Really runny diarrhea!!! beginner:(

[Ceeci39]

Please don’t hate me. I already hate myself for thinking that having a bearded dragon was as easy as like having ball pythons or rats(which I already have experience with). I am definitely doing everything wrong, but I am really trying to start from zero. My beardie is more less 5-6 months old. He was a gift, definitely from a pet-store. I have him in a temporary 20 gallon. I am having costume made enclosure like I have for the rest of my pets. Most of the substrate is made out of zoo med excavator clay. He does have a small corner with sand at the very end which he uses ONLY to go to the restroom. He is well trained on that and is for me easy to clean. Any way, I feed him with tongues to not have problems of impaction in any way. Here is the thing, I thought all in one bulbs where a good thing which I already found out it’s not enough uvb anyway, so I already ordered the reprisun 10.0 HO tube. the hot spot on the terrarium is about 90 degrees. He eats mostly dubias. About 40-50 calcium dusted dubias once or twice a day. along with occasionally greens. I’ve tried to feed him more than that but he won’t eat more. I’ve had a rough time socializing him but he has been doing better so I decided to take him to my bed and he went right over to the window I have next to it. After moving a while all this liquid came out along with the typical white end of the poop. I ran to the restroom and soaked him to clean him up and disinfect my window. I am scared, I’ve never had this problem before which is stupid cause I’ve been doing things wrong. But I really don’t want to upset his stomach. Uvb should get here soon but I don’t know if that’s the reason he had this diarrhea. Also he ate around 30 dubias today so not too many. HELP

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

The occasional loose stool is really nothing to worry about. He is eating quite a bit of food so that could be it.
That and your temperatures are too low.

Is 90 the basking surface temp? Or just the hot side temp?
What are you measuring your temps with? That's very important.

You should aim for 105-110 at the basking surface. 90 isnt hot enough for them to effectively digest properly.

-Brandon

 

[Ceeci39]

Hi there,

The occasional loose stool is really nothing to worry about. He is eating quite a bit of food so that could be it.
That and your temperatures are too low.

Is 90 the basking surface temp? Or just the hot side temp?
What are you measuring your temps with? That's very important.

You should aim for 105-110 at the basking surface. 90 isnt hot enough for them to effectively digest properly.

-Brandon

I used to use a red light also just for extra heat and it would get between 110-120 but there is a lot of information out there and i heard someone say red lights are bad for them and can cause eye problems. I use regular circular thermometer that you stick to the hot side of the thank where the basking spot is.

 

[Claudiusx]

The red lights shouldn't be used.
Unfortunately neither should those dial thermometers. They are extremely inaccurate.
I strongly suggest getting a digital with probe end. They can be had for pretty cheap now a days at most petstores. But you need this to get accurate temps and to know what your basking surface temp is.

Once you get that, we can measure your temps and figure out if the basking site is hot enough or not. Proper temperatures are crucial to their health so it's definitely something you want to invest into

-Brandon

 

[AHBD]

What type of all in one bulb did you have ?

 

[Ceeci39]

What type of all in one bulb did you have ?

Solar Glo.

 

[AHBD]

Is this his first bout of diarrhea ? Is your tank a 20 tall or long ? And is the Solar glo a 125 or 160 ? I've used them before and raised healthy dragons. The bulb [ which is a mercury vapor bulb or MVB ] wouldn't cause diarrhea , it's actually benefiting him based on the large amount of insects he's eating. You do want to try to get an accurate temp. reading though but a large MVB is probaby providing a good heat gradient.

 

[Ceeci39]

Is this his first bout of diarrhea ? Is your tank a 20 tall or long ? And is the Solar glo a 125 or 160 ? I've used them before and raised healthy dragons. The bulb [ which is a mercury vapor bulb or MVB ] wouldn't cause diarrhea , it's actually benefiting him based on the large amount of insects he's eating. You do want to try to get an accurate temp. reading though but a large MVB is probaby providing a good heat gradient.

20 long I think. It was meant to be an aquarium but I made it a terrarium while my custom were done. And yes it was the first and only one I saw today. Yesterday it was kind of runny but I thought it was normal because i fed him 2 horn worms which I buy them as a treat very occasionally. But today was mostly liquid, it was insane. It’s a 125. I am just waiting on my 10.0 HO tube. His diet is still the same so I am just confused right now. Everything he does is scary, because I’ve never had a beardie before, but it’s my responsibility now and I want him to be healthy and grow old...

 

[AHBD]

Don't be too upset about this, it sounds like it just might be the hornworms and maybe the excitement of sitting on the windowsill. He's eating very well +is active so just give it a few days or week and see if it clears up.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I agree, if the feeder insects ( hornworms ) are very high in moisture content it will cause very wet poos , ie poo in a puddle .

The same will happen with silkworms ( especially if the worms are eating very moist chow or very young mulberry leaves ).

Also if you are giving greens very high in moisture content ( ie lettuce, cabbage ) the result is very wet poos.

I'd ditch the dial style thermometer ( they are hopelessly inaccurate , errors up to 30% , and invest in a brace of these https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4x-LCD-Digital-Temperature-Thermometer-Outdoor-Reptile-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Meter/264431499789?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 or similar.

 

[Ceeci39]

I agree, if the feeder insects ( hornworms ) are very high in moisture content it will cause very wet poos , ie poo in a puddle .

The same will happen with silkworms ( especially if the worms are eating very moist chow or very young mulberry leaves ).

Also if you are giving greens very high in moisture content ( ie lettuce, cabbage ) the result is very wet poos.

I'd ditch the dial style thermometer ( they are hopelessly inaccurate , errors up to 30% , and invest in a brace of these https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4x-LCD-Digital-Temperature-Thermometer-Outdoor-Reptile-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Meter/264431499789?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 or similar.

Thanks for the link! And the comments, I am more calm now

 

[Ceeci39]

I agree, if the feeder insects ( hornworms ) are very high in moisture content it will cause very wet poos , ie poo in a puddle .

The same will happen with silkworms ( especially if the worms are eating very moist chow or very young mulberry leaves ).

Also if you are giving greens very high in moisture content ( ie lettuce, cabbage ) the result is very wet poos.

I'd ditch the dial style thermometer ( they are hopelessly inaccurate , errors up to 30% , and invest in a brace of these https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4x-LCD-Digital-Temperature-Thermometer-Outdoor-Reptile-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Meter/264431499789?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 or similar.

Thanks for the link! And the comments, I am more calm now

Any thoughts on digital laser infrared thermometer guns??

 

[Claudiusx]

Digital with probe ends are easier to use. If you get an ir thermometer make sure you do some research first on emissitivity, and buy an ir gun with adjustable emissitivity.

I typically recommend probe ends over ir guns for that reason. Gets more complicated than it really needs to be

The ones nob linked to are fine fine. If you're in the states just go on amazon and type in digital thermometer with probe end. There are lots of choices and they all are pretty accurate.

-Brandon

 

[kingofnobbys]

I agree, if the feeder insects ( hornworms ) are very high in moisture content it will cause very wet poos , ie poo in a puddle .

The same will happen with silkworms ( especially if the worms are eating very moist chow or very young mulberry leaves ).

Also if you are giving greens very high in moisture content ( ie lettuce, cabbage ) the result is very wet poos.

I'd ditch the dial style thermometer ( they are hopelessly inaccurate , errors up to 30% , and invest in a brace of these https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4x-LCD-Digital-Temperature-Thermometer-Outdoor-Reptile-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Meter/264431499789?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 or similar.

Thanks for the link! And the comments, I am more calm now

Any thoughts on digital laser infrared thermometer guns??

I have one too. Use it to get temperatures of my bath water on the rear occasion I bath my dragons, and to measure temperatures of fittings , but not very often.

I just set up my probes permanently and can see my temperatures at a glance anytime.

Ebay is in USA too you know.

 

[Ceeci39]

I agree, if the feeder insects ( hornworms ) are very high in moisture content it will cause very wet poos , ie poo in a puddle .

The same will happen with silkworms ( especially if the worms are eating very moist chow or very young mulberry leaves ).

Also if you are giving greens very high in moisture content ( ie lettuce, cabbage ) the result is very wet poos.

I'd ditch the dial style thermometer ( they are hopelessly inaccurate , errors up to 30% , and invest in a brace of these https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4x-LCD-Digital-Temperature-Thermometer-Outdoor-Reptile-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Meter/264431499789?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 or similar.

Thanks for the link! And the comments, I am more calm now

Any thoughts on digital laser infrared thermometer guns??

I have one too. Use it to get temperatures of my bath water on the rear occasion I bath my dragons, and to measure temperatures of fittings , but not very often.

I just set up my probes permanently and can see my temperatures at a glance anytime.

Ebay is in USA too you know.

UPDATE: He didn’t poo yesterday but today he did and his poo is still wet like but at least it had some shape. It had the white urate and the poo was greenish dark colored. It wasn’t as solid as I would’ve liked but it wasn’t plain liquid like last time. Should I still give it time to see if next time is better or should i just get a fecal test? I bought a bunch of digital thermometers, rheostats, and timers for my lights.