Hello fellow beardie owners, We got our buddy over the weekend, he's about 2 1/2 and he is NOT used to people handling him, being in his tank, messing with his bowls and stuff. The people we acquired him from had him in a 20gallom, with really dirty sand, little water and no availble fresh food from what we could tell. He was in rough shape. We brought him home, put him in a 50gal(it's all we got right now we are working on getting him in a 125gal right now gotta save up.) gave him a hide(he won't go in it, but sits on top to bask) and he's gotten fresh veggies 3 times a day and crickets 2 days ago. But Ive notice he hasn't pooped. Like at all. He peed it looked like(wet spot waaay away from the water bowl) but thas about it. I'm kinda worried, but then again I have no clue the last time they fed him either and I'm just worried. So how often does yours go and is there like a specific time you can usually expect it to happen?
Pooping! When and how often does it happen?
- Thread starter Fxybx3
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Hi! Congrats on your new beardie!
Beardie adults can poop as little as once a week, depending on their metabolism. I would start worrying if a beardie hadn't pooped after seven days.
Since your beardie has been on sand previously, that's a big impaction risk for them. Again, I would only start worrying after seven days of no poop, but you don't really know when the last time your beardie pooped was.
It's worth noting though that reptiles don't really urinate like mammals do--reptiles have their poop, and then they have their urate, which should look like a white poop, but should be fairly chalky when touched (I know--eww). Beardies sometimes do expel extra liquid when they poop, though, so maybe the wet spot you saw was your beardie trying to poop and failing (due to an impaction?). I'm not a beardie expert though, so that's just a hypothesis.
The protocol for treating an impaction is to stop giving solid foods (which would add to the impaction), and start feeding canned pure pumpkin (which is a natural gentle laxative), squash baby foods, and syringe-feeding either Oxbow Critical Care or Fluker's ReptaBoost (which are dense with calories and also are usually found at most PetCos). Additionally, syringe-feeding some Olive/vegetable oil will slick things up inside to jumpstart a poop. Warm baths (only warm to the inside of your wrist, not too hot) will also help get things moving along inside of them.
Could you give us a run-down of his tank's lighting setup to make sure he's digesting properly? What sort of UVB light do you have, and its brand, and what are the basking temps? How are you measuring the temps of the tank?
Beardie adults can poop as little as once a week, depending on their metabolism. I would start worrying if a beardie hadn't pooped after seven days.
Since your beardie has been on sand previously, that's a big impaction risk for them. Again, I would only start worrying after seven days of no poop, but you don't really know when the last time your beardie pooped was.
It's worth noting though that reptiles don't really urinate like mammals do--reptiles have their poop, and then they have their urate, which should look like a white poop, but should be fairly chalky when touched (I know--eww). Beardies sometimes do expel extra liquid when they poop, though, so maybe the wet spot you saw was your beardie trying to poop and failing (due to an impaction?). I'm not a beardie expert though, so that's just a hypothesis.
The protocol for treating an impaction is to stop giving solid foods (which would add to the impaction), and start feeding canned pure pumpkin (which is a natural gentle laxative), squash baby foods, and syringe-feeding either Oxbow Critical Care or Fluker's ReptaBoost (which are dense with calories and also are usually found at most PetCos). Additionally, syringe-feeding some Olive/vegetable oil will slick things up inside to jumpstart a poop. Warm baths (only warm to the inside of your wrist, not too hot) will also help get things moving along inside of them.
Could you give us a run-down of his tank's lighting setup to make sure he's digesting properly? What sort of UVB light do you have, and its brand, and what are the basking temps? How are you measuring the temps of the tank?
Okay, Ive only handled babies before and I know they go once a day or more sometimes lol.
Right now e is on a reptile mat with coconut fiber around the edges because it wasn't quite wide enough to fit the tank, and it was all I had at the time.
He has a Halogen bulb and a red heat bulb, I'm not sure of the brand the only paint left on the bulb just faintly says Halogen. I was thinking of maybe putting one of the long UVB bulbs over him? I have always keep extras for my turtles..
I have one of those sticky on the side of the tank thermometers, it's been going between 95 and 100 near his basking area. I dont have one near the cooler end.
I wanted to add there is no way he's going to let us put him in a bath, much less syringe feed him... Just seeing our hands freaks him out, he instantly puffs up and his beard turns black. We can gently rub his back but only for 30 seconds or so before he decides NOPE and moves away and opens his mouth like he is going to eat our fingers. He has some retained shed I've been dying to rub off of him and he just won't let us get close enough. I know it will be a slow road to work with him, but I'm glad he's at least in a clean home with fresh food for now.
Right now e is on a reptile mat with coconut fiber around the edges because it wasn't quite wide enough to fit the tank, and it was all I had at the time.
He has a Halogen bulb and a red heat bulb, I'm not sure of the brand the only paint left on the bulb just faintly says Halogen. I was thinking of maybe putting one of the long UVB bulbs over him? I have always keep extras for my turtles..
I have one of those sticky on the side of the tank thermometers, it's been going between 95 and 100 near his basking area. I dont have one near the cooler end.
I wanted to add there is no way he's going to let us put him in a bath, much less syringe feed him... Just seeing our hands freaks him out, he instantly puffs up and his beard turns black. We can gently rub his back but only for 30 seconds or so before he decides NOPE and moves away and opens his mouth like he is going to eat our fingers. He has some retained shed I've been dying to rub off of him and he just won't let us get close enough. I know it will be a slow road to work with him, but I'm glad he's at least in a clean home with fresh food for now.
So he is setting next to a window and I had opened the curtains to get some light in since it's rainy and relatively cool outside(mid 70's) and his water bowl was right next to it. He loves looking out of the window and was setting in his water bowl(flatish Tupperware container) and POOPED! Huge chunk of white, and other poop stuff along with dirt and everything, so I am very relieved. He's back hanging out in it since Ive changed it, and he is loving looking out into our back yard.
That's good, I'm sure he had some sand inside him, they lick everything and their natural environment is the Australian desert, which has no sand, just solid, rocky terrain. I'd remove the coco husk, again he'll no doubt eat it, and that stuff can be worse than sand. Just put down clean, dry paper towels for now that you can replace as they get soiled. You can worry about getting tiles or non-adhesive shelf liner, or a bigger carpet later, just get any loose substrate out.
Beardies have very specific UVB and UVA lighting needs compared to any other reptiles like turtles, or tropical lizards. Yes, you absolutely must have a long UVB tube and matching length fixture, for a 50 gallon tank you'll probably want at least a 24" long UVB tube. It must be a 10.0 UVB tube, no lower like a 5.0 or a 2.0, they are worthless to a beardie. Reptisun 10.0 tubes are good, but right now the 10.0 T%HO tubes, which we usually recommend, are having a recall issue, so right now the only Reptisun 10.0 tubes to buy are the T8 strength, which are very good, but must be mounted underneath any mesh lid, as they block up to 50% of the UVB light, and the T8 tubes are not strong enough to penetrate the mesh (and never glass, no UVB light penetrates glass or clear plastic). Most people mount the UVB tube fixtures inside their tanks by either using 3M Command Hooks or by cutting holes in the mesh and using large zip ties to strap the tube fixture on the underside of the mesh lid, on the Hot Side of the tank, directly over the basking spot. For a T8 tube, the basking spot has to be within 6-8" of the unobstructed tube. Arcadia is the best brand as of right now, but must be ordered online in the United States, Amazon.com is good... either a 12% tube, which equates to the Reptisun T8 tube and must be mounted under the mesh lid and withing 6-8" of the basking spot, or an Arcadia 14% tube and fixture, which can sit on top of the mesh but still must be within 11"-12" of his basking spot to be effective. Always check all tube fixtures to make sure they have no clear, plastic safety covers over the tubes, they block all UVB light and must be removed.
Please get rid of the red bulb immediately, as bearded dragons see in full color, and any colored bulbs at all, whether red, blue, yellow, green, black, purples, "moonlight", etc. will cause a host of issues, most importantly they confuse their times of day and night, and make it very hard to see food. You only need a total of 2 lights, possibly 3 depending on how big an enclosure you have, a 50 gallon should be good with 2 unless the Cool Side is very dark. You need #1) the UVB tube, and #2) a bright white basking bulb, which will provide both the basking light and the heat for the tank. For that size tank you probably need a 150 watt bright white basking bulb, but no need for specialty reptile basking bulbs, most of us use regular, household, halogen indoor flood bulbs, like you buy at Lowes or Home Depot. So I'd get the adequate UVB tube mounted correctly, based on whichever one you buy, and then get a 150 watt bright white basking bulb, and you want them both right alongside each other on the Hot Side of the tank, both directly over the main basking spot (which must be within the correct distance of the UVB tube, based on whichever tube you buy). You want him to get both lights at the same time while basking, this is replicating natural sunlight, and it's getting his basking spot up to the correct temperature range. You can always add a second bright white basking bulb on the Cool Side, obviously of a much, much lower wattage, if it's very dark on that side, or if the Cool Side temperature is too cool. But try it with just the single, higher wattage bright white basking bulb and the UVB tube first.
You want his basking spot temperature for an adult between 98-103 (right around 100 degrees), his Hot Side Ambient temperature between 88-93 degrees, and his Cool Side Ambient temperature between 75-80 degrees. The absolute maximum tank temperature/basking spot temperature is 110 degrees. Most babies like basking spots between 105-110, then as they age they tend to like it more around 100 degrees, but if you find that he is constantly very dark while on his basking spot that is around 100 degrees, feel free to lower the basking bulb a bit to bump up his basking spot temp a couple degrees, as long as it stays at 110 or below.
He needs no nighttime heat source as long as his tank stays at 65 degrees or higher. The desert is pitch black and very cool at night, considerable cooler than the daytime temperature, and that's how they are comfortable sleeping: Cool and in total darkness. Most people keep their homes at or above 65 degrees at night, so they need no nighttime heat source at all, and any lights on at night disrupt their sleep...if by chance you keep your house under 60 degrees at night and his tank drops below 65 degrees, which I doubt, then buy a very low wattage Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE), which screws into a normal light socket but emits no light, only heat. As I said, he most likely won't need it.
Both his UVB tube and his bright white basking light should be on every day for at least 13-14 hours. That's an adequate photoperiod for a beardie daily. Please be sure that his lights are on in the morning for at least an hour or two before feeding him anything, and that they stay on for at least an hour or two after his last meal of the day before turning them off for bed, this will ensure he properly digests his food.
Oh, and please, spend $10 at the pet shop for a digital thermometer with a probe on a wire, as those stick-on thermometers are all off by up to 20 degrees, and in addition, you are not able to measure his basking spot temperature with one, which is extremely important, Allow the probe to sit on each spot you're measuring for at least 20-30 minutes before reading the temperature, and do this each time you move the probe to take a new temperature.
Ask any question!!!! Congrats, and thanks for taking him in!
Beardies have very specific UVB and UVA lighting needs compared to any other reptiles like turtles, or tropical lizards. Yes, you absolutely must have a long UVB tube and matching length fixture, for a 50 gallon tank you'll probably want at least a 24" long UVB tube. It must be a 10.0 UVB tube, no lower like a 5.0 or a 2.0, they are worthless to a beardie. Reptisun 10.0 tubes are good, but right now the 10.0 T%HO tubes, which we usually recommend, are having a recall issue, so right now the only Reptisun 10.0 tubes to buy are the T8 strength, which are very good, but must be mounted underneath any mesh lid, as they block up to 50% of the UVB light, and the T8 tubes are not strong enough to penetrate the mesh (and never glass, no UVB light penetrates glass or clear plastic). Most people mount the UVB tube fixtures inside their tanks by either using 3M Command Hooks or by cutting holes in the mesh and using large zip ties to strap the tube fixture on the underside of the mesh lid, on the Hot Side of the tank, directly over the basking spot. For a T8 tube, the basking spot has to be within 6-8" of the unobstructed tube. Arcadia is the best brand as of right now, but must be ordered online in the United States, Amazon.com is good... either a 12% tube, which equates to the Reptisun T8 tube and must be mounted under the mesh lid and withing 6-8" of the basking spot, or an Arcadia 14% tube and fixture, which can sit on top of the mesh but still must be within 11"-12" of his basking spot to be effective. Always check all tube fixtures to make sure they have no clear, plastic safety covers over the tubes, they block all UVB light and must be removed.
Please get rid of the red bulb immediately, as bearded dragons see in full color, and any colored bulbs at all, whether red, blue, yellow, green, black, purples, "moonlight", etc. will cause a host of issues, most importantly they confuse their times of day and night, and make it very hard to see food. You only need a total of 2 lights, possibly 3 depending on how big an enclosure you have, a 50 gallon should be good with 2 unless the Cool Side is very dark. You need #1) the UVB tube, and #2) a bright white basking bulb, which will provide both the basking light and the heat for the tank. For that size tank you probably need a 150 watt bright white basking bulb, but no need for specialty reptile basking bulbs, most of us use regular, household, halogen indoor flood bulbs, like you buy at Lowes or Home Depot. So I'd get the adequate UVB tube mounted correctly, based on whichever one you buy, and then get a 150 watt bright white basking bulb, and you want them both right alongside each other on the Hot Side of the tank, both directly over the main basking spot (which must be within the correct distance of the UVB tube, based on whichever tube you buy). You want him to get both lights at the same time while basking, this is replicating natural sunlight, and it's getting his basking spot up to the correct temperature range. You can always add a second bright white basking bulb on the Cool Side, obviously of a much, much lower wattage, if it's very dark on that side, or if the Cool Side temperature is too cool. But try it with just the single, higher wattage bright white basking bulb and the UVB tube first.
You want his basking spot temperature for an adult between 98-103 (right around 100 degrees), his Hot Side Ambient temperature between 88-93 degrees, and his Cool Side Ambient temperature between 75-80 degrees. The absolute maximum tank temperature/basking spot temperature is 110 degrees. Most babies like basking spots between 105-110, then as they age they tend to like it more around 100 degrees, but if you find that he is constantly very dark while on his basking spot that is around 100 degrees, feel free to lower the basking bulb a bit to bump up his basking spot temp a couple degrees, as long as it stays at 110 or below.
He needs no nighttime heat source as long as his tank stays at 65 degrees or higher. The desert is pitch black and very cool at night, considerable cooler than the daytime temperature, and that's how they are comfortable sleeping: Cool and in total darkness. Most people keep their homes at or above 65 degrees at night, so they need no nighttime heat source at all, and any lights on at night disrupt their sleep...if by chance you keep your house under 60 degrees at night and his tank drops below 65 degrees, which I doubt, then buy a very low wattage Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE), which screws into a normal light socket but emits no light, only heat. As I said, he most likely won't need it.
Both his UVB tube and his bright white basking light should be on every day for at least 13-14 hours. That's an adequate photoperiod for a beardie daily. Please be sure that his lights are on in the morning for at least an hour or two before feeding him anything, and that they stay on for at least an hour or two after his last meal of the day before turning them off for bed, this will ensure he properly digests his food.
Oh, and please, spend $10 at the pet shop for a digital thermometer with a probe on a wire, as those stick-on thermometers are all off by up to 20 degrees, and in addition, you are not able to measure his basking spot temperature with one, which is extremely important, Allow the probe to sit on each spot you're measuring for at least 20-30 minutes before reading the temperature, and do this each time you move the probe to take a new temperature.
Ask any question!!!! Congrats, and thanks for taking him in!
Thank you for all the great info! I believe it is the repti sun I buy, but I'll double check. I have a second bulb housing, I'm just worried about how it'll fit over his tank.
I'm using chicken wire as a top because I didn't have a mesh top. Will that interfere with the lights? I leave the red light on during the day.
He's in our kitchen which is very quiet and dark at night, our house doesn't drop past 75 at night.
I know they need a strict day night schedule so by 8 all the lights are out(Turtles have been on this schedule for a LONG time) ans I turn lights on between 5:30-6:30 depending on when my husband leaves for work. First feed is at 8am, i check bowl at noonish(my leos eat in the middle of the day and i keep meal worms in their bowls at all times) and then again after we eat dinner at 6pm. So everyone gets at least 12 hours of light(except the leos), and he gets 3 bowls of fresh Vegs, And lights are on no later than 8..
I'm using chicken wire as a top because I didn't have a mesh top. Will that interfere with the lights? I leave the red light on during the day.
He's in our kitchen which is very quiet and dark at night, our house doesn't drop past 75 at night.
I know they need a strict day night schedule so by 8 all the lights are out(Turtles have been on this schedule for a LONG time) ans I turn lights on between 5:30-6:30 depending on when my husband leaves for work. First feed is at 8am, i check bowl at noonish(my leos eat in the middle of the day and i keep meal worms in their bowls at all times) and then again after we eat dinner at 6pm. So everyone gets at least 12 hours of light(except the leos), and he gets 3 bowls of fresh Vegs, And lights are on no later than 8..
Please get rid of the red light, it will make him think that it's nighttime during the day. No colored bulbs at all ever. You're goal for a bearded dragon is to replicate natural sunlight as closely as possible, which you do by putting a bright white basking bulb, which will provide all of his heat, right alongside of an appropriate UVB tube. Since beardies see in full color just like we do, you must use only a bright white basking bulb that is a high enough wattage to get his 3 temperature zones within the correct ranges. And a bearded dragon needs a little longer photoperiod than other reptiles, 12 hours is about 2 hours too short, at least let him have 13-14 hours under a 10.0 UVB tube within the correct distance to his basking spot and a bright white basking bulb. Red bulb needs pitched asap. You can simply buy an equal wattage halogen indoor flood bulb at walmart, lowes, or home depot, as long as the wattage of the red bulb is keeping all his temps correct.
I would not allow anything to obstruct a 10.0 T8 UVB tube, or the Arcadia 12% tube. The only UVB tube strong enough to be obstructed by anything and still provide a bearded dragon with enough UVB light is a 10.0 T5HO Reptisun or an Arcadia 14% tube. They are strong enough to sit on top of mesh or wire (never glass or clear plastic, they block all UVB). So if you buy a Reptisun 10.0 (it must be a 10.0, you cannot use a 2.0 or a 5.0 Reptisun tube, some turtles and geckos use the 5.0, but a beardie must have a 10.0, keep that in mind if using an old bulb; also, a T8 UVB tube is only good for 6 months at the max, they stop emitting any UVB light at all at 6 months even though they still turn on and emit light; a T5HO or the 14% Arcadia will last for a year before needing replaced). So assuming you buy an 18" 10.0 Reptisun T8 UVB tube, I would just use large/long zip ties to strap the tube fixture to the underside of the chicken wire, then make sure that whatever you're using as his basking platform is high enough to put his body within 6-8" of the unobstructed UVB tube.
And again, get rid of the red basking light, it's that bad for him...
I would not allow anything to obstruct a 10.0 T8 UVB tube, or the Arcadia 12% tube. The only UVB tube strong enough to be obstructed by anything and still provide a bearded dragon with enough UVB light is a 10.0 T5HO Reptisun or an Arcadia 14% tube. They are strong enough to sit on top of mesh or wire (never glass or clear plastic, they block all UVB). So if you buy a Reptisun 10.0 (it must be a 10.0, you cannot use a 2.0 or a 5.0 Reptisun tube, some turtles and geckos use the 5.0, but a beardie must have a 10.0, keep that in mind if using an old bulb; also, a T8 UVB tube is only good for 6 months at the max, they stop emitting any UVB light at all at 6 months even though they still turn on and emit light; a T5HO or the 14% Arcadia will last for a year before needing replaced). So assuming you buy an 18" 10.0 Reptisun T8 UVB tube, I would just use large/long zip ties to strap the tube fixture to the underside of the chicken wire, then make sure that whatever you're using as his basking platform is high enough to put his body within 6-8" of the unobstructed UVB tube.
And again, get rid of the red basking light, it's that bad for him...
Just a quick thing to point out....chicken wire will not obstruct any uvb at all so no need to worry about that at all. And yes, the Australian desert actually is hard packed dirt and clay type soil with lots of scrub grass + bits of gravelly type substrate. Some areas do have lots of sand, including beautiful red sand like this.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjPiqyAk9PWAhXB44MKHRZ9AlcQjhwIBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.123rf.com%2Fphoto_15374522_red-sand-hill-in-australian-desert.html&psig=AOvVaw35w_nx55UnjFaX63my_pQO&ust=1507075264490399
It's still best not to keep beardies on loose substrate though, esp. if they have any health issues already.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjPiqyAk9PWAhXB44MKHRZ9AlcQjhwIBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.123rf.com%2Fphoto_15374522_red-sand-hill-in-australian-desert.html&psig=AOvVaw35w_nx55UnjFaX63my_pQO&ust=1507075264490399
It's still best not to keep beardies on loose substrate though, esp. if they have any health issues already.
AHBD":31ljk49k said:
AHBD, not knowing the size of the spaces in the chicken wire I played it safe, it could be very tight just like the mesh in a lid, you don't know! I agree if it's just big, open wire then it's fine, but with no photo who knows...
And why in the world would you promote sand? You just had to correct me so much? Lol, maybe I was trying to stress not to put them on loose substrates, so I exaggerated a little, you should have been able to spot that...Either way don't promote loose substrates just to correct me on my knowledge of the Outback, lol...
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Mirage came out of brumation on April 26. He was doing great. On May 2 he started acting funny. We just redid his tank, and he keeps going into one of his hides. He just lays there. He shows no intrest in food. HELP!
