The bearded dragons are native to Australian deserts. They are friendly and easy-to-train pets, whose poop is one of the stickiest in reptile families. Like all living, bearded dragon poop also gives you an insight into their health. So, this article is an overall guide to bearded dragon poop, answering all the questions which will guide you to care more appropriately for your bearded dragon. So, if you want to know it all, you need to read it all 🙂
This article includes the following:
- How often do bearded dragon poop?
- How often should a young bearded dragon poop?
- How Often Should a Baby Bearded Dragon Poop?
- How Often Should an Adult Bearded Dragon Poop?
- How Often Should an Adult Bearded Dragon Poop?
- Do Bearded Dragons Pee?
- How Often Do Bearded Dragons Pee?
- What if Your Bearded Dragon is Pooping a Lot?
- What Does Bearded Dragon Poop Look Like?
- What is the color of healthy bearded dragon poop?
- What are the colors of abnormal bearded dragon poop?
- What if my bearded dragon is pooping blood?
- How to make your bearded dragon poop?
- How to Get Your Bearded Dragon to Poop during Brumation?
- Why Does Bearded Dragon Poop Smell So Bad?
- How to Clean Bearded Dragon Poop on different surfaces?
- Is bearded dragon poop dangerous?
How Often Should a Bearded Dragon Poop?
How often a bearded dragon poops depends on the following factors:
- Bearded dragon age
- Bearded dragon diet
- Level of UAV and UVB light exposure
Bearded Dragon Age:
Age is most important in determining how often a bearded dragon should poop. Like baby bearded poop more comparatively, whereas young or adult bearded dragons poop less.
If you don’t know your bearded dragon’s age and want to estimate it, the following table will help you.
This chart doesn’t give you a 100% age estimate. It’s only a guideline.
You can read about baby, young, and adult bearded dragon poop in the coming paragraphs.
Bearded Dragon’s Diet:
The second important factor to consider in how often bearded dragons should poop is their diet. Like, if your bearded dragon consumes feeders with more calcium will typically defecate more often than other bearded dragons.
Level of UAV and UVB light Exposure:
The third main factor is the level of UAV and UVB light exposure. These lights are a natural part of the bearded dragon’s environment and affect the bearded dragon’s digestion as well as overall health. In proper UAV and UVB light, bearded dragons’ digestive systems will be healthy and they will poop on time.
How Often Should a Baby Bearded Dragon (Age: 3 months or younger) Poop?
If your bearded dragon is 3 months or younger, he is just a baby with more frequent bowel movements.
A baby bearded dragon poop one to three times in a day.
Baby bearded dragons consume more diet, usually protein, and calcium-rich diet throughout the day as they are in growing age. This diet leads to higher waste production and resultantly more poop. So, don’t be afraid if your little friend is giving you gifts to clean from time to time.
How Often Should a Young Bearded Dragon (Age: 4-18 months) Poop?
Bearded dragons falling in the age range of 4 to 18 months are Young or Juvenile Bearded Dragons. A young bearded dragon should poop every other day or so. If the bearded dragon is closer to the age of 18 months, then bowl movement will be slower, he’ll be pooping one or two times in a week.
How Often Should an Adult Bearded Dragon (older than 18 months) Poop?
If your bearded dragon is older than 18 months, he is an adult bearded dragon. Adult bearded dragons are calm and rely mostly on green (80% greens and 20% insects). An adult bearded dragon, getting a balanced diet, adequate UAV and UVB light, good humidity, and a comfortable tank, he will poop 1-7 times a week. Actually, diet plays an important part, like if your bearded dragon consumes crickets and greens, he’ll poop 1-3 times a week but if the same bearded dragon consumes calcium-rich feeders, he’ll poop daily.
In short, all bearded dragons are different, some poop daily, and others are not. It depends on factors that are already discussed above, i.e. their age, diet, and UAV/ UVB light. As long as they are active and have a normal appetite, you don’t need to worry.
Do Bearded Dragons Pee?
If you are a new bearded dragon owner, you must be wondering, “Do bearded dragons pee?” as you haven’t noticed any pee in their tank. The short answer is that bearded dragons don’t pee. At least they don’t pee like other mammals pee.
Bearded dragons urinate in the form of a dry, chalky substance which is called urate. Urate is excreted uric acid. You must have noticed this substance alongside poo. Sometimes liquid also mixes with this substance along with poo.
How Often Do Bearded Dragons Pee? Or Urate?
Like poo, every bearded dragon pees differently. Some pee more while others pee less. Baby bearded dragons pee 1 to 3 times daily. Whereas adult bearded dragons pee 1-4 times a week.
What If Your Bearded Dragon Is Pooping A Lot?
First, try to understand, what “a lot” means for your bearded dragon. If your baby bearded dragon poops daily, it’s not a lot, but if your adult bearded dragon poops daily, it might be a lot.
So, each bearded dragon has different behaviors, and each has to be dealt with separately.
Following can be reasons your bearded dragon is pooping a lot:
Bearded Dragons poop a lot when they are Stressed:
One of the main and frequent reasons that owners observe bearded dragons’ frequent poop is they are undergoing stress.
There can be many reasons for bearded dragon stress, you need to inspect the tank and environment in which you are keeping your bearded dragon. Like, there can be any other pets in the home and your bearded dragon is threatened by them, the tank setup is not good, there can be not enough space in the tank, the lighting arrangement is not good in the tank, the temperature is not good in the tank, etc.
You can read, “The Art of Dragon Domiciles: A Comprehensive Guide to Bearded Dragon Tank Setup” to know everything including lighting, substrate, material, décor, etc about bearded dragon tanks.
In the worst-case scenario, your bearded dragon might be pooping a lot due to parasites.
Bearded dragons poop a lot due to Parasites:
Your bearded dragon might be pooping a lot due to parasites. This is the worst-case scenario which can lead to many other health issues like weakness, diarrhea, dehydration, etc.
If your bearded dragon is not stressed due to any external factor and doesn’t show any unnatural behavior, there are more chances that he pooping a lot due to parasites. In that case, you need to take a fecal sample to the vet and let him guide you. He’ll also do the blood work. He’ll probably recommend you some anti-parasite drugs and ask you to provide a well-balanced diet.
Female bearded dragons poop a lot as they are Pregnant:
If you have a female bearded dragon who is eating a lot, there are chances that they are pregnant. This is the reason for their pooping a lot and it’s quite normal. Pregnant Female Bearded Dragon poops frequently.
You may know, that female bearded dragons don’t have to have intercourse to get pregnant.
What Does Bearded Dragon Poop Look Like?
As you already know that bearded dragons don’t pee, so Bearded Dragon’s bowl movement has both, poo and pee at the same time. This bowl movement has fecal matter and urate. Urate is uric acid which is nitrogen paste and is white and soft. Don’t worry, if there is some liquid along with poop, it’s quite normal. You need not to worry till their poop is well-formed.
Healthy Bearded Dragon Poop Color
If your bearded dragon is healthy, its poop will be white and brown. White will be the urate and brown will be the poop itself.
Abnormal Bearded Dragon Poop Colors
If your bearded dragon poop is not white and brown, then your bearded dragon is not healthy and might be facing some issues. Following are some abnormal bearded dragon’s poop colors:
Bearded Dragon Poop Green:
Bearded dragon pooping green is very common and it occurs from time to time. It’s the effect of their diet as they consume 80% greens and only 20% insects. If your bearded dragon is pooping green and the poop is not runny or smells too bad, you need not to worry.
But if the poop is runny or smells too bad than usual or your bearded dragon continues to poop green, you need to call your vet. You also need to submit the fecal sample to the vet for further evaluation.
Bearded Dragon Poop Yellow:
If your bearded dragon urates yellow, it means you are providing too much calcium. There is nothing to worry about, all you need is to limit the calcium supplement and keep feeding the balanced diet. The issue will be resolved automatically in a few days.
Read, “Bearded Dragons, Calcium, and Vitamin D3: Everything You Need to Know”
Read, “How Do I Give My Bearded Dragon Calcium?”
Bearded Dragon Poop Red:
Red poop is an indication of blood in bearded dragon poop or urate. It can caused by some internal blockage or impaction. Luckily, impaction is curable. You need to give your bearded dragon warm baths and call the vet in case of red poop. You will read about blood in poop in the proceeding paragraphs.
Bearded Dragon Poop All White:
If your bearded dragon poop is all white, then it is not the poop, it’s only urate. In that case, you need to check the urate, if it is soft, you need not worry. But if it is hard, chalk-like, your bearded dragon is dehydrated. You need to give him warm baths and increase his water intake through his diet.
Bearded Dragon Loose Stool:
If your bearded dragon has an improper diet or too much water consumption through diet or direct water drinking, or dehydration which will lead to over-hydration, your bearded dragon might be suffering from diarrhea which causes loose stool.
This issue is quite easy to resolve, all you need to give a balanced diet to your bearded dragon, and he’ll be healthy again.
Read, “The Comprehensive Bearded Dragon Feeding Guide”
Read, “What Do Bearded Dragons Eat? FAQ”
Read, “Bearded Dragon and Crickets – Everything you need to know”
What if My Bearded Dragon is Pooping Blood?
If your bearded dragon pooping red, it means it’s pooping blood. You need to take immediate action to cure it.
There are several reasons for blood in poop, it can be some internal bleeding due to something sharp that they had eaten like substrate or seeds, or it can be due to impaction or constipation.
Blood Due to Constipation:
In case of constipation, you need to give them a warm bath, keep them hydrated, you feed them a balanced diet. The issue will be resolved.
Blood Due to Impaction:
First, you need to make sure that your bearded dragon is going through impaction. For that, you need to look for lumps and bumps on their underside. Another symptom of impaction is leg paralysis, you need to also look for that.
Impaction can be caused by improper diet, eating substrate, eating seeds or anything that is difficult to digest, improper UVB exposure, improper temperature in the tank, etc.
Impaction can become very serious if left unattended. Your bearded dragon can even die due to blockage.
In the early stages of impaction, warm baths and abdominal massage are recommended. 30-minute warm baths will hydrate your dragon and help him to relax his muscles which will be a catalyst in bowl movement. Similarly, abdominal massage will motivate bowel movement. Try to feed them a new diet that is easy to digest. But if you don’t notice any progress, take your dragon to the vet.
If you notice that blood is not caused by impaction, there are chances it is caused by some internal injury or simply a larger bowel movement.
What if they’re not impacted though?
If your bearded dragon is not going through impaction but still pooping blood, you need to monitor their movements for 2 days and get their stool sample to the vet to avoid risk. If your bearded dragon continues to poop red even after 2 days, get him to the vet and provide medical attention.
How to Make Your Bearded Dragon Poop?
The slow or ceased bowel movement can be caused by many reasons and each reason has its own remedy. Following are some remedies which you can follow to help your dragon poop. But if after following the remedies, your bearded dragon doesn’t poop according to their normal routine, you need to call the vet.
How to Make Your Bearded Dragon Poop: Hydrate Them
A dehydrated bearded dragon is easier to spot as their poop will be less watery than usual and urate will be more chalk-like than soft white.
In case your bearded dragon stopped pooping due to dehydration, you need to do the following:
- Give them long, warm baths.
- Place a bowl of water with some treats in it.
- Feed them more watery fruits.
- Drip a couple of drops on your bearded dragon’s snout.
How to Make Your Bearded Dragon Poop: Give Them a Bath
A 30-minute long, warm bath can do miracles for humans as well as for bearded dragons. It will help your bearded dragon to hydrate himself as well as to have relaxed muscles. Warm baths will also help to overcome the impaction.
The main purpose of giving a warm bath is to make your bearded dragon calm and hydrated. If you notice your bearded dragon does not like it, you need to avoid this remedy.
How to Make Your Bearded Dragon Poop: Double Check Tank Temperatures and UVB
The right temperature and exposure to UAV/ UVB light help your bearded dragon in digestion. If your bearded dragon is not getting it in proper values, this might be the reason for slow bowel movement.
You need to double-check the tank temperature, UVB light exposure as well as the humidity level in the tank to help your bearded dragon to digest food and poop on schedule.
Read, “The Art of Dragon Domiciles: A Comprehensive Guide to Bearded Dragon Tank Setup” to learn about lighting arrangement as well as basking point temperature as well as tank temperature of your bearded dragon’s tank.
How to Make Your Bearded Dragon Poop: Give Them a Special Homemade Laxative
To help them digest and to relieve the blockage you can give your bearded dragon some olive oil on a regular basis. 3-4 Drops of olive oil will do the miracle and your bearded dragon will be thankful to you.
How to Get Your Bearded Dragon to Poop During Brumation?
Bearded dragons undergo brumation in winter due to lower temperatures. It’s a natural process. When bearded dragons undergo brumation, they lose their appetite and resultantly they stop pooping.
In brumation, you need to help your bearded dragon to poop only if they have eaten something, otherwise, let them sleep. You can give them warm baths and help them to poop.
Why Does Bearded Dragon Poop Smell So Bad?
First, you need to make sure that your bearded dragon poop actually smells bad because as humans, we all have different tolerance levels for bad smells. Maybe the smell is normal but you are feeling it too bad.
If you notice that your bearded dragon poop smells so bad than usual, this might be caused by parasites or something which they are eating is not digested properly.
You need to adjust their diet and notice again in a few days, if still you find a bad smell, you need to take a fecal sample to the vet.
How to Clean Bearded Dragon Poop?
Cleaning is the process which you have to carry out on a regular basis. If you talk about cleaning the poop, you need to consider the substrate as well. Following are the cleaning methods on different types of bearded dragon’s substrates:
How to Clean Bearded Dragon Pooped on Tile:
If the bearded dragon tank has tiles as substrate, you need to clean the poop ASAP. You can use a 9:1 water-to-red vinegar mixture to clean the poop. This mixture will clean as well as disinfect the dragon poop on the tiles. If you use red tile vinegar, it is 100 times more efficient.
For more safety and cleanness, it is also recommended to bake the tiles at 250 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven for 30-60 minutes once a month for full sanitization.
You can also use veterinary-grade cleaner for the same purpose. Spray it on tiles and let it stay for at least 10 minutes. It will do the magic.
Regardless of the method you use to clean the tiles, make sure tiles are fully clean, disinfected, and dry before placing them back in the tank.
How to Clean Bearded Dragon Pooped on Newspaper:
If you are using newspaper as substrate in the bearded dragon tank, you need to clean the poop immediately. You can replace the newspaper every week.
How to Clean Bearded Dragon Pooped on Reptile Carpet:
If you are using the loose particle substrate in a bearded dragon tank, we recommend you remove all the particles along with poop. You don’t need to clean the poop on the substrate, instead, you need to replace all the particles on which your dragon has pooped. Cleaning only poop will leave the particles of poop on the substrate so it is not recommended.
This is one of the many reasons that loose particle substrate is not recommended. To know more about which substrate is best for your bearded dragon tank, read, “The Art of Dragon Domiciles: A Comprehensive Guide to Bearded Dragon Tank Setup”.
Is Bearded Dragon Poop Dangerous?
While bearded dragons are friendly, but their poop is dangerous for humans. The bearded dragon poop contains Salmonella, which is very harmful to humans.
So, bearded dragon poop can pass diseases to you. All you need to do is to be careful while handling your bearded dragon. Make a habit of cleaning and washing your hands whenever you touch your dragon. Also, keep your bearded dragon as well as his tank clean.
So, Hope that you have got all the answers that you were looking for. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.