What is the Best Way to Get Dried Feces Off a Beardie

[wes]

We were gone all day yesterday and quite a bit of feces ended up on our beardie's tail (plus the viv, but that's not the problem). I had my son bathe him today, but he apparently thought the feces would come off easier than it did. I bathed him again and rubbed my thumb down his tail to get off what I could. There are some dark patches that might be feces or maybe just the coloring of his tail, I hadn't really noticed before. I didn't want to rub his tail opposite the direction of his scales, or is that OK to do? Is it safe to use a toothbrush or something to make sure we've completely cleaned him off?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ziggy23]

yeah you can use a toothbrush

 

[keschete]

Beardie poop is really RANK. Soak him in a nice wam bath and scrub him with a toothbrush. It will usually come off.

It's almost like they run around in it on purpose sometimes....were you being a BAD SLAVE? Hehehe. :mrgreen:

 

[wes]

Does it matter which way I brush? I know with snakes you can't rub them the wrong way, but a bearded dragon doesn't seem to have scales that overlap as much.

 

[jarett_harrison]

Dont rub up from tail to head, as the brush will get under the scales and it does hurt them. Make sure to always go with the grain.
I had to deal with dried poop this morning. Its like she pooed, the put her tail in it and rolled. GROSS! One member was selling dragon soap. I will find her username and post it.

---EDIT---
Her username is thedragonkeepers. I dont know if she still makes it or not, but you could shoot her a PM. I bought a bar a long time ago and still have lots left. It works really good on getting the poo smell off of them or if you just want to clean them. Its safe too!

 

[wes]

OK, thanks everyone. I looked at the scales again and yes, I see I don't want to go against the grain. Our beardie's poop used to smell really bad, but ever since we gave him some Phoenix Worms, it hasn't smelled that much.