Let's talk about poop

[pachamama]

Hey all. I posted about my lazy beardie the other day regarding her lack of appetite/energy. Turns out she was constipated. I bathed her and massaged her belly last night and didn't feel anything unusual. This morning she had a semi formed BM with a little extra fluid and yellowish urate. Additionally it looks like she regurged some material I hadn't fed her. I just got her a week ago so I'm not sure what the prior folks were feeding her. Looked like partially digested crickets and maybe dubias (had wings)? Anyway she seems to be feeling better and has been much more active today so I'm happy but I want to make sure I have her tank properly set up to minimize the chances of constipation/regurge/yucky poops.
Basics for reference:
Female Beardie
Approximately 2yo
Approx 16in (portion of tail missing so hard to say exactly)
40 gallon terrarium with reptibark
UTH...will probably discard as it doesn't seem to heat the thick substrate
Full spectrum UVA/B bulb (coil?) New Over basking spot...to be replaced with repti sun 10.0 tube when it gets here.
100 watt basking bulb, older. To be replaced this week as well.
Have a CHE coming in the mail for nights if you think it is appropriate. Might save for cooler weather as tank doesnt drop below 75 at the moment.
Ambient air hovers around 90 on the warm end and 80 on the cool. Ordered an IR temp gun to better assess spots in tank.
Have rock and branch for basking.
Appetite is ok if offered insects but will only take greens if offered by hand between bugs. Has not touched salads left in bowl.
Finished crickets and have pet store gutloaded supers which she loves. Have more nutritive stuff (reptis and phoenix) otw.
Supplementing calcium with D3 1 day/wk and multi vit 2 day/week.
Baths every other day until I see her eat more greens
Misting 2xday
Anything stand out as needing improvement?
I've looked into abnormal stools already and I think fixing to UV bulb may help. Her lighting where I got her looked a bit sub par so that may be why she was stopped up to begin with. Any other ideas if it continues?
Also does anyone know of a one stop reference for abnormal stool causes and interventions? Would really like a quick reference in case she ever has issues.
Thanks a ton!

 

[CooperDragon]

Getting her on a regular, healthy food schedule along with proper light and heating will hopefully help her digestion and overall health. I would discard the UTH because, as you've noticed, it only heats a limited area it comes in contact with. It's better to manage temperature using overhead heat sources. You can save the UTH for a cricket or dubia bin. Just be sure to set it up so there is airflow under the bin. Having a temp gun will really help you get the temperatures dialed in. Just adjust the height of the basking light until the basking area hits about 100 or a few degrees over and you have 75-80 or so on the cool side. You won't need the CHE unless the overnight temps drop below about 65 or so. I only use mine in the winter when my house goes down into the upper 50s overnight sometimes. Is the UVB tube you ordered a T8? If so, that should be mounted about 6-8'' above the basking area and not have any mesh or plastic between the bulb and basking site for best results.

Salads should be her main source of food so keep providing those daily. Try rotating what is offered to try and get her attention. Using brightly colored food such as yellow squash may help as well. Be patient - if she isn't used to having salad it may take some time and possibly some tough love (offering only salad for a while) to get her onto it. As for the bugs, they should make up about 20% of the diet - so maybe offer them every other day or every third day. Bugs should be dusted with calcium supplement every time they are offered (except Phoenix Worms which are calcium rich on their own). You can use the multivitamin supplement once a week instead of the calcium if you wish. A well balanced salad (once she's eating them) should provide plenty of vitamins on it's own though.

If she's getting daily baths, you don't really need to mist her. If you do mist her, I suggest only misting her nose so she can have a drink. She'll likely drink from her bath if she isn't getting enough hydration from her food though.

 

[pachamama]

Thanks for the detailed reply. I will be trying some tough love to make her eat her veggies.
Any thoughts on the stool?

 

[CooperDragon]

My guess is that it's digestion related. Give her some time with a steady diet and proper heat/lighting and see if it clears up.