough though, no? Even though the stool looks good to you both, I’m worried about the hard urate. Any ideas?
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
Yes being liquidy is a sign of good hydration.
It could be from the calcium or maybe multivitamin.
I would maybe try liquid calcium and see if that helps. I recommend tasting it yourself before trying to give it to your beardie, I've gotten some that taste absolutely horrible and my guys all refused it. The liquid vitamins ALL taste horrible lol, i haven't ever found any of that they would take so i still dust that.
 

Onwyx

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Onyx
Yes being liquidy is a sign of good hydration.
It could be from the calcium or maybe multivitamin.
I would maybe try liquid calcium and see if that helps. I recommend tasting it yourself before trying to give it to your beardie, I've gotten some that taste absolutely horrible and my guys all refused it. The liquid vitamins ALL taste horrible lol, i haven't ever found any of that they would take so i still dust that.
Didn’t realize liquid calcium was a thing! How much and how often would you recommend that I give it?
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
I supplement my guys 4 to 5 times per week for a week or two then I give a 4 or 5 day period of little to no supplements. I only do the multivitamins every two to three days during the time I'm giving supplements.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
When the time comes for her to start laying you'll want to up the calcium a little before and give it ever day after she lays fir a couple weeks, egg laying depletes them.
 

Onwyx

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Onyx
Maybe I’m confused by what you mean, but she has never had any eggs though.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
Not yet but eventually she will, they will lay even if they don't mate. When she does she will need extra calcium to replenish what the eggs rob from her. The first clutch usually happens between 2.5 and 3 years old.
Some of the signs is loss of appetite, restlessness, glass surfing, not pooping, and digging all the time.
 

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