Okay it's only Papi's second poop in our home (in three days). The first one had a bit of liquid with it, this one had a HUGE amount of liquid in it! I had to keep digging out the sand to get all the liquid out. Is this normal? The poop was a good size deposit and very uniform and healthy looking. Is this amount of water normal? He's only about 8 weeks old.
I'm wondering if there's a better way to scoop the poop than that sand sifting thing I bought. I'm thinking a large spoon would be better since I want to get all the wet stuff out and not ahve any fall through the sifter. Make sense?
A lot of liquid is normal. Sometimes Lilly's have a ton, and sometimes very little. As for the sand, it is pretty dangerous for a baby. They lick stuff a lot and can ingest it and it can clump in their stomachs and cause problems. Calci-sand is the absolute worse because it clumps more than other sands and can be impossible to pass. I would take the sand out for now and if you choose, you can put it back when the beardie is 18 months old. Sand also can harbor bacteria. I use paper towels with my girl so that I can just pick up the papertowel (or towelS as she rarely just hits one) and throw it away. Other good substrates are tile, reptile carpet, nonadhesive shelf-liner, and newspaper. Do not use any loose substrate inlcuding crushed walnut shells.
Sara
Just wanted to take a second and concur with Spurlee on the sand being dangerous.
The water is normally a very good sign of being well hydrated, as long as the stool looks normal, and is not EXCESSIVLY foul, then there is nothing to worry about.
To add a few more points about sand... This "Sifter" that you speak of, you have to considering all of the particles of sand that come into contact with the stool becoming contaminated and being dropped back into the tank. You should read this short article on the dangerous of using loose substrates with reptiles.... http://www.herpcenter.com/reptile-diseases/calcium-sand-dangers.html