Question about my newbie )
She about 10 weeks old and since I brought her home 9 days ago has been pooping, on average, one healthy-looking poop per day. I thi On day 1 she pooped in her bath but every day since, she's done her poop in the morning, not long after waking up, on the crux of her wooden branch, cnot far from her basking spot.
I know leaving the waste around can be both unsanitary for the dragon and also stink up the enclosure pretty bad, so I've been doing the best I can to pick it up as soon as I notice it. No matter how quickly I do it though, it seems some of the moisture from the waste soaks into that spot of the branch. It dries up real quick under all the heat and light but its definitely not hot enough in there to self-sanitize itself.
So last night I took it out, washed it with mild dish soap (natural) a little bit and baked it in the over for about a half hour, which I read was good for killing any potentially bad bacteria. I don't really plan on doing that every day, but of course I wake up today after doing that and the exact same routine.
Additionally, I caught her yesterday kind of licking at the area. I know this is probably just to sense the smell but I also know she's not fond of that smell, so hopefully she wasn't trying to get an actual taste of anything gross...and to make matters more concerning she does tend to plop down in this exact spot where she poops and lay down for a while. It's the broadest part of the branch and kind of in between gradients so a good place to lounge for a bit anyway, but I'm worrying that her belly is getting gross bacteria all over it.
So a few questions:
1. Does the AM pooping sound like a normal routine? I know how important light and heat are to digestion so I've tried moving her evening meal up to a 2-3 hours before lights out to help aid with this, but she doesn't like to go in the evenings.
2. Is this a potentially really unsanitary habit? I've looked up some material on potty training dragons. She's not going outside quite yet but I could try to train her to go in the bath eventually. I'm just trying to let her get settled in first and want to let her do her own thing if at all possible. If it is, does this just mean we need to routinely clean/cook the wood for now?
3. Does her laying on this spot (after I've removed/wiped up the mess as best possible) mean she needs a bath right after? Do I need to try to move her or discourage her from that behavior?
I've thought about trying to wake up, grab her, throw her in a bath, etc. but she seems like she prefers a little while in the morning to get some sun and wake up, much like I do. I don't wanna wake her up and just startle her every morning on the off chance she'll poop out of her tank.
Thanks in advance for the advice all!
She about 10 weeks old and since I brought her home 9 days ago has been pooping, on average, one healthy-looking poop per day. I thi On day 1 she pooped in her bath but every day since, she's done her poop in the morning, not long after waking up, on the crux of her wooden branch, cnot far from her basking spot.
I know leaving the waste around can be both unsanitary for the dragon and also stink up the enclosure pretty bad, so I've been doing the best I can to pick it up as soon as I notice it. No matter how quickly I do it though, it seems some of the moisture from the waste soaks into that spot of the branch. It dries up real quick under all the heat and light but its definitely not hot enough in there to self-sanitize itself.
So last night I took it out, washed it with mild dish soap (natural) a little bit and baked it in the over for about a half hour, which I read was good for killing any potentially bad bacteria. I don't really plan on doing that every day, but of course I wake up today after doing that and the exact same routine.
Additionally, I caught her yesterday kind of licking at the area. I know this is probably just to sense the smell but I also know she's not fond of that smell, so hopefully she wasn't trying to get an actual taste of anything gross...and to make matters more concerning she does tend to plop down in this exact spot where she poops and lay down for a while. It's the broadest part of the branch and kind of in between gradients so a good place to lounge for a bit anyway, but I'm worrying that her belly is getting gross bacteria all over it.
So a few questions:
1. Does the AM pooping sound like a normal routine? I know how important light and heat are to digestion so I've tried moving her evening meal up to a 2-3 hours before lights out to help aid with this, but she doesn't like to go in the evenings.
2. Is this a potentially really unsanitary habit? I've looked up some material on potty training dragons. She's not going outside quite yet but I could try to train her to go in the bath eventually. I'm just trying to let her get settled in first and want to let her do her own thing if at all possible. If it is, does this just mean we need to routinely clean/cook the wood for now?
3. Does her laying on this spot (after I've removed/wiped up the mess as best possible) mean she needs a bath right after? Do I need to try to move her or discourage her from that behavior?
I've thought about trying to wake up, grab her, throw her in a bath, etc. but she seems like she prefers a little while in the morning to get some sun and wake up, much like I do. I don't wanna wake her up and just startle her every morning on the off chance she'll poop out of her tank.
Thanks in advance for the advice all!
thx
