Is Something Wrong?! Orange in poo.

[Godslilcheetos]

I've had my beardie for over a year now and am not sure how old he was when I got him for my birthday. I am crazy about researching all the time and being super specific about what he gets and how he's taken care of. I looked all over the internet and can't find anything related. He looks good, is acting fine, eating veggies well, not eating many crickets anymore, but I figured that was due to him getting older but will eat lots of mealworms when they're given to him as treats, has his tank cleaned everyday, and given baths at least once every two weeks. I'm wanting to take him to a vet, but they are all closed until tomorrow and I have to work all week. His poop the past two times have been different than usual. His poo has always had a shape and been pretty green from the veggies with a little dark, almost black, mixed in and a little puddle of water around them bc he stays hydrated, these times though there was a big orange blob in it (he hasn't eaten anything but greens and crickets/mealworms). The first time it didn't seem to be attatched to the urate, but the second time it was. I took a picture the second time and will upoad it as soon as I can, but I just wanted to know if there was anything wrong with him bad enough to have to take off work to get him seen this week.

 

[Godslilcheetos]

I just cleaned his tank again this morning and had to kill three fleas and extra clean everything because the cat got on top of his cage last night and slept there! Not to mention I found two little worms in it!!!! I guess he has worms... I am going to take him to a vet as soon as I can to get him treated, but am still curious about his poo! Also, how do they get worms? I want to be able to prevent this is from happening again. Does anyone know a good herp vet in Florence, Alabama? I'm a college student and don't have much money... so maybe a roundabout price on about how much it is to treat him would be appriciated as well... T-T

I almost forgot:
I use a Reptisun 10.0 tube for UVB/UVA light that I replace once a year or sooner
He has a little heat rock underneath his climbing rock since the room he's in is always 80+ to keep him warm at night without burning himself
Am trying to get a new basking light (any suggetions) since the one that came with was a coiled one and I refuse to use it since I read they can cause eye problems, but have to slowly save up from paychecks
I took his subtrate out about a month ago when I first found a flea (turns out from the cat getting on top of his tank) and am using paper towels until my reptile carpet comes in
He is about 14" long I think and did most of his growing in the 10 gallon tank that came with him until a few months before christmas, has had a 30 gal. until I have the funds to get a bigger one

 

[kcarello]

Hello, first of all,,you really shouldn't feed your dragon mealworms...the chitin is to hard and can cause impaction. Dragons can get worms from their greens..insects..its not that hard...just make sure that you really wash his veggies really well...I wash each leaf of greens that mine eat. You should not use heat rocks at all for bearded dragons either. Dragons feel the heat from above, not below. Dragons need a cool down period at night. If the room where you keep your dragon does not get below 65 degrees then you dont need anything. Dragons need complete darkness to get proper rest. If where you keep your dragon does get colder than that then you need a ceramic heat emmiter, they put off heat, but no light. As for basking bulbs..http://www.everythingreptile.org/the-right-supplies.html, go to this site and look up basking bulbs..it will tell you what you need to know.

 

[daner923]

A few more things to add - you need to bathe more often - he should get a bath every 2-3 days, not every 2 weeks. This is for proper hydration. The orange attached to the urate often happens if there is too much calcium consumption or your dragon is a bit dehydrated. For a basking light, you can just use a normal clear household bulb, around 75-100W. It should cost about $1-2.

 

[Godslilcheetos]

Ok, so I do wash his veggies before feeding him, so he can get them from insects too? Could it be more from the mealworms or crickets and I thought that the mealworms were good as treats, just not often?
Also, is it ok that he's not eating a lot of crickets anymore since he's over a year and a half old?
I had been reading through this forum and saw that about them feeling heat above so I was curious about my heat rock (I did know that they couldn't sense if they were burning their feet though so did put something over it), but without the heat rock his tank gets below 80 on the cool side at night so the heat rock isn't really helping and it's ok to be below 80 as long as it's not below 65?
As for bathing, this month I've had to bathe him once a week and he has water in his tank and his veggies are always wet from being washed ... his poo always has a little puddle of water around it... I thought that meant he was hydrated enough?
For the light, do I need the dome from the pet store or will a dome a the same store I get the bulb from be good?
And one last question, about how much does it cost to treat the worms?
Thank you guys so much for the quick answers!

 

[daner923]

You can use any clamp light dome you want. I think mealworms as a very occasional treat for an adult are fine, but not at all if your dragon is under 16 inches. Yes, below 80 at night is fine, so long as it stays above 65F. The puddle can indicate hydration, but it may not be sufficient. Next time you clean up, squeeze the urate gently with a tissue. If it is hard and chalky, he is not hydrated enough, or has too much calcium in his diet (or both). Treatment depends on your vet. You can send a fecal sample to beardeddragon.co for about $5, and you can buy meds through them too. That is probably the cheapest option. It is still recommended to get a normal vet visit at least once a year, though.

 

[Godslilcheetos]

Thank you so much! I posted the same lighting questions on another forum, but you guys answer much quicker! ^_^
I cleaned out his tank again this morning and there was hardly any orange in it... I guess I was overly worried... and since I happened to clean it up w a tissue today to check it, the urate was not hard at all since it just happened it was pretty much the consistency of the poo, except a little more... gooey I suppose.
What's a good way to tell if I'm seeing a good vet for him? I want him to be seen by someone that's actually checking him.
And... I know this is unrelated, but will he still grow bigger if gotten a bigger tank or when do they stop growing?

 

[daner923]

How big is he now? Tank size doesn't really affect beardie growth - that's kinda a myth. Proper diet, supplements, and lighting is what makes them grow. If he is under 18 months he may grow a bit more, but probably not a whole lot more.

 

[Godslilcheetos]

He's about 14-16 inches. I've had him for about a year and a half, but I'm not completely sure how old he was when I got him.

 

[daner923]

He's probably not gonna grow much more then, but that range isn't too tiny. Maybe a tad small, but nothing to worry about!

 

[Godslilcheetos]

*sigh* At least it isn't too small... But I suppose he will still be a little smaller than most of the others just like me... Bless his heart.

 

[daner923]

As long as you look after the rest of his health, he will be perfectly normal at that size. Nothing wrong with a bit on the smaller side!

 

[Godslilcheetos]

lol Well, thank you much! He is pretty darn cute... he did win a cold blooded beauty contest last year at Petco, against some pretty ball pythons, too. ^_^ I agree! He actually, look a good bit like Max in your picture, except smaller and these little blueish tiger strips on his back.

 

[daner923]

Max actually has a bit of blue on his back, but not stripes. That picture is from December or January, and was about the same length as your guy is now.

 

[Godslilcheetos]

Aww cute! ^_^ Hopefully, he will grow a little bigger, too, and be healthy!