More urates than normal

[donprec]

I'm concerned about something going on with Precious. I don't know how to do short posts (lol) and I'm going to try to give as much information as I can for feedback. Basically, for the past 2 days, I've seen more than usual urates in Precious's enclosure and I don't know if it's something I should be concerned with or not.
First off, it's been 4 months that she went from her tank to the enclosure and while I struggled a lot with finally getting the temps right, I see now that she was more stressed with having a new home than I originally realized. I can see a noticeable difference now in her showing that she's more comfortable in it. For one thing, I used to leave a dish of veggies for her first thing in the morning before I went to work. When I'd come home, it was almost finished. Once she was in the enclosure, she stopped eating from the dish. She still ate some veggies when I hand fed them to her but wouldn't eat from that dish herself (pooped in it several times though). Just one week ago, she finally started eating from the dish again. I bring this up because she is eating more veggies the past few days than she has in 4 months. She still ate her worms all along but I guess she didn't mind that because she eats them outside of the cage anyway.
Also, every other time in the past, the urates were with poop. Two days ago, I found urates and poop on one side of the enclosure and then more urates on the other side. I suppose she could have started out doing her business on one side and then kept walking while the rest still came out on the other side but never before had I ever seen 2 urates at the same time. Then yesterday she had her normal poop and urates. I had put her back inside the enclosure when I noticed she was about to go. After she'd done it, she was going crazy begging to come back out but it was more the way she acts when she still has to go to the bathroom. Sure enough, I took her out and a few minutes later, she did a softer smaller amount of just urates right on me. Then, when it was time to go to bed, I put her in the enclosure. She usually gets sleepy around 8-9pm anyway, she's more likely to be quieter and just want to snuggle and rest then. But when I put her in for the night, she was going back and forth from one side of the enclosure to the other, doing the glass climbing thing on the door and banging her nose against it. She must've gone on like this for about 10 minutes, even with all her lights out and the light for the room was off too. Turns out this morning, I found powdery white stuff all over her basking house.
Today, she hasn't even pooped yet...which is a little unusual because she usually poops every single day in the afternoon.
Another thing that I thought I should bring up is that my humidity levels are higher but for the most part I can keep it at around 30 for her. But this whole week it rained every day and, I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but 2 days ago the humidity in her enclosure was 50. It's back down to 30 again today but I wondered if that has something to do with it. I know I live in a naturally more humid area...my hair gets frizzy easily here and potato chips and cookies lose their crisp fast if they're not kept in tight containers.
So...does this sound alarming?

 

[PatsyB]

It sounds like she is just well hydrated. What kind of worms are you feeding her? Luci leaves me just urates when he eats too many juicy hornworms.

 

[donprec]

She gets a hornworm (2 if they're small), sometimes every day, she has all along. But...I ran out of hornworms a few days ago and the pet store was out of stock with them so I don't think I can blame this on them this time. I was able to pick up a fresh cup of them yesterday though. Depending on how much she'd ate previously, I'll give her a few superworms, or instead, waxworms but I generally only let her eat these once or twice a week.
I can't come up with anything else different the past few days that would make her more hydrated than normal.
Can too many urates have anything to do with urinary/bladder/kidney problems?

 

[PatsyB]

I never thought that it might be a sign of another problem. I hope not.

 

[donprec]

She did one poop and urates yesterday. Even after she went though, she was standing with her tail arced to the side for several minutes after like she was waiting for more to still come out but nothing else came. I keep getting this feeling something's going on. I've thought about taking her for a checkup but without something more obvious to go on, I'll spend a lot of money without anything being resolved. Maybe I'll take a fecal over there this week and start with that first. But yeah...it seems to be like she has the feeling that she needs to go more but doesn't.

 

[PatsyB]

Sometimes mom knows best, if you think there is something wrong then there usually is. I would have her checked out just in case.

 

[donprec]

Yesterday she had a more watery poop. No extra urates but there was water/diarrhea surrounding the load of poop.
I picked up one of those cups with the little scoops for stool samples...they make things much easier! While I was there, I made an appointment for next Thursday, that'll give enough time so that when she goes there, they'll at least know the fecal results. When she had the higher count of coccidia and was pooping blood, the sample I had brought with me was too dried so I had to wait a few days before I dropped off a good one. But the vet had said she was a perfect vision of health...that is, until the stool sample results came a few days later.
Now the trick will be trying to get a good sample soon! Usually her poops are pretty dried up by the time I get home from work. I may not be lucky until Saturday when I'm more likely to be home around the time she poops.
It's just my kind of luck though...her pet insurance starts on Aug 1 and her appt is on the 23rd! If only this could've started just a little later!

 

[PatsyB]

Good luck getting the sample. I remember when I took Dexter in it was a challenge because she only poops in her bath. I had to take a cup and scoop it out and then pour out the water without pouring the sample out!

 

[donprec]

I did manage to get a good sample last night, dropped it off first thing this morning. It's crazy how excited I was to get that sample, lol. They said the results will be in on Monday.

 

[Canicke]

Keep us posted

 

[donprec]

Thanks, will do!

 

[donprec]

It was negative for parasites. I'm a little disappointed. She has varied between extra urates or more clear liquid in her poops for over a week now, I guess I was hoping for an easy answer to this.
So we'll get checked over on Thurs.

 

[Canicke]

No parasites is a GOOD thing !!

 

[PatsyB]

That's a good thing! Sounds like she's just really hydrated.

 

[donprec]

I just wish I knew why or how she's more hydrated now. I'm not feeding or soaking her anymore than usual. She's been much more active lately, which isn't a bad thing, it's just not her usual. She's getting a white spot on her chin from rubbing and poking the door so much because she wants out of the cage. Yesterday she didn't poop during the day but as soon as I came home, I could see she had been carrying on trying to get out of the cage for a while, she was right there at the door and the cage was messed up and rearranged. So I let her out. My son's bed is in between 2 windows and it's funny and odd but she always insists on jumping down off one side of the bed and then running around to get to the other side of the bed, which is not necessary because she can actually just stay on the bed to reach either window. She went back and forth this way for more than an hour. Also between each time, she was pushing and rubbing her face against the screens of the windows (so it's not just the cage!). Finally after all that time, she did a urate with a very tiny amount of poop...and then she calmed down.
So, I'm now back to the theory that I still haven't quite gotten the lights right in this enclosure after 4 months! I have stuck with a 50w for a little while, gives a basking area of 100-105. Yesterday, I put a 75w back in, basking is 112 on the basking ledge (which is higher, closer to the light) but right underneath is a basking rock at 108. I'm going to try this for a few days. I had given up on 75w months ago because I thought it was too hot but now my theory is maybe she hasn't been hot enough and that's why she's more hydrated. Plus, with the 50w, her humidity will be 30, ocassionally peaking to 40. After I'd put the 75w in for just a little while, humidity dropped to 20. This whole enclosure thing with her has been so much stress! Yet with Tequila's enclosure (got both enclosures at the same time) everything was fine, got the temps right immediately and she's perfectly happy.

 

[jarich]

What are the cool side temperatures? How are you measuring the basking temps?

Urates are mostly caused by the breakdown of proteins. On their own its not problematic, and usually with kidney problems you get the opposite, as the body doesnt remove the urates from the blood fast enough. How old is the dragon? As they age, they require less protein as a result of their growth rate slowing down.

 

[donprec]

With the 50w, it was 82ish. With the 75w yesterday, it was 86. I remember one time it was 90 on the cool side and that's when I'd decided the 75 was too hot. I'm at work now so I don't have the actual temps for today yet. I use a laser gun.
She eats about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of veggies every day and I do give her a few worms every day when I come home from work. Like one hornworm one day, then next day 2 or 3 supers and a wax, something like that.
She'll be 2 in Oct.

 

[jarich]

Ya, that sounds about right then. She has stopped growing pretty much by now, and is basically her adult size. Sounds like your diet is appropriate to that too. Unless the urates are really hard or otherwise abnormal then I wouldnt worry about the amount.

 

[donprec]

Came home from work and took the temps with the 75w...I'm surprised the poor thing wasn't baked. 120 basking, 96 cool end! No more 75, immediately switched back to the 50w but she's been out of the enclosure since I've been home.
I only have about another days worth of worms. Maybe after they're gone, should I try just giving her a week on just veggies and that's it? Just to see if there's a difference? Actually, I forgot to mention that she's had a sudden interest in green beans. At first I would just give her a half of one mixed in but she went for them right away so she now she gets a whole one mixed in everyday. They wouldn't have anything to do with this, would they?
This is the "poop" she had this afternoon, this is all that she did:

 

[jarich]

No you can continue to give her the worms and live foods too. That just looks like she is getting rid of excess water, so not a problem. Sounds like she is doing very well.