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 #2067066


Michaelmorrow77
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 Question about Poo

I know this is an odd thread but my Uro experience is Egyptians and now I have two small Malis I have a question about Poo.

My egyptian generally goes about twice a week. He is 400 grams and 12 inches and it tends to resemble cat poo. About 3 inches long in all by about half an inch in diameter.

My new Malis (both about 7 inches and 100g) didnt eat or poo at all for the first couple of weeks and each seemed to have a large 1/2 inch by 2 inch poo that was full of seeds (I’ve never given them seeds).

Since then they eat better and seem to go to the toilet every other day but it is a fraction of that initial size, about 5mm in diameter and maybe an inch long. I presume the large one was due to stress of moving etc and they were just a bit backed up and now things are more normal but I just wanted to check.
09/03/09  09:42am

 #2067104


Filecore
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   Message To: Michaelmorrow77   In reference to Message Id: 2067066


 Question about Poo

As to the content of the faeces (yes, there’s a proper scientific word for ’poo’), I couldn’t say. As for regularity, my ocellata has a poo about once a day, sometimes once every couple of days. Like with humans, I suspect it varies with the individual. Sometimes I wish lizards were a little more like cats and wouldn’t poo on their basking spot where they’re just going to keep wandering over the poo and smearing it everywhere

Incidentally, what the hell is this smiley supposed to represent?



09/03/09  11:28am

 #2067111


Michaelmorrow77
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   Message To: Filecore   In reference to Message Id: 2067104


 Question about Poo

My egyptian likes to defaecate (Yes I know the scientific word, I just feel a bit odd talking so formally about crap) in his food bowl and if he’s particularly hydrated it can look like a swimming pool. I was more concerned about the size, their first time in my care was 2-3 weeks after I got them and was almost as big as my egyptians. Since then it’s much smaller and more regular. As I said before both Malis first samples where absolutely loaded with seeds, I think this must have made them particularly backed up, they’ve had nothing but staple veggies since I’ve had them.
09/03/09  12:14pm

 #2068014


Sugar Snap Pea
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   Message To: Michaelmorrow77   In reference to Message Id: 2067111


 Question about Poo

Hi Michael,

My Mali’s poo looks like this... it’s consistent in number of lumps and color (dark green)... pee content can vary, the lumps are usually about 1/2 an inch or 3/4 an inch long.



His poop has been checked by a vet, his gut flora is in excellent condition he seldom ever bloats too after eating. So this is just to give you an idea what to expect. Now that their poop is smaller and regular, I think they’re on the right track.



09/05/09  12:20pm

 #2068020


Filecore
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   Message To: Sugar Snap Pea   In reference to Message Id: 2068014


 Question about Poo

Yes, that’s exactly what Vista’s poo looks like, usually two pieces of about 1cm each, by about 0.4cm in diameter, and the smaller white lump of urine. I believe that’s exactly how healthy typical uromastic faeces should appear.
09/05/09  12:30pm

 #2068022


Sugar Snap Pea
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   Message To: Sugar Snap Pea   In reference to Message Id: 2068014


 Question about Poo

Oh... by the way, my uro got toilet trained early... he’s pooped in his food dish, and on his basking rock, as well at the entrance of his hide... this was before he got slightly older (or less juvenile) and started marking his territory with a white "toothpaste" trail which we don’t remove.

I don’t know if environment factors are at play, but we toilet trained him like I used to do with my mum and the cats we had while I was growing up (some of them lived to be 20 years old, human years) so whenever they were new to the house, and decided to poop somewhere else instead of the designated cat litter boxes in the house, or in the garden, we would completely clean the spot (wash, dry, remove all scents) so they wouldn’t go back to the same place. At the same time, we would take a cat back to the spot before cleaning and make unhappy noises (they wouldn’t understand the actual words, but like dogs, they understand the tone of voice)... so they got the idea it wasn’t cool to poop anywhere except in the cat litter boxes or in the garden. Not sure how effective the "unhappy noises" were, but the cleaning up/removing of scent helped a lot.

My uro has found the exact spots in the sand in the cool area to poop. Literally, an invisible X marks the spot... and he hasn’t pooped anywhere else since... 9 months ago.
09/05/09  12:36pm

 #2068039


Filecore
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   Message To: Sugar Snap Pea   In reference to Message Id: 2068022


 Question about Poo

Hmm, curious. I know about cats and dogs, having grown up with many of each, but I wouldn’t have thought it possible to toilet-train a lizard with a huge degree of success. Vesta usually leaves her little bundles of joy on or around her basking rock (I have to be extra vigilant, because of course if they’re on the basking rock then she’ll quite happily stroll through or lie on it). She’s never had a poo in the cool end or in her food bowl, touch wood.
09/05/09  01:41pm

 #2068045


Sugar Snap Pea
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   Message To: Filecore   In reference to Message Id: 2068039


 Question about Poo

LOL, yes... it turned out better than I expected. Animals that can be tamed, even uros have their "human IQ" some get along better with humans, not all. Same for cats, not all took the same time to learn toilet training. Even then, occasionally, when they get upset (I know my cats got upset with thunder and lightning, not rain itself) and they go hiding, they will poop somewhere... same thing, we’ll tell them it’s bad and clean up after them. With time, you know when they didn’t mean to do something.

I’m quite amazed, usually lizards like geckos and chameleons tend to be more wild. Skinks adapt better. He adapts a lot more... I have not owned a gecko but I’ve seen a variety from small like house geckos to big tokay ones doing what they do... wild or not in Asia... one of the benefits of traveling so much.

My uro’s toilet area is where he glass dances most of the time, and his "pooping schedule" happens in the afternoon same time as he glass dances.

I sometimes get to see fresh poop, sometimes I don’t. If I see it fresh, I scoop the poop up fast, because he glass dances in the same area, they tend to get flattened or buried in the sand after a while... and wet sand gets thrown up against the glass. But every morning, I go dig and I find 3 lumps and urate. Pee... I try to scoop up all the wet sand I find, but when its dried up with the sand, I tend to go to the X spot and leave a bit of it behind for him as the "invisible" X spot. See, it becomes a cycle. I know where he goes... so I know where to go to find. So that’s the secret I guess, leave him a bit of sand with pee dried on it as his X spot.
09/05/09  02:02pm

 #2068085


Sugar Snap Pea
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   Message To: Sugar Snap Pea   In reference to Message Id: 2068045


 Question about Poo

But seriously, he hasn’t pooped in his food bowl or basking rock or entrance of his den since the first month.
09/05/09  04:36pm

 #2086668


Mali Mama
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   Message To: Sugar Snap Pea   In reference to Message Id: 2068085


 Question about Poo

HI,

I too have a question about faeces.
My dino has been eating, not a whole lot lately, but still he eats.
Especially Bok Choi, his favorite.
But he hasn’t defaecated in almost 2 weeks.
How can I help him relief some of that "Poo" ? :-)

Mali Mama
10/20/09  10:16pm

 #2086805


UROKEEPER
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   Message To: Mali Mama   In reference to Message Id: 2086668


 Question about Poo

start a new thread. copy and paste the "please read before posting" questions and fill the answers in on your thread. it could be temps,parasites,diet etc... 2 weeks is a while
10/21/09  07:10am

 #2086829


UROKEEPER
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   Message To: UROKEEPER   In reference to Message Id: 2086805


 Question about Poo

You cannot toilet train a uro.



10/21/09  09:17am

 #2086853


Sugar Snap Pea
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   Message To: Mali Mama   In reference to Message Id: 2086668


 Question about Poo

Quote:

I too have a question about faeces.
My dino has been eating, not a whole lot lately, but still he eats.
Especially Bok Choi, his favorite.
But he hasn’t defaecated in almost 2 weeks.
How can I help him relief some of that "Poo" ? :-)



Not good... 2 weeks is too long, please start a new thread and the FAQ is helpful, give as much details as you can, especially what was its "normal" diet and normal pooping, and what has changed? Is it brumating, and is it brumating very different from the last time? Etc etc.

About toilet training...

Quote:

Leave him a bit of sand with pee dried on it as his X spot.



That has worked for me, and still works. :) I call it toilet training, because it is a deliberate attempt on my part to persuade my uro to poop in a place instead of his feeding bowl, his basking rock, or elsewhere I don’t want him to in the tank. Uros have a better sense of smell than you think, and although I can’t smell the pee, I’m sure he can. Just as a uro would take weeks or months to acclimatize to his new humans or tank, I’ve made toilet training part and parcel of the process and the time it takes is probably the same. Some uros probably don’t acclimatize at all, so toilet training them wouldn’t be possible either.
10/21/09  10:22am

 #2087392


UROKEEPER
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   Message To: Sugar Snap Pea   In reference to Message Id: 2086853


 Question about Poo

Quote:

Uros have a better sense of smell than you think, and although I can’t smell the pee, I’m sure he can.



I think you are confusing excess liquids expelled from a moist captive diet with marking territory.

Quote:

Just as a uro would take weeks or months to acclimatize to his new humans or tank, I’ve made toilet training part and parcel of the process and the time it takes is probably the same. Some uros probably don’t acclimatize at all, so toilet training them wouldn’t be possible either



acclimated or not you cannot train a uro like a dog. they cannot be trained. What sized enclosure is your uro in? I believe some uro’s have a "prefered area" usually in the warm end while the stomach flora is working best. However I believe a healthy uro will defecate whenever the time comes regardless. Mine do have "preffered" areas but they do defecate throughout most of the enclosures. wait a few years and you will see a different pattern. hopefully your enclosure is of adequate size Sugar.
10/22/09  07:52am

 #2087471


Sugar Snap Pea
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   Message To: UROKEEPER   In reference to Message Id: 2087392


 Question about Poo

I’m not confused LOL, I can tell what’s pee and what’s territory marking, I’ve watched him pee okay.

I never said I trained him like a dog. Never had a dog anyhow, so not sure what preconceptions or assumptions you’re making. Anyhow, your explanation of "will defecate whenever... regardless" contradicts "preferred" areas, so let’s just say mine has a "preferred" area and it’s on sand. I made it a point to train him to prefer it, if that makes sense.
10/22/09  12:37pm

 #2087481


Sugar Snap Pea
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   Message To: Sugar Snap Pea   In reference to Message Id: 2087471


 Question about Poo

And that’s my pic of his fresh pee and poop up here in the thread. :p
10/22/09  12:56pm

 #2087742


Mbwrink
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   Message To: Sugar Snap Pea   In reference to Message Id: 2087481


 Question about Poo

She is right mine prefers the same area to defecate. The one time I cleaned up more than just the pellets, actually scooping out sand congealed from the fluid, the animal the next day went to do his business and wandered around the area almost circular for several minutes and didn’t go. The next day he returned to the usual area and went and still does so. It obvious the animal associates the smell from its waste and uses that area, other wise he would be using other areas to defecate. It doesn’t surprise me that she was able to when changing out its cage she was able to mark the area with previous matter to get the animal to keep using it. I plan on doing the same for the first major cage clean at the end of this month!
10/23/09  12:28am

 #2088192


Sugar Snap Pea
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   Message To: Mbwrink   In reference to Message Id: 2087742


 Question about Poo

Ah yeah, sand is very loose and can cover "tracks" so it’s harder to tell where the pee has dried. But once you have an X spot going, your job is done! A feeding bowl, the basking rock, even the entrance of the den is much easier to clean up and remove scent. If there is pee, there is scent! What goes through a uro’s mind if I added a speech bubble to my uro some days is...

"WTF, where did my pee and poo go?" and after a few days of saying that to himself, a uro might think "Ooooookaaaay, I thought I pooped here but I guess I didn’t, I did over there" or "darn humans, they just keep messing with my pee and poop here! I might as well goooooo over there!" LOL.
10/24/09  12:13pm


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