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if it's not parasites... what is it?

the nerve Jul 04, 2003 01:06 AM

I have a 2 year old male bearded dragon. He's very healthy, but he often has runny smelly poop. I took him to the vet last week and the vet said he is very healthy and alert, and the fecal exam showed no signs of parasites. I feed him mixed greens and veggies everyday except twice a week when I feed him 10-20 large crickets depending on how hungry he is. My question is, if he has no parasites, why is his poop smelly and runny half the time? It's the worst when he eats crickets.

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-Andy

Replies (3)

figuerres Jul 04, 2003 07:36 AM

well AFAIK "smelly" is mostly normal, the "you are what you eat" thing

"Runny" couls just be exess water and such.... dpends on what you mean by runny?

example: is it all loose like human runny; or it is some firm chunks with some liquid?

did the vet do a culture ?
a float test?

did he do the test or send it out?

have you taken him to a second vet to consult?

how long has it been this way?

PS: my dragon (4 months) SEEMED ok till just a few days and now I am told he as a high level of coc. protozoans and will need treatment. his sign was "Burping" and that same day not eating any crickets. now he seems to regard them as if he knows they gave him the buggers in his gut
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reiko Jul 04, 2003 05:03 PM

np

the nerve Jul 06, 2003 12:55 AM

I feed him dandelion greens, escarole, endive, collard greens, and mustard greens. I usually grate quite a bit of squash or carrots over that, sometimes green beans. So there is quite a bit of moisture in his greens. He gets some fruit maybe every other week.

The vet didn't do a culture test, he just looked at the poo under a microscope. He said he was looking for coccodia, worms, and the other regular lizard parasites.

Some days his poop is firm with liquid, other days its just kinda puddly. I never see anything moving though, and he always has a killer appetite. He's always alert and ready to eat.

I'm thinking about taking a stool sample to another vet for a second opinion. Problem is, the vet says I have to bring him in for an exam before they'll do a fecal. And considering I just had an exam, and the vet said he was very healthy, I don't really want to pay for another exam AND another fecal. Grrr.
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-Andy

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