Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I just got a beautiful 4 month old yellow phase beardie on Sunday and have been having a great time with her all ready. I gave her a bath this morning to hydrate her and she was very good provided she could hang her chin on the edge of the container for a good look around the room. She had her first poop today and it seemed slightly mushy compared to that of my Uro's. Never having had a beardie before, what consistency should their poops be? If they should be pellet like should I be concerned or is she possibly just a little stressed out from the move? She's a fantastic little hunter and consumes about 20-30 crickets a day and has devoured a half-dozen wax worms. One more question... Is it okay to use a heating pad with beardies? I've been told that they don't have good sensory perception on their stomachs and would not like for her to suffer from burns or overheating in the night. Any advice hugely appreciated
maggie.

glad to hear that she is settling in nicely. the UTH isnt needed, if your home falls below 60-65 at night then you can use a ceramic heat emitter to up the temps at night. during the day there should be a basking bulb that gets a basking site from 105-115 surface temp and the cool side should be 80-85 ambient temp. there should also be a source of UVB either a Mercury vapor bulb or a florecent tube. you can add additional florecents to brighten up the enclosure.

as for the poop it should be firm (the feces) and can be accompanied by a white part otherwise known as urates, neither should be runny or loose but well formed, hope that explains it well enough, i know people here have some pictures, im sure they will be glad to share them with you

>>Hi everyone,
>>I just got a beautiful 4 month old yellow phase beardie on Sunday and have been having a great time with her all ready. I gave her a bath this morning to hydrate her and she was very good provided she could hang her chin on the edge of the container for a good look around the room. She had her first poop today and it seemed slightly mushy compared to that of my Uro's. Never having had a beardie before, what consistency should their poops be? If they should be pellet like should I be concerned or is she possibly just a little stressed out from the move? She's a fantastic little hunter and consumes about 20-30 crickets a day and has devoured a half-dozen wax worms. One more question... Is it okay to use a heating pad with beardies? I've been told that they don't have good sensory perception on their stomachs and would not like for her to suffer from burns or overheating in the night. Any advice hugely appreciated
>>maggie.
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reiko
photos

from what ive read here, beardies find heat by sensing light, so theyd have a hard time locating a uth. of course, i could be totally misinterpreting that, but i assume there's a good reason we all use basking lights id much rather just have a uth.
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.0.0 leopard gecko (sebastian),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.0 bearded dragon (kaipo and dulce), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

bright light, visible light, entices appetite and as well keeps our dragons happy and active. Also dragons cannot sense heat through their bellies very well and will sit until they overheat or burn, if heat rocks or UTH shorts or gets too hot the dragon may not move until its too late. Beardies have a pineal gland and it is right on top of the head, you can see it almost between the eyes, some research shows that some reptile species as well some others, may regulate their behavioral patterns with this organ. It seems to track day-length, and they think it may control activities such as basking, brumation and the onset of breeding seasons, just an interesting tidbit here is an excerpt as well from Steve Grenard's Bearded dragon book

"Their anatomy also enables them to change the pattern of blood flow within the head and body to help them control their temperature. When they first emerge into the daylight in the morning, they divert blood to large sinuses in the head. This heats up the dragon's brain and sensory* organs first, paving the way to maximum functioning early in the day. When they
bask, back facing the sun, their dorsal blood vessels dilate and their heart rate increases, which also helps speed up transfer or heat throughout the body."

if you search on the net you can find a whole lot of information on this subject, it makes for interesting reading
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reiko
photos

Thanks so much for all the info. I'm going to get a copy of that book (unless you can recommend one better). I'm still a sucker for print. Great facts.
Cheers,
maggie.

Can’t remember who posted this picture or I would give them credit for it.
Enjoy

well.....not exactly MINE!
That's the lovely gift I get daily in the bowl formerly known as the "Salad" bowl from my Snow female
Now specifically...the stool is solid, not liquid, urates (the white stuff) is present as well.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, Gold Dragon
Sharla

Sharla,
Thanks for being the co-owner of the now famous poo

Thanks to all especially for the poo-shots (our beardies would be so embarrased if they only knew....). I'm still keeping an eye on my baby --maybe "Cleo" or "Lola" still deciding. She hasn't had another poo yet, but did drop a urate right into my hand today
keep you posted
Cheers!
maggie.

I looked up "Cleo" a while back. It's a greek MALE name that means "Glory".
( We have a dragon that we were unsure of the gender at the time, so "Cleo" or "Cleopatra" were the choices. )
Thought you might like to know.

D.A.

>>Thanks to all especially for the poo-shots (our beardies would be so embarrased if they only knew....). I'm still keeping an eye on my baby --maybe "Cleo" or "Lola" still deciding. She hasn't had another poo yet, but did drop a urate right into my hand today
>>keep you posted
>>Cheers!
>>maggie.

Hey! Thanks for the info. I'am being presumptuous in assuming my beardie is a 'she' but I can't leave her as an it for 8 months, so... Lola it is. If you're familiar with the band The Kinks Lola 'dresses like a woman but walks like a man...' so this way i've kinda got both bases covered
maggie.

Give credit to the perfect pooping dragon that made it..lol
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TheClassyLizard

You are right....I wouldn't want her to get a complex!
I will post a beautiful pic of Aurora, the Dragons' Den Perfectly Pooping Snow Dragon, this weekend!
She'll be thrilled