Having a good idea on the question how often do bearded dragons poop? can be quite handy for new and experienced pet owners alike. Checking on your bearded dragon’s bowel movements can help you to better manage their overall health. Poop frequency and consistency can be a pillar of how well your bearded dragon is progressing and if there is anything you should be changing in their diet.
We normally consider what color, shape, solid or if the poop is watery when gauging the lizard’s health but forget that consistency can also be an important marker.
Below we have a Bearded Dragon poop guide with information by experts in the raising of these little creatures.
Table of Contents
How Often Do Healthy Bearded Dragons Poop?
The average bearded dragon will poop 3 times per week, this however can depend greatly on age and diet. The younger the bearded dragon the more frequent it will poop, older beardies will poop once a week.
There are various factors that will influence the frequency of your bearded dragon’s bowel movements. These include their age, diet, overall health, stress levels, whether in brumation and their environment.
The overall color and consistency of their poop will help owners understand if their pet is lacking in essential vitamins and minerals or if there is something else wrong with their diet.
Does Their Age Determine Poop Frequency?
Your beardie’s age is a key factor when trying to answer the question, how often do bearded dragons poop?
A young dragon will poop very often in comparison to an adult beardie, this is because they will usually eat a diet higher in protein. A bearded dragon that is between 4 to 20 months old will poop once every 2 days on average. Once they begin to reach 20 months the frequency will drip and they might have bowel movements 2 times each week.
An adult beardie might poop as little as once a week and as much as 6 or 7 times in a single week. This will depend heavily on factors such as stress levels, sufficient UVA and UVB within their enclosure.
Does Diet Influence Poop Frequency in Bearded Dragons?
A big factor in how often bearded dragons should have bowel movements is their diet. What your little beardie eats will determine the quantity and consistency of their stool. For example, if your lizard has a diet rich in calcium where it eats plenty of silkworms, the beardie should poop more often than they would if they were fed mostly crickets.
Both of these food sources are high in protein however the calcium content is just a bit superior with the silkworm.
If you feed your dragon vegetables, greens and crickets they might poop between 1-3 times every 7 days. If you feed your dragon a diet that also adds silkworms or similar species then they will have several bowel movements in one single day.
One thing to always consider when trying to gauge whether their bowel movements are normal is to check on how active your dragon is. If they are not very active during the day, and have little to no desire to eat, then there might be a few reasons as to why they are not pooping enough. Impaction is the first thing that comes to mind in these cases.
Does The Environment Affect Their Bowel Movements?
One important factor that can have a big effect on how often your bearded dragon poops will be the environment. Temperature, enough UVB and UVA light throughout the day, shade, basking areas, etc. All of these can have a big effect on how your beardie feels, activity and even bowel movements.
As long as your bearded dragon has the temperatures mentioned below, its bowel movements should be unaffected.
| Tank Area | Temperature |
| Warm Area | 80°F to 84°F |
| Basking Spot | 95°F to 100°F |
| Shade Area | 80°F to 90°F |
One tip might be to always have separate thermometers to the ones that normally come with lamps and enclosures. Those are ok but having digital thermometers to maintain the temperature to what it should be is a gamechanger.
Can Stress Levels Affect Bearded Dragons Pooping Frequency?
Yes, stress levels can determine the frequency of your bearded dragon’s bowel movements. The stress can be generated by the environment, diet, and just about everything else you can think of. Just like with humans, stress can be a multifaceted condition for bearded dragons.
You can usually tell if your bearded dragon is overly stressed by how often they poop. Anything out of the ordinary such as not pooping enough or pooping too frequently can indicate stress.
In fact, simply moving your dragon from one enclosure to another can trigger a stress episode in them. This is not true for just dragons, cats, dogs and birds will suffer from stress when being moved to a new location.
This can be an issue even if you are just upgrading your dragon’s tank to something bigger and newer. They don’t know you are just getting them something “better”, they might just see it as a scary new place they need to discover. This can actually last for weeks after that change has taken place.
Other pets such as dogs or cats that you might have in the house could also stress out your bearded dragon. To them, the other pets might seem like predators and not other members of the family.
Loud noises can also cause plenty of stress in these little lizards so make sure to keep them in a place that is relatively quiet.
Can Brumation Cause Abnormal Bowel Movements?
Brumation is a type of “hibernation” period that lasts up to 3 months in bearded dragons which can also cause lizards to have abnormal bowel movements. Normally during the brumation period bearded dragons won’t really be eating a lot, this means that their pooping schedule is also altered quite a bit. Remember that it is imperative to keep a record of your dragons’ brumation period to better understand their habits.
What If My Bearded Dragon Won’t Poop?
If your bearded dragon is not having normal bowel movements, it is imperative that you figure out why this is happening. It is normal for dragons to have decreased poop times as they get older, but if they suddenly stop all bowel movements there may be something wrong.
The first thing to look at is how your dragon is behaving. Does it seem stressed? Have you made any sudden changes to its tank? New basking spot? Changes in its diet? Is brumation taking place or close to taking place?
If your dragon stops having bowel movements for an extended period of time then the answer is to take your pet to see the veterinarian as soon as possible.
What Does Healthy Bearded Dragon Poop Look Like?
A healthy stool sample from a bearded dragon will have solid waste that consists of solid digested food, and yellow or white urine. Both of these types of waste usually come out together. Check and make sure the color, size, total amount, and consistency are within the normal parameters. This is the easiest way to check on the dragon’s health.
Color is a big deal when it comes to your dragons’ poop. Normal colors for their stool will be green, yellow, red, and even black. The color will be heavily influenced by their diet so again, diet is key for your dragon’s overall health.
Bearded Dragon Poop Colors
The chlorophyll in vegetables and green plants can make your bearded dragon’s poop be the color green. This is also true with lizard pellets which will usually have a green dye that also colors poop green.
Vegetables and green plants have chlorophyll which gives these items their green color. Many lizard pellet-type foods also have green dyes that can turn the poop of your bearded dragon green.
Green poop is generally considered to be a normal color however if it is too watery or has a very bad smell (worse than regular poop) then there maybe some kind of infection, and veterinary care may be needed.
If your bearded dragon’s poop tends to be yellow, it might be due to overfeeding squash or other yellow vegetables or from something orange like carrots.
Red poop will generally mean there is some kind of red dye in its food. This can come from fruit mostly. This can also mean there is blood in its stool though, the usual suspect is constipation or impaction. If your dragon’s poop is read and he seems stressed or uncomfortable then you will probably need to visit the veterinarian.
If your dragon primarily eats insects and very little vegetables then its poop might be black. However, if the poop seems runny and smells worse than usual then your beardie might have an infection.
The trick is to always keep a close eye on how your bearded dragon is progressing to make sure it is as healthy as possible.
Conclusion
Now that you know the answer to the question, “how often do bearded dragons poop?” make sure to always monitor your lizard. Bearded dragons are not difficult pets to keep but they will require your attention on a daily basis. Remember to keep track of their diet, bowel movements, and activity levels.
