Hi! My beardie is about 5 months old. He follows a diet of around 30-50 crickets a day, with all-day access to veggies. Recently, we’ve noticed his poops have become softer and are surrounded by liquid. My mother complains of the smell, but I have been around him for so long That I have probably gotten used to it! It has only been like this in the last for a few days. His stools are usually firm and healthy, as well as his urates. This morning, I woke up to a stool that was still “solid” and not quite diarrhea, but definitely softer than usual. We did introduce him to a couple of veggies last night, both of which having a high moisture content. His poop does not have any undigested food or anything else. It’s a solid color of brown, of course surrounded by what I believe to be excess water. Is he getting too much veggies and not enough crickets? He has always loved his veggies, and I usually have to refill his veggie bowl when I come home. I know you will ask for the enclosure details, so here they are:
10.0 uvb T5 HO TUBE
100W basking bulb (temps get about 100-110, usually about 105 on basking side)
No loose substrate, only a carpet that I clean
40 G tank
He is always active. The only time he sits still is before and after a feeding, so he can bask. He has not lost weight, he currently is a very healthy weight (the “average” for his age). Seems to be very healthy otherwise. The nearest vet is hours away, so we haven’t been able to take a stool sample yet. Wanted to see what you all said first!
Let me know if there is anything else! Thank you!
It was probably the foods you introduced to him - his stool should look like this firm moist and dark - the urate firm moist and white --- if there is more liquid that sometimes happens -- if the smell is enough to drive you from the room it is possible parasites -- its gonna have smell of course but if its that bad it could be parasites so if its not driving you from the room I would say your ok -- if you take a pic of it and post it and some of us can look at it and tell you
Karrie
Will the smell of it worsen if left under the lights? I think he pooped awhile before she went in there. He pooped in the morning and I asked her to come in and see if it was bad. I couldn’t smell anything, so I wanted to see if she could. She said it did not smell at all. I think it might have just been the light. He poops a healthy amount and it on has gotten bad this last day. It just seems he’s gotten a lot of water, so I’m sure that is the problem. I will keep an eye on it and will continue to seek help if it gets worse. Thank you!
Sorry I think what I said was confusing. If left directly in the basking area, will it worsen the smell? I find it doesn’t smell as bad if it’s on his “cool” side. My mom did not notice a smell at all when it was fresh and out of the light