Your little beardie has it made, right? He’s living the dream – you’ve got the perfect tank, full-spectrum lighting and a cozy heat source.

You feed him a good nutritious diet that’s healthy for little dragons and you make sure he gets plenty of sunlight.

But then one morning you wake up and you see a bad sign – runny stool! Oh no, what’s going on?

How do you treat bearded dragon diarrhea? In this article, I’ll show you a few things to keep in mind and talk about possible treatment options.

Is Your Bearded Dragon Really Suffering From Diarrhea?

Check the stool! Are you sure it’s diarrhea?

Your bearded dragon’s feces should be firm but soft. The diet influences stool appearance – insects can make it darker and harder.

The urate is the white part of the stool that your dragon excretes instead of peeing like you or me. If the stool itself is firm and normal, but it’s surrounded by a pool of liquid, then it’s probably just excess water being removed from the system.

If it’s mushy or runny, or your dragon is going a lot more often than he used to, it’s probably diarrhea.

It’s super important to get this taken care of QUICKLY – diarrhea can make your bearded dragon malnourished and dehydrated. If it’s from parasites, he could get even sicker and possibly die!

Here are some things you should check.

Bearded Dragon Diarrhea Causes – Check The Diet

If you’re a smart bearded dragon owner, you should already have a pretty good idea of what to feed your bearded dragon. However if you need a little bit help, check these articles:

• 88 Things Your Beardie Can Eat
• What To Feed Your Beardie

A diet that has too much fruit or leafy vegetables can possibly cause a runny stool. This is because these things have too much water in comparison to the tough fibrous material that makes up plants.

Your beardie needs a healthy mix of plants and insects; an adult needs more vegetables than insects. If your beardie is refusing to eat greens, I recommend to get my ebook, which will show you how to make your bearded dragon eat greens within 7 days.

Here are some possible dietary reasons for your dragon’s runny stool:

Tap water. Tap water can contain ammonia, chlorine, fluoride, and heavy metals. Treat your water with something to remove dangerous chemicals. Treat your water with this water conditioner!

Another thing to consider is this: Have you recently treated your bearded dragon with any medicine to kill parasites?

These are usually indiscriminate – that means they remove ALL gut flora, whether good or bad! Your bearded dragon needs certain microorganisms to help digest foods and produce vitamins.

Consider a probiotic treatment to help your bearded dragon recover. Get A Probiotic Here!

Temperature and Light

How much light is your bearded dragon getting? Remember, your little dragon loves the sun – they’re from Australia, and Australia is famous for being very bright, hot, and dry.

The basking area should be anywhere from 95 to 110 degrees. Even the cool area needs to be atleast80, and closer to 90 is better.

Are you getting enough sunlight? Bearded dragons love the natural sunlight – and if you aren’t using full-spectrum lighting, they won’t get all the natural vitamin D production they need.

Don’t just believe what a temperature stick says – they can be as much as 10 degrees off! Get an infra-red temperature gun for an accurate reading of what things are like where your beardie actually lives.

Stress

If you just got your bearded dragon, he might be a little stressed out at the change in his environment.

Stress affects reptiles just like it affects us. They don’t like uncomfortable environments; this ties in with what we’ve discussed about temperature and light.Make sure your bearded dragon has a safe little place to hide; this will help him calm down and get used to his surroundings.

What kind of cleaning chemicals are you using? Don’t use ammonia, bleach, or anything else that’s harsh and caustic – the lingering fumes could make him really sick.

Parasites

If you’ve checked everything else and you still can’t figure out why your bearded dragon has diarrhea, then it’s probably parasites. Reptile feces are never supposed to smell ‘good’ – but parasites like giardia can make stool smell REALLY awful.

Most of the microorganisms that live in your beardie’s gut are good for him. A healthy immune system keeps them in check; but when outside factors cause his immune system to weaken (not enough food, improper lighting, unreasonable temperatures, unfamiliar situations) the more opportunistic microbes can run amok.

That can cause serious problems.Unfortunately, these tiny little devils are invisible to the naked eye, and you’d need a microscope and a healthy education in microbiology to accurately determine which parasite it could be.

The only way to tell for sure is to take a stool sample and present it to a vet who is familiar with reptiles. Get the sample as freshly as possible, seal it into a plastic baggie and put it in your fridge.

If you bought your beardie from an unsavory pet dealer, then it’s likely he came home with some unwelcome guests.

The most common parasites associated with bearded dragons are coccidia, roundworms, hookworms, or pinworms. However, it could be anything, from normal food poisoning, to even the adenovirus – an especially dangerous virus common to reptiles.

Does your pet:

• Refuse to eat?
• Show signs of stomach pain?
• Have undigested food in his stool?
• Seem tired and lethargic?

Any of these could be signs of parasites.

Consider using a dewormer or parasite treatment. These can help clean out your beardie’s system – but remember, they’re going to clear out the good microbes along with the bad. Try a probiotic treatment to follow up with. You can get the parasite powder here!

Remember

Your bearded dragon has his own unique personality. Like most reptiles, he’s tough, and wants everyone to know it – he’ll try to hide illness and disease.

Pay close attention to his habits and his diet. Seasonal changes can lead to changes in his stool frequency and consistency, but it should NEVER be runny.

Ultimately, you should be consulting with a licensed veterinarian who has good familiarity with reptiles. Your bearded dragon is just like a pet cat or dog – he deserves your best care!

I really hope that this bearded dragon diarrhea guide has helped you. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I will be more than happy to help you out.

 

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Before you leave!

Since I receive many comments and emails from bearded dragon owners that tell me that their bearded dragon is refusing to eat greens, I decided to help with this issue.

What most bearded dragon owners do not know is that a bearded dragon that does not eat greens might be sick or is on the best way to getting sick.

Bearded dragons are omnivores, which means that they eat anything they can find in the wild. The problem that most bearded dragons are picky when it comes to food only arouses due to bad husbandry.

If your bearded dragon is refusing to eat greens, and maybe even only accepts mealworms as food, I highly recommend that you get my ebook: How To Make Your Bearded Dragon Eat Greens Within 7 Days!

After going through the steps outlined in the ebook I will personally check on you and your beardie via email and will support you if needed.

Keep your beardie healthy!