I need help...poop does not look okay

[beaniebaby12]

My little man Beans has been eating a little less than usual, and up until now I thought it was because it’s the winter season and he’s just not up for eating as much. I spread his feeding days every three days now (for example, I fed him Sunday (today) and I will try feeding him again on Thursday. That has been working for him with snacks in between.) If I didn’t he wouldn’t touch his food until I tried again the next day.

I haven’t really seen him poop until today and my guess is that he does it when he burrows because I still clean up his pee and the substrate around it, so I know I’ve picked it up here and there. Today I picked up a very normal poop earlier, nothing seemed off. Just a few minutes ago, he dropped these not too far apart from each other. I can’t take him to the vet until the morning, but I was wondering if anyone else has seen anything like this and knows what could be going on. I will drive to an emergency vet in the middle of the night if I have to and it’s not close, but the normal one is closed right now.

He’s not acting differently whatsoever, and the only thing that I have fed him that I never fed him before was super worms and that was last week. Other than that, he had a few blueberries more than I would ever give him as a treat because of my mom (4). Nothing else has changed and I’m freaking out because this does not look normal.

If anyone has any other questions, please let me know.

[rixusaku]

The only other thing on the internet where I can find what it might be is this reddit post of someone who looks like they might be having a similar situation as you (I don't know what that is either but I've only had a blue tongue for 3 weeks now). One poster in it suggests it might be a case of parasites and asked if the poop smelled bad or worse than usual.

Based on that information, if it even is similar, then you might be fine waiting until the morning and scheduling for a vet visit as soon as you can and get a fecal sample done or bring a fecal sample with you that's fresh. Maybe even bag up what was in the photos in a ziplock and keep it in the fridge (far away from your food or even in yet another bag or air tight container).

I hope it's nothing serious and can be remedied quickly.

[beaniebaby12]

The only other thing on the internet where I can find what it might be is this reddit post of someone who looks like they might be having a similar situation as you (I don't know what that is either but I've only had a blue tongue for 3 weeks now). One poster in it suggests it might be a case of parasites and asked if the poop smelled bad or worse than usual.

Based on that information, if it even is similar, then you might be fine waiting until the morning and scheduling for a vet visit as soon as you can and get a fecal sample done or bring a fecal sample with you that's fresh. Maybe even bag up what was in the photos in a ziplock and keep it in the fridge (far away from your food or even in yet another bag or air tight container).

I hope it's nothing serious and can be remedied quickly.

thank you for the response. if it is parasites, i’m not sure how he got them because he’s three years old, no other lizards in the house, and captive bred i’m scared it might have been the super worms my boyfriend wanted to give him because we bought those from the pet store. i’m going to for sure take him to the vet. it just smelled like his normal poop which doesn’t really have that strong of an odor to begin with but it is concerning me. again, thank you!

[IvanDanko]

Hi Beanie,

It is an unusual colour, however foods can be metabolised in funny ways - its not impossible that is the remnants of the blueberries if they passed through Beans' digestion a bit too quick as can happen with fruit. Funnily enough, the inside of blueberries are actually a creamy white, green or light yellow - very similar to the excrement here. Keep a close eye on Beans especially after another meal to see if the waste returns to "normal" - I'd bet this may be a false alarm. If you're still really concerned as Rixusaku said above, sometimes the only way to be sure is a vet visit, however in this case I'd say wait and see.

[Janella]

Hello there. I wouldn't panic just yet. As mentioned certain foods can set off the stools. I would keep an eye on your skink for a few days and as long as the stools return to normal no big deal. If they don't, then take a stool sample and have Beans checked. Super worms from Petstores may or may not contain parasites.

[rixusaku]

Wow! I had no idea their waste can drastically change like this dependent on what they eat. I love how I can learn a lot of new things on this site. I'll have to keep this in mind in the future.

[Janella]

just like certain foods can almost always guarantee a poop! Bananas for one.

[splashy07]

Very often fruits can cause odd feces. Don't know about the superworms, I never use pet shop insects as I breed all my own.

[beaniebaby12]

Thank you to everyone who replied! He dropped a very normal poop today to my relief, so for now he’s cut off from blueberries (they are his favorite). I will continue to keep an eye on it but as of now, his poop is normal so I am very relieved.

[Janella]

Glad all seems well and your skink is back to normal.

[splashy07]

You do not have to cut him off his favorite food. Offer them as treats occasionally.

[Janella]

I agree. Just use as treats.

[rixusaku]

I would be personally curious to stop the treats for a little bit to make sure they're cycled out of the system and then offer them again to see if you get the same strange look of the waste as before or at least something similar. Then you'd be sure it's the blueberries.

But I agree, if it just changes the look (like when someone eats a lot of captain crunch's opps all berries cereal) then you dont need to stop the treats. :D

[splashy07]

We all have digestive issues at times. So do animals. We should be smarter, but here comes Super Bowl Sunday....Animals cannot reason, they won't look at something and say, 'gee, I dont think that's good for me...' So, therefore, do not be depriving your little guy of his treats, as you stated he has already 'gone' normally and I wouldn't be overly concerned at all. You should see the mess when mine eat eggs.