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Help !?!?! My adult male Saharan, Gizmo, has very watery, runny stools more often than not. He is very regular, you could set your clock by him! Bathroom time is daily between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. I can't figure out why he doesn't have normal feces, and the little turkey keeps walking in it!!!

He's WC, and has put on a nice amount of weight since we've had him. He's not shy at all, as long as we don't touch him. I haven't weighed him in the last few months as we handle him as little as possible, but he's around 260-275 g. We've had him for about 1-1/2 years, he's in a 48" x 30" Animal Plastics cage by himself with a MegaRay for UV light and other bulbs as needed depending on the season to get the correct temps. His hot, cool, and basking temps (125-130 degrees) have always been right on, measured with digital thermometers and an IR temp gun.

He eats a almost full Rubbermaid sandwich-size container of salad every day including a base of endive/escarole and home-grown organic dandelion greens daily, and other things we have on hand at any given time including watercress, cilantro, arugula, radicchio, spring mix, bok choy, etc. He gets a few lentils or lima beans twice a week, and a pinch of bee pollen every week or two. Edible flowers include dandelions, rose petals, and nasturtiums, grown organically by me. For the last few months I've added in about 1 teaspoon of ground up alfalfa and timothy hay to each salad to try adding in some fiber, but he really doesn't like it and picks around it.

His last two fecal tests were negative for parasites. I've got his husbandry, enclosure, temps, hides, UV, diet, etc. all correct, his fecals are negative. I just can't figure out why he has huge blowouts every day. He pees a good amount at least every other day as well.

He HATES to be touched or held, but we have to get him out to wipe off his tummy and legs because he keeps walking in his own messes. Any ideas? Suggestions? Maybe there's something I'm not thinking of?

Thanks in advance,
Andi

Andi, are you leaving water in the viv or are your veggies overly wet when you put them in? I have heard that too much fluid causes that. Are the beans dry or cooked? Now hat I am in reply mode, I can't see your post, but are you feeding him very much fruit?

As for roughage, I feed mine finch seed and dry ground beans with a little ground Mazuri tortoise pellet mixed in. I just put a small bowl full in each of their vivs separate from the salad and keep it in there at all times, and they snack on it daily.

What kind of substrate are you using?

Another thing you can do is have your vet check his kidneys and liver function. I understand that uros sometimes have problems in these areas, but it sounds like he is super healthy otherwise.

Well, if you figure it out, be sure to let us know!

Thanks for the reply Rosebuds... He's never had a water dish in his enclosure. I use a salad spinner to make his salads, I rinse everything off really well, then give it a good spin to mostly dry it off, so his salad is not soaking wet ever day. The lima beans and lentils are cooked, but he only gets a few each week. He never gets fruit, since every time I've tried feeding any type of fruit, he turns his nose and walks away. I forgot to mention I do give him finch seed a few times a week mixed in with his salad. He won't eat it if it's in a separate dish by itself. He is on pool filter sand, which is very clean, less than 1/2" deep. He eats right out of his bowl, so he doesn't drag his food through the sand.

I've done everything right that I can think of to provide Gizmo and my two baby Saharans (in their own separate Animal Plastics cage) with proper environments and diet, which is why this is so frustrating to me. It's not like I have him shoved in a sub-standard cage and am feeding him lettuce every day, he is one spoiled rotten Uro LOL!

Thanks,
Andi
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And thats the thanks you get!

I don't have a clue. Both of my malis just produce little pellets with some clearish liquid that dries up real fast. You sound like a great Mom. Wish I or someone could be of more help.

I appreciate your help... I'll go tell Gizmo right now that he needs to produce little "pellets" for me instead LOL! Sure would make my life easier

And if you think my Uros are spoiled... you should see my three cats :0

Andi

Is it possible his stools are runny because he's still stressed? I know many animals produce loose, runny feces due to stress. How long have you had him? Being wc, it wouldn't surprise me if this was the case.

Have you made him an underground den he can hide in that might remind him of home? I build a den and tunnel system using a sandwich container and some aluminum tubing (although bendable pvc pipe would work too). I found that this has stimulated natural behaviour in my cb uros. They hang around their tunnel entrances if they're feeling a little nervous, and will dash right in if they are spooked. They go into them to sleep at night and "hibernate" in there too. Perhaps it will help calm your little guy?

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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra, Isis)
1.0 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (Diablo)
0.1 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (R.I.P. Samael)
2.0 Tabby cats (Cloud, Magus)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions... I'm going to add some more dried foods to his diet like ground up beans, etc. and try to get him to eat more of the dried grasses. I'll also get another fecal check done, just in case

He is so UN-stressed it's amazing, considering he's WC. When we first brought him home (about a year and a half ago), he ate and basked and explored from the very first day. When we moved him from his tank to his new AP cage about a month ago, he never skipped a beat, and was basking and eating within minutes of the move. He has three low hides to choose from, one on each side and one in the middle. The only thing that freaks him out is if we touch him in any way, so we NEVER touch or handle him unless absolutely necessary. He eats right out of our hands, though, with no fear or stress. I swear, if he could talk, we'd have some great conversations together

Could it be that he's being overdosed on all the "salads"? Uros in the wild don't get such enormous helpings of moisture laden greens, especially on a daily basis. Might be something to consider. We've maintained Uros for years on an every other day regimen of greens & a constant supply of dry foods.

Actually, mine both get salad (endive, bok choy, collards, and some turnip) every day too, and tiny bits of fruit and hard veggies on top a few times a week, and they have the little dry pellet poops. But they also have the dry beans and seed at all times. I also top their salad with finch pellets, and they love it! I use Pretty Bird pellets for small birds.

I would also suggest trying the probiotics. Can't hurt.

some pro-biotics might help. nutribac or benebac powder (1/8 teaspoon added to food). i had a situation like that once and it worked.

I'd increase the dry fiber in the diet - timothy or orchard grass from oxbow is great. It's easy to mix into shredded squash so they can't pick around it, unless of course Gizmo doesn't like squash.

Also, don't give up on the fecal checks. I've had two in the past that were doing mostly well, but something was just not right. They ate and pooped and were active and didn't seem sick exactly, but I KNEW something was off. After several clean checks, one eventually came back showing coccidia (Turtle), the other with giardia (Tank) of all things. Some of these parasites are very hard to spot, especially if there's any time lapse at all between production and examination.

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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Very true with the giardia. It takes a very well trained eye to see it and they are not generally found in significant quantities unless the animal is extremely sick.
I've seen and done a fair few fecals in my job and it's tricky.
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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra, Isis)
1.0 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (Diablo)
0.1 Satanic Leaf-tail Gecko (R.I.P. Samael)
2.0 Tabby cats (Cloud, Magus)