Weird poop and not eating

[beaniethebeardie]

I posted on here a while ago about my beardie not eating for a few weeks. Her appetite still hasn’t improved - still hasn’t eaten any veg and literally like 5 calci worms a week or two ago. She pooped about two and a half weeks ago and I posted about it on here because it had a weird, jelly-like consistency, and I was told not to worry about it if it was just a one off.

However, she pooped again today (usual pooping habits - running around the tank, getting really excited, pooped in her usual spot), but it’s the same mucousy consistency as before. I’m concerned that she has parasites and that could be the issue with her eating too. She’s fine in herself, I’ve attached some photos for you to see. Her temps. are about 90 for her tank overall, with a cool side of 84 and a basking spot temp of 98-100. Her night time temps don’t go below 77, and she had a new UVB a few weeks ago because her old one was due to be changed.

Her poop:

Beans:

Edit: she normally eats Morio worms because she’s *very* picky with her food. When she stopped eating, the vet told me to buy her some calci worms because they’re very healthy for her, and she did eat about 5 of them while she refused the Morios, but she hasn’t eaten any since. Also, when she pooped two weeks ago, the day before she was struggling to go, and it turned out she had a hair stuck in her vent that she’s accidentally swallowed. She passed the hair and then she pooped successfully, but it was all mucousy like I said.

 

[KarrieRee]

The poop looks like her digested substrate-- that is pellets shes on correct? I would get rid of the pellets and use some newspaper or paper towels for now -- please go over her whole diet what your feeding and the lighting in the tank -- UVB brand and bulb coil or tube and her basking temps please and how your taking them ? the lighting and temps play a huge role in them eating -- the poop does it smell so bad it makes you want to leave the room ?
Karrie

 

[beaniethebeardie]

The poop looks like her digested substrate-- that is pellets shes on correct? I would get rid of the pellets and use some newspaper or paper towels for now -- please go over her whole diet what your feeding and the lighting in the tank -- UVB brand and bulb coil or tube and her basking temps please and how your taking them ? the lighting and temps play a huge role in them eating -- the poop does it smell so bad it makes you want to leave the room ?
Karrie

Her poop barely smells. I've never seen her eat the substrate, mostly because when she's fed, it's always in her bowl because she won't catch any of her live food in her tank. Her diet consists of Morio worms and calci worms - she won't eat crickets, Dubia roaches. When we first had her, she used to eat dubias and waxworms occasionally, but she stopped eating them about a year ago. Back when she was eating veg, she'd have a mixture of fruit and veg - kale (in tiny amounts and very occasionally), peppers, cucumber, blueberries, raspberries (always less fruit than veg because of the sugar content), broccoli sometimes too. She has this habit of refusing to eat the veg when it's fresh - she'll eat it the next day when it's dried up a little, but never when it's freshly put in there. I take it out the next day because I don't want her eating dried stuff. When she was eating, I'd dust both her veg and bugs with calcium powder and a multivitamin every few feeds - but if she saw me putting the powder on her food, she'd refuse to touch it. The bugs, not so much, but if it was on her veg, she wouldn't go near it, and still won't.

I did previously put reptile carpet in her viv because someone told me it'd be better, but she absolutely hated it. I contemplated getting bark chips that are too big for her to eat, but the only ones my pet store sells are wet ones that raise the humidity. When she goes to sleep, she digs herself a hole in the substrate and settles into it for the night, so I'm reluctant to change it if I can get away with it. I did put a soft fabric slipper in there for her to sleep on, but she only sits on it during the day and always digs a spot at night. Are there any other options for a substrate that she can't eat, but that's still comfy for her?

Her UVB is a tube light, a Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB, fresh in about a month ago. Her cool side temperatures are about 84, her warm side ranges from 90 to 94, and her basking spot is usually between 94 and 100. I take her temps with an ExoTerra digital thermometer - I use the probe to check her basking spot every time to make sure the surface temps aren't too hot for her. She has a full 12 hours of light every day.

 

[KarrieRee]

Better substrate is textured NON adhesive shelf liner -- its something she wont be able to dig in but you can always provide a sand box in the tank -- the T 8 where is it? Top of screen or inside the tank?
Karrie

 

[beaniethebeardie]

Better substrate is textured NON adhesive shelf liner -- its something she wont be able to dig in but you can always provide a sand box in the tank -- the T 8 where is it? Top of screen or inside the tank?
Karrie

Inside the tank, runs along the top of the back wall and overlaps the basking bulb by about four inches.

 

[KarrieRee]

Is the distance 6-8 inches from basking decor ? And your changing the bulb out every 6 months?
Karrie

 

[beaniethebeardie]

Is the distance 6-8 inches from basking decor ? And your changing the bulb out every 6 months?
Karrie

It's about 6 inches away from the basking rock. I can't remember how old the heat bulb is, pretty sure we got her a new one when we bought her new tank, which was over 6 months ago. I knew you had to replace the UVB every 6 months but not the heat bulb too - her temps are still reaching where they should be.

 

[KarrieRee]

No not the heat bulb just the UVB -- and your good since it was recently replaced--
Karrie

 

[beaniethebeardie]

No not the heat bulb just the UVB -- and your good since it was recently replaced--
Karrie

Ah okay, yeah her UVB was only changed a few weeks ago because I thought that might be the issue with her not eating, but there’s been little improvement

 

[KarrieRee]

Some others on here are gonna haft to weigh in on this issue - I am not sure if all is good w/ the lighting and basking temps -- have you ever tried silk worms? You might try them and see if she will eat them
www.reptillianarts.com
Karrie

 

[CooperDragon]

She looks pretty healthy in the photos. Nice and alert with a bright orange beard. Your lighting sounds OK to me, and I doubt the substrate is causing any issues. I've seen the jelly consistency in poops before but am unsure of the cause. My dragon has constantly messy poops so I suppose they don't stand out so much. Bringing a fresh sample to the vet for analysis would help rule out (or treat) parasites. She could be a bit dehydrated too. If she won't drink water directly if you drip some on her nose, try cutting up zucchini or summer squash into small worm shapes and see if she'll go after that. It is a very healthy food option and quite hydrating.

This is how I go about cutting it. Some people use a large grater and that works well too.

 

[beaniethebeardie]

She looks pretty healthy in the photos. Nice and alert with a bright orange beard. Your lighting sounds OK to me, and I doubt the substrate is causing any issues. I've seen the jelly consistency in poops before but am unsure of the cause. My dragon has constantly messy poops so I suppose they don't stand out so much. Bringing a fresh sample to the vet for analysis would help rule out (or treat) parasites. She could be a bit dehydrated too. If she won't drink water directly if you drip some on her nose, try cutting up zucchini or summer squash into small worm shapes and see if she'll go after that. It is a very healthy food option and quite hydrating.

This is how I go about cutting it. Some people use a large grater and that works well too.

Thanks, I'll try that! Anything to get her to eat something at least. She just had a bath today and had a nice big drink, so hopefully if she is dehydrated, she's alright now. I got a temp gun today as well so that I have something more reliable to take her temps with from now on.