Urine is hard?

[proudbeardieowner]

I have an 8 month old beardy that I am giving his calcium 5 days a week and a multi vitamin 2 days a week. Why would his urine be in the same consistency as his poop?

Any advice would be great.

Thank you

 

[AndyT]

That's normal. Beardies don't urinate (I think) to conserve liquid (stay hydrated better) in the wild because its so hot and water is not readily available. So they poop out dry urates instead to get rid of what they would in urine. This is an adaptation that they have developed over many years.

Andy

 

[proudbeardieowner]

Is there anyway urine can impact a beardy? My beardy has again not gone in a few days so I did the bathtub trick, and he did urinate and have a bowl movement, but it appears that the urine came out 1st and it is very hard with yellow on the end of it, with white on the other end.

Why would this be, what can I do to correct it. I feel bad, not sure why this is happening:-(((

 

[AndyT]

I already explained it above. Its completely normal.

 

[proudbeardieowner]

Thank you. Just wanted to be sure the yellow cap on the end was normal, and the consistency was ok being as hard. Just dont want my baby to become impacted:-(

 

[AndyT]

Yep, its fine. I think the yellow cap is ok. Some people say if the urate is yellow, its a sign of dehydration, but I'm not sure if its true. If its just the end, you shouldn't be too worried. You could try to get him hydrated more if you want. Don't worry about impaction, the only causes of that are ingestion of something that if too hard to digest and pass properly, like substrate or bugs' exoskeletons.

 

[proudbeardieowner]

I have him on playsand too, you dont think that could be causing any of this do you? Some people say they like playsand, others say stay away from it. So confused.

 

[AndyT]

No, the playsand wouldn't be causing the urates to be hard or yellow. I personally say stay away, just because of the impaction/ infection risk. Playsand is the best sand to use (Best of the worst substrate), because it is less likely to impact a dragon if ingested, because it has been washed down and has smooth edges. Not to say that it doesn't pose a risk. Most people on this site would tell you to stay away, but its up to you. Just watch out for impaction if you use it.

 

[proudbeardieowner]

Ok, I am trying to decide on another kind to use other then the playsand.. I would rather tile, but because it is so think I am afraid the pad I have under my tank will not warm up the tank if I use tiles, and our house tends to be on the cool side in the winter.

As long as my guy is ok, i will not worry. But he also does not move around too much, he would bask all day somedays without eating or anything, he makes me nervous and I really like this little guy Would feel terrible if something I was doing caused him to not do so well.

 

[AndyT]

Tile is great. I use it, and highly recommend it. Under tank heaters can actually be bad for beardies, because they can't sense heat well from their underside, and can be burned without even realizing it. If you need heat at night, I recommend a ceramic heat emitter (CHE), though its not necessary unless your house gets below 65 degrees at night.

Tell me about your setup, like what lights and UVB do you have? Temps? What do you feed him?

 

[proudbeardieowner]

I was a retisun 10.0 and have a 100 watt basking lite which in his basking spot is around 105 degrees. The cooler side is around 80 degrees. His log is about 9 inches high and we have a 36X18X18 tank, and the reptisun is screwed into the top of the cage from the inside and is a long bulb not a coil, with the basking light sitting in a dome.

Any suggestions, is that ok?

 

[proudbeardieowner]

Sorry forgot to mention about the feeding... he loves superworms, crickets, kale, carrots, and occasionally swiss chard, dandelion greens, sweet potatoes... we have tried it all. He use to love wax worms and horn worms but as he is older, he is extremly finicky. He wont even eat superworms unless I feed from tweezers and never finishes his greens anymore:-(

Any advice?

 

[diamc]

proudbeardieowner, the urates actually shouldn't be hard like chalk or hard like rubber, also shouldn't be yellow in color. If it is, it could mean that he needs more hydration by more frequent baths or that he isn't eating enough greens or that he is getting too much calcium. How often do you bathe him? The urates should be white and soft. When you dust with calcium, are you only dusting one feeding a day?

 

[AndyT]

By hard do you mean right after he poops, or after a while and they've dried?

 

[proudbeardieowner]

I noticed that his urine was hard when he had not urinated or pooped in a few days, so I put him in the tub. Normally I was only doing 1 or 2 baths a week, but now I want to do it more often since it seems to move everything along. His urine actually comes out in a tylenol capsule like form and is hard with yellow on one end, and his poop follows in that same shape but is not as hard.

I have been doing 1 feeding per day of the calcium (5xper week) and vitamins (2x per week) when I feed him crickets or superworms. He has not been wanting his greens lately, so I am a little worried, since I think that may help everything get back to normal. I bought some kiwi today and put some on his nose and he licked it, and then put the rest in his bowl, and I think he ate a few pieces because later that night he pooped and urinated on his own rather then going in the bath.

What else can I do to help my little guy out?