watery poo after small impaction,

[rjay]

Hi, Im new here, read the forum a few times when researching bearded dragons, (long before i got one)
I "aquired" a bearded dragon the other day, He is 7 months old, and has been without uvb, proper temps for his entire life,
I asked the person who had him before how to feed him, (pretended to be clueless) she replied, oh just a couple of mealworms a day is all they need, his "tank" was way too small and had sand and a dish, that was it. she said he wasnt eating or pooping so i immediatly suspected impaction,

anyway, i had him about a week now, he has lino flooring (rough so he can run) basking rock, log, shelf to hide under (want to watch him closely without disturbing him) he's under arcadia 12% lights and has the proper temps and gradients, I been feeding him small crickets and apple, and some rocket too which he likes, he has been basking under the lights a lot and has actually changed colour since getting here, from a very dark colour to a sandfire colour, anyway, Its only been last 2 days ive got him to poo, he been having warm soaks every day (which he loves) but his poo is very watery, and is comming out in bits, what should i do? does this mean its clearing? or do i need to get a sample taken? there is the normal poo and urates, but loads of water around the fecal matter, He's definatly a hungry boy now, and seems happy, is it safe to wait a while see what happens?

 

[rjay]

im tempted to suspect the water is actually from the bath and nothing to worry about but i want to make sure,

 

[vampy]

If a dragon is really well hydrated, their poop will be normal looking, but surrounded by a puddle of water...the amount of water and how clear it is depends on how long it was since their bath that they pooped (immediately after there'll be more water and it'll be clear, if it's been a few hours, there'll be less water cos some will have absorbed, but the water may have a poopy tint). If the whole stool is watery and shapeless on a regular basis, or if it's really stinky, there could be an issue with parasites. Occasional loose stools are nothing to worry about, especially if there's been a recent change in diet. If he's eating well, not got stress marks, and seems generally happy within himself and active, then it's certainly something I'd be happy to 'wait and see' with.

The apple you're feeding him may also be making him poop more than usual (though you're probably right that he was just bunged up and it's clearing itself a bit at a time), people often feed apple or apple sauce to beardies who are a bit stopped up. Take a look at this site for a great food guide: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html rocket and apple are ok to feed from time to time, but aren't really great staples...you're better off giving him dark leafy greens (not spinach - check the list) and/or squash as daily staples, then adding small bits of other stuff from time to time.

It sounds like you're doing a great job with him. Don't forget to give him calcium with his food, if he's never had UV he may have a little MBD, or may go on to develop it now he is eating properly and starting to grow.

It may be worth getting a fecal done for parasites anyway at some point, but I'd leave it for a while as the move probably stressed him a bit (even though his new home sounds a lot better than his old one!) so his coccidia levels may be temporarily elevated...after a few weeks to settle in you might wanna get a check done.