bakednowningz
New Member
Hella helpful, thank you for educating me on fecal!
Chameleon Poop 101
- Thread starter ferretinmyshoes
- Start date
bakednowningz
New Member
What does it mean when it has orange dots? I checked recently for anything, the only thing that concerned me is the urine had orange dots, I assume its the same as orange on the tip? Which is okay, majority was white though
Jesse/demetri
Member
Helpful thread facts are important thank you
Peaches17479
New Member
some good info! thanks for the share!
R.H
Member
This is a great thread and her given me great read of knowledge, my Chan ooops 2weekly ( small diet ) This coarsed concerns for me but urate always white. I'm waiting patiantly for next poop as always coming up to 2 weeks .One way we can monitor the health of our chameleons is monitoring their bowel movements (poop) for any problems. To be able to identify problems, first you need to be able to recognize what is or is not normal. There are two parts to a bowel movement in chameleons - a brown part (feces) and a white part (urates).
Feces
The brown part is feces from digested food like any animal will make. It should be brown or almost black, soft but firm, and have a well formed shape. Generally chameleon feces do not smell very much, if at all. If undigested insect parts are seen in the feces temperatures may not be appropriate or intestinal parasites may be altering digestion (see below). If many soft bodied worms are fed it may cause runny feces due to the extra hydration from the worms.
Image compliments of Trace
Urates
The white part of a bowel movement is called 'urates' and represents a more solidified version of urine. Reptiles have evolved to use water more efficiently so instead of urinating, they only excrete a concentrated solid waste and retain most of the fluid. This is especially useful in regions when water is not plentiful to prevent dehydration. Urates should be white, soft but firm and may have a chalky texture. A yellow tinge is okay but orange urates indicate that your chameleon may not be getting enough water. If your chameleon defecates infrequently the end of the urates may be more orange but the rest still looks white. The longer the urates sit in the body the more fluid is reabsorbed from them back into the body. A small amount of mostly clear fluid with the urates is true urine and indicates good hydration, but is not always present.
Image compliments of Trace
Frequency
How often your chameleon defecates depends on how often it eats, how much it eats and how long it basks. Basking is necessary for good metabolism and digestion of food, so low temperatures can delay digestion. Each chameleon can have a different pattern. Some will defecate every day (especially when younger) while other may be once every few days, once a week or once every two weeks. Most adult chameleons defecate once or twice a week generally.
Sperm Plugs
With the bowel movement of male chameleons you will usually see sperm plugs. These are a pair of white soft waxy deposits that dry out quickly.
Hemipenes
Sometimes you will see a red organ come out during a male's bowel movement for a short time and then to back into the body. That organ is a hemipene - the male reproductive organ. As long as it goes back in then it is nothing to worry about.
Parasites
Intestinal parasites can alter digestive processes as well as the bowel movement consistency or smell. Very soft, liquid or smelly feces could indicate an intestinal parasite problem. Only rarely with a large parasite burden will you be able to actually see the worm in the feces. For almost all intestinal parasite infections the only way to detect them is to look for the microscopic ova (eggs). The worms remain in the intestines and periodically shed ova that come out of the body in the feces where it can infect other animals if given the opportunity. Most parasites are not contagious to humans but always wash your hands well when you come into contact with fecal material.
Fecal exams
To detect parasites in feces collect some of the fresh feces (brown) portion with a tissue or paper towel and keep it in a sealed ziplock bag. If the feces are dried out wait for a fresher sample. You can store the fecal sample in a cool place for up to eight hours before delivering it to the vet. You can store it overnight in the refrigerator if you need to. Since excess heat or cold can kill the organisms in the feces, thus defeating your purpose for collecting it to begin with, don't freeze it or leave it in your car. Urates are not needed for fecal testing.
The primary fecal test the vet will do is a fecal flotation to check the feces for the presence of worm ova. A specific mineral solution is combined with the provided feces so that the ova separate from the feces and float to the top where they can collected and looked at under the microscope. Some intestinal parasites like protozoans are microscopic and can be seen in the feces themselves by performing a direct smear, where diluted feces are placed on a microscopic slide immediately for examination. Medication will be administered depending upon the type of organism found.
It is recommended to have fecal exams done on at least a yearly basis to detect parasites.
Some owners may want to do fecal exams themselves and can purchase the microscope and necessary supplies. If a parasite or ova is found the sample should still be taken to the vet for confirmation and to prescribe appropriate medications at the correct dosage. Dez has made a video on performing fecal floats for those interested. https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-do-fecal-float-video-111996/
Examples of bowel movements:
Normal bowel movement
Normal bowel movement and sperm plug on the rock next to it.
Normal feces and urates
Orange urates from inadequate hydration.
Large normal bowel movement
Mostly white urates and normal feces. This bowel movement was about a week after the previous one, so a little orange of the urates is okay.
Diarrhea due to a lot of hornworms in the diet which are very juicy.
Loving poop threat, thank u
Blang
Established Member
A picture is worth a thousand turds!Great thread, Dayna. It's nice to have a guide to be able to gauge what's normal or not. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Nilsa
Member
Tell your husband we love you for giving us a little of your extra time. He can have the rest, you must really be very careing. He is a lucky man.Glad everyone likes it! Let me know if you think there's anything else to add or if you have pictures to share.
Right?! My husband was peering over my shoulder and was like "what heck are you doing?? Did you seriously just write a paper on poop?!"
I'm one of those people that thrives with a dozen things to do at the same time! I finished reading my list of books and finished my painting and needed another project. Cham stuff is always a winner.
Haven27
Member
Is grey a normal color for poo? MoJo's diet has been mainly crickets dusted with herptivite, although he did eat a few dubia roaches not too long ago, but he would have already passed them. These passed two poops have been grey in color instead of brown. I'm a tad concerned, but I see him eat well and wander around as he pleases! And he's pooped twice since I got him on the 21st this month, both grey. Pics provided of latest BM...
Haven27
Member
My Cham is going almost every day. If his basking temp is low (ideally, it should be around 80-95 degrees F at the top) it could hinder his digestion. I noticed that when I purchased a 100watt basking bulb, MoJo is pooping great every other day or even every day now! Good Luck!! These guys are great. I'm even happier with his recent couple of fecal droppings. He's also got humidity between 60-70% and at night usually between 70-80%.
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Haven27
Member
Sorry, I meant 150watt basking bulb!
Haven27
Member
That looks like he's going to poop. I can't really tell because of how shadowy it is. Has it returned to normal?
It has been there for a few days! We were sure what it could be! We are new to the chameleon ownership
Weren't
