I don have an answer maybe you do

[Mr.Poodie2U]

Hi all, my cousin has a 7 month old male dragon that has been in great condition since he got him a month ago. he called me this morning frantic because he finally turned the light off on the terr over night but when he went to feed Big Boss he noticed he had black feet and 2 small black patches on upper tail and a few on the stomach. He is really good with keeping up with temps feeding properly and cleaning so i have no idea what the heck is going on. he doesnt have a heat mat his house is well heated at night during cold Maine weather
Instead of me giving my uneducated smarts and never haven to experience or see this isue before I told him i will ask those of you who may have encountered this issue. Otherwise Big Boss is is fine and eating well. i also told him to join the group but he says he has no time. so if anyone has an answer please speak. hopefully its just stress.Any idea will be appreciated.

 

[Mom2Dovakiin]

Any way you can get pics of this? That way we'd be able to see exactly what it looks like?
Maybe pics of the set up and types of lights he's using?

 

[Mr.Poodie2U]

Here is the pic he sent. can anyone say what is going on with my cousins dragon? black feet and belly . hmmmm

 

[KrissyLeigh]

That happens to Skittles when he has pooped and tracked through it before I could pick it up... he likes to poop in the morning after I leave for work, so by the time I get home it's all gross - if I don't bathe him frequently he gets those black stains on his skin, it looks exactly like your photos... or worse. He likes to play in his poo. So is it possible he has been walking through his poo? If it's dry by the time you clean it up, you may not notice he is all poopy until it starts to stain his skin.

 

[Mr.Poodie2U]

Hmmm my cousin seems to take extra care of his dragon. i don't think it would be . he bathes him every other day with a cotton ball. oooh he is so extra!
I will ask him if it is possible that Big Boss has been stepping in his poop. thanks

 

[KrissyLeigh]

Hmmm my cousin seems to take extra care of his dragon. i don't think it would be . he bathes him every other day with a cotton ball. oooh he is so extra!
I will ask him if it is possible that Big Boss has been stepping in his poop. thanks

It doesn't take much for their feet to stain, and even with bathing it's hard to get it off. Mine is infamous for black feet on his back legs, I have to scrub them in the bath to get the color to completely go away. Since the black stains seem to be confined to the lower belly, back legs and tail area I'd say that poo is a pretty likely culprit. But let me know if y'all come up with something else, I'd be interested to hear an alternate theory!

 

[PatsyB]

What is he using as substrate? And what kind of decor? Looks like something may have rubbed off on him. For a few months I used newspaper as lining for Luci's tank and his feet and under his tail stained because the ink came off. I currently use half logs as basking spots and sometimes wood dust from them rubbing on it comes off on their skin.

You said he finally turned the light off at night in the terr, what does that mean? Bearded dragons need complete darkness at night to sleep properly, that means turning off the UVB light and the basking light and not using any colored lights at night.

 

[Mr.Poodie2U]

It doesn't take much for their feet to stain, and even with bathing it's hard to get it off. Mine is infamous for black feet on his back legs, I have to scrub them in the bath to get the color to completely go away. Since the black stains seem to be confined to the lower belly, back legs and tail area I'd say that poo is a pretty likely culprit. But let me know if y'all come up with something else, I'd be interested to hear an alternate theory!

Thanks for your suggestions . i told him and he is going to soak and scrub feet every other week.

 

[Hdrydr31]

sounds like poop stains or substrate stains.. And like stated they shouldn't have any lights on at night.. If it gets below 65F then a CHE is needed for heat ..