Loose Stool + Sand Question

[kjbolanos]

Hello, my beardie is about 4 months old. He eats well, and he basks in a very good reccomended temperature. I also give him some veggies perhaps once every two or three days. He doesn't poop everyday which I've been told is normal. But when he does poop, sometimes (note sometimes) it seems to be in a "pile". Not the slim normal poop. It doesn't seem watery or anything, its just a massive " pile" of poop with calcium. Is this normal? And is it normal for him to not poop everyday? I do put him in a warm bath once in a while if he goes on more than 3-4 days without having to go to the bathroom.

If heat is the issue (we have a 100 watt bulb, it gets to 95-105F depending on the day. Ofc it does get around 90F on chilly mornings), we are getting a wooden enclosure for our little guy tommorow. I'm hoping that the wooden enclosure will trap more heat than the glass aquarium.

Also, I know that a lot of people fret putting in sand for Beardies, especially for juveniles that accidently swallow the sand causing blockage in their system. Our little guy doesn't move around much in his basking area, and we don't feed him inside the enclosure. We tend to take him out into a feeding area where there is no sand. Is it okay to use sand for the bottom of our new wooden enclosure as long as we don't feed him in there?

Thank you

 

[Rankins]

Its good the stools are as you describe, they sound normal. The white portion is actually urates, not calcium. Its the biproduct of protein utilization. Basically its lizard urine....
I wouldn't use sand for your baby even if its not eating in the enclosure. Young dragons like to taste everything to check things out. So there would be some sand ingestion anyway. Most of the time it isn't problematic, but just an unnecessary risk right now. When the dragon is a juviniles sand is an option...but many people don't use it. I use it and never had a problem with it. So when the dragon gets older you can try washed play sand if you like.

 

[kjbolanos]

Its good the stools are as you describe, they sound normal. The white portion is actually urates, not calcium. Its the biproduct of protein utilization. Basically its lizard urine....
I wouldn't use sand for your baby even if its not eating in the enclosure. Young dragons like to taste everything to check things out. So there would be some sand ingestion anyway. Most of the time it isn't problematic, but just an unnecessary risk right now. When the dragon is a juviniles sand is an option...but many people don't use it. I use it and never had a problem with it. So when the dragon gets older you can try washed play sand if you like.

Well, i kinda searched the web before you replied about the poop. I wanted to know what "normal healthy" type was. Some website said that a "pile of mush" is not normal and basically what I found on his log was as described. Of course, perhaps it is normal and nothing to fret about since poop tend to be different. As I said, sometimes it looks "normal" and once in a while, it tends to be a little mushy pile. I'm sure my beardie is nice and healthy though.

Yea, I don't want to take the risk. I just wanted to ask since my husband wanted to use sand in our next enclosure. I usually use paper towels on the bottom. Would reptile grass carpeting be okay as well?

 

[Skipper7]

The carpet works, but can get dirty. I strongly reccomend slate tiles or textured ceramic tiles. Both look nice and are exceedingly easy to clean. They also don't harbor bacteria like carpet or sand.

If you go with ceramic, make sure it has enough texture so that your beardie doesn't slip. Good luck with the enclosure!

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hello, my beardie is about 4 months old. He eats well, and he basks in a very good reccomended temperature. I also give him some veggies perhaps once every two or three days. He doesn't poop everyday which I've been told is normal. But when he does poop, sometimes (note sometimes) it seems to be in a "pile". Not the slim normal poop. It doesn't seem watery or anything, its just a massive " pile" of poop with calcium. Is this normal? And is it normal for him to not poop everyday? I do put him in a warm bath once in a while if he goes on more than 3-4 days without having to go to the bathroom.

If heat is the issue (we have a 100 watt bulb, it gets to 95-105F depending on the day. Ofc it does get around 90F on chilly mornings), we are getting a wooden enclosure for our little guy tommorow. I'm hoping that the wooden enclosure will trap more heat than the glass aquarium.

Also, I know that a lot of people fret putting in sand for Beardies, especially for juveniles that accidently swallow the sand causing blockage in their system. Our little guy doesn't move around much in his basking area, and we don't feed him inside the enclosure. We tend to take him out into a feeding area where there is no sand. Is it okay to use sand for the bottom of our new wooden enclosure as long as we don't feed him in there?

Thank you

There are very good reasons to recommend NO SAND for young beardies , based on the unfortunate experiences of keepers who have lost their little beardies due to fatal impaction (NOT A NICE WAY TO DIE).

Plus , it's virtually impossible to thoroughly clean sand used for a bedding , and bacteria, viruses, and fungi love sand, which may appear clean and dry on the top , but only a few mm under the surface is a perfect continually moist and warm habitat to harbor these pathogens and allow them to profligate.

 

[Rankins]

Sand does get a bad rap, and it isn't recommended for young dragons. Funny thing is I have always used it for juviniles and adults without a single problem. You do have to sift it everyday, but its not very difficult. Sand is so cheap that you can replace it frequently. Its more of a personal preference for me.

 

[ruben0311]

I use sand in a small portion of Fred's tank, everything else is slate tile and red building bricks for elevation and barriers. never had issue with sand however i only feed on the tile side of tank and I remove and bake the sand every month, just as part of cleaning.

 

[kjbolanos]

Alrighty. Thank you for the replies

We bought a new big enclosure yesterday and we will just use paper towels for now. Maybe in the future when he is bigger, I may consider putting in a different flooring

Also, his poop is normal at least. Lol