Time for a fecal...ugh.

[DopplerMel2000]

Runny/watery poop, lethargic, decreased appetite and now the occasional droopy eyes. I think it's time for a fecal again. I'll take "parasite" for $300 Alex!

He was treated for pinworms back in January I hope they're not back again.

This was the poo a few days ago and it's just gotten runnier since. It sure doesn't smell as bad as it did with the pinworms though so I'm hoping that's a good thing.

Anyone else seen this with their beardie? If so, just curious what it turned out to be?

 

[Jacqqui]

Hi there,
$300.00?? I thought my vet was expensive!! or is that how much you've spent so far?

Here's the questions everyone would ask:

What's the setup, the temps, the type of lighting, what's he been eating, etc.

I've had mine have poops like that but sometimes it depends on what they were eating. I did have one with Coccidia who had poops similar to that if I remember correctly.
My dragon's do not have anything wrong and their poops can clear a room!! (A Ballroom!!). I know the one thing that makes them bad is the mustard greens. I cant stand eating greens anyway and I can tell that part of the smell is from that. Not you are what you eat, you SMELL what you eat!!

Good luck,

Jacqui

 

[DopplerMel2000]

LOL oh no I was just making a jeopardy joke...I haven't really spent $300...just $19 for the fecal :lol: (although I did spend $300 at the vet for my cat recently but that's a whole different issue). :shock:

40 gallon breeder tank
75w basking bulb
5.0 reptisun UVB (but I was told from someone here on a different topic it sounded like I had the T5 HO bulb which they said is better for UVB output?) I also recently took out the top screen of the tank for more UVB rays.
soft shelf liner substrate
80-85F on cool side (although on really hot days it is higher than that in from my apartment being so darn hot)
100-110F under basking light (again may be higher some days but I'm thinking about going down to a 50w bulb soon)

Here's a pic of his little home:

I give him collard greens and the occasional shaved veggies every morning sprinkled with calcium and probiotic. Although, lately I've been getting the mixed greens with mustards so that could be why his poo smells bad on occasion! I've never heard that before so that's good to know! I wish I knew why it was so watery though? I do bathe him about twice a week too.
I also have his choice of butter worms, superworms, dubia roaches and occasional wax worm. NO CRICKETS. I've been done with those things for a while now and it's been wonderful!

I just got the results back from the fecal and he was NEGATIVE for parasites so that's a good thing! It's just making me really nervous that he's not eating. He'll take a few bites of his greens, but doesn't seem interested in live food anymore and will maybe eat a few worms every few days. But doesn't even want his candy (wax worms) anymore?? Could that just be his age? He's about a year and a few months old. Another good thing is it doesn't seem like he's lost any weight to me and this has been going on a good month with his lack of appetite.

This might be a stupid question, but is it possible for beardies to go in a "semi-brumation" in the summer? He was too young to go into a brumation this past winter and this is the only beardie I've ever had so I'm not quite sure how he'll be as far as brumation goes. Him being lethargic is most likely him just being the lazy boy he is now that those results are negative. haha!

 

[Taterbug]

Stress and diet can give them stomach upset just like us some people have bad experiences with stinky gross poops with certain veggies. If you don't feed the mustard does it get better? (It's 1-3days trip thru the body).

As for eating. They don't need to eat as much when they are older, and he looks pretty healthy in the photos in your other thread. If he doesn't get a lot of activity he doesn't need as much food once he's done growing. If he maintains his weight, and his behavior is still good (basking, not spending all his time on the cool side, general alert and active) it may be his normal. It's well worth it to buy a kitchen scale and track weight, they are pretty cheap.

Your bulb will be easy to ID. The T5 is 5/8" in diameter, the T8 is 1 1/2 inches.

I wish my vet only charged $19. They upped it to 45, so I do my own now.

 

[DopplerMel2000]

I'll have to see if it gets better since the mustard greens got too old. I switched back to just the collards again. He used to be ok on those...not so smelly! And I think investing in that scale is a great idea!

and $45 for a fecal exam?!? That's terrible! I was actually really surprised they told me it as only $19! :shock:

Thank you both! :wink:

 

[Jacqqui]

I think my vet charges around $26 for a fecal. The good thing is that since I have been there a lot with some of my kids she gives me a discount on stuff or wont charge for.

I like his setup. Very nice. I agree with Taterbug, get a scale. It really helps keep a track of how their weight is and can give you a bit of a heads up when something may be wrong. Just some advise I weigh mine at night generally because I like doing it at the same time. I found that their weight can fluctuate and it's better to have a consistent time. Like we are supposed to weight ourselves once at the same time everyday if we do it to account for fluctuations.

I hate the smell but I'm scared to stop with the green mix I do because they all love it and eat it (dandelion, turnip, mustard, and collard greens and carrots) I have seen they get picky when I leave something out. It usually the dandelion greens as my store can be sporadic in getting them in.

I just want to say I have been a member of other types of message boards for different things but I NEVER would have thought I'd be a part of one where it was okay to post and inspect other's poop postings!!!
The things these dragons drive us to do!!!

 

[DopplerMel2000]

I've been on one of those Facebook pages for bearded dragons for a while now and I remember asking the admin if it was ok to post a poo pic (this was back when he had the piworms and there was some blood in it). He told me absolutely because it was such an important part of their health. Then he said "besides everyone poops right?" Lol so now I don't feel so weird about it. plus that really helped that everyone could see what I was dealing with!

 

[Taterbug]

Wastes are pretty helpful clues about animal (and even human) health. It's extra important with reptiles since they have very few other cues about health.

Hopefully the smell goes down - but don't expect roses it's still poop after all.

 

[austenp]

Just had to comment about the $19 for a fecal. My vet charges $80, so no more complaining, from anyone!

 

[DopplerMel2000]

$80??!?! Now that is ridiculous. Prices like that will keep some people from checking on a potential serious health issue very easily. At least it seems like it would be an easy thing to check for. I feel bad you gotta fork over that kinda dough for that.

His poo usually smells better than the cats...they have some raaancid droppings. ha! When his start to smell worse than theirs, I know something is off! :lol:

 

[austenp]

$80??!?! Now that is ridiculous. Prices like that will keep some people from checking on a potential serious health issue very easily. At least it seems like it would be an easy thing to check for. I feel bad you gotta fork over that kinda dough for that.

His poo usually smells better than the cats...they have some raaancid droppings. ha! When his start to smell worse than theirs, I know something is off! :lol:

Yeah, it's a lot of money, but not getting a fecal was out of the question. I lied sorry, it wasn't $80 for the fecal. It was $50, with a $30 "processing" fee... >.<

 

[DopplerMel2000]

Yeah, it's a lot of money, but not getting a fecal was out of the question. I lied sorry, it wasn't $80 for the fecal. It was $50, with a $30 "processing" fee... >.<

Yeah I too would fork it out...I would have to dip into the savings right now for that! :shock: