Hi Beardie Community! I'm hoping you can help me solve the mystery of what's causing my little guy daily diarrhea since I took him home 3 months ago. There's a lot of info below for context, so thank you SO much in advance for any guidance or advice you may have! It's been quite the journey as I'm a first-time beardie owner and the vets and I are truly stumped.
When I first brought him home, he had a parasite (confirmed via fecal sample at an exotic pet vet, which we treated with ponazuril). A follow-up fecal confirmed it was out of his system (although I've read in a few threads you may need to test more than once to be sure). I just got his blood results back from last week's vet appointment and his uric acid levels are high. She thinks it could be from dehydration from the daily diarrhea, but that doesn't answer why this continues to happen. More details below:
Beardie: His name is Negroni and he's about 18 inches long. I purchased him from a pet store 3 months ago and they think he's around a year old. Even though I purchased him from a small, local exotic pet store, I understand now that this was likely my first mistake vs. buying from a breeder. He's just so cute - when I saw him, I fell in love!
Tank setup/lighting: 60 gallons, ceramic heat emitter at night (temps get down to a 70 to 80-degree gradient) with 160w uva/uvb/heat bulb during the day (up to 105 on his basking spot confirmed with 2 stick-on thermometers plus an infrared gun). His tank is on the floor and under a window, but as I'm checking the temps regularly I'm not sure this would be the cause.
Diet: Dubias + greens (collards, kale, bok choy, etc.) . We've tried squash + greens and no bugs for the past few days to see if that makes a difference, but alas it has not. I feed him 2 hours after the heat is on but he has diarrhea between 9:30a - 12p every day regardless of whether he's eaten yet or not.
Other symptoms: He's been a bit sleepier and less active the past few days, which could be from dehydration (I'm giving him daily soaks and spraying his greens to help with this) and/or because he's not eating bugs right now as a kind of food elimination test.
Curveball: When I first brought him home, he didn't poop for 4 days and his first poop was *completely* normal, so I know his body is capable of it. In addition, the two times he's been boarded when I was out of town, his first poops upon returning were also normal. This makes me think I'm missing something that might be wrong with his home setup.
If there's anything I'm missing that may be helpful, please let me know. I'm hopeful that someone in the community can solve this puzzle!
When I first brought him home, he had a parasite (confirmed via fecal sample at an exotic pet vet, which we treated with ponazuril). A follow-up fecal confirmed it was out of his system (although I've read in a few threads you may need to test more than once to be sure). I just got his blood results back from last week's vet appointment and his uric acid levels are high. She thinks it could be from dehydration from the daily diarrhea, but that doesn't answer why this continues to happen. More details below:
Beardie: His name is Negroni and he's about 18 inches long. I purchased him from a pet store 3 months ago and they think he's around a year old. Even though I purchased him from a small, local exotic pet store, I understand now that this was likely my first mistake vs. buying from a breeder. He's just so cute - when I saw him, I fell in love!
Tank setup/lighting: 60 gallons, ceramic heat emitter at night (temps get down to a 70 to 80-degree gradient) with 160w uva/uvb/heat bulb during the day (up to 105 on his basking spot confirmed with 2 stick-on thermometers plus an infrared gun). His tank is on the floor and under a window, but as I'm checking the temps regularly I'm not sure this would be the cause.
Diet: Dubias + greens (collards, kale, bok choy, etc.) . We've tried squash + greens and no bugs for the past few days to see if that makes a difference, but alas it has not. I feed him 2 hours after the heat is on but he has diarrhea between 9:30a - 12p every day regardless of whether he's eaten yet or not.
Other symptoms: He's been a bit sleepier and less active the past few days, which could be from dehydration (I'm giving him daily soaks and spraying his greens to help with this) and/or because he's not eating bugs right now as a kind of food elimination test.
Curveball: When I first brought him home, he didn't poop for 4 days and his first poop was *completely* normal, so I know his body is capable of it. In addition, the two times he's been boarded when I was out of town, his first poops upon returning were also normal. This makes me think I'm missing something that might be wrong with his home setup.
If there's anything I'm missing that may be helpful, please let me know. I'm hopeful that someone in the community can solve this puzzle!
