Normal Fecal? Caution poop pictures ahead!

[ColorsOfTheWind]

I am still relatively new to chameleons so I appreciate the advice. I have 2 juvenile panther chameleons 8 month male and a 5 month female. They have been doing well overall. Both are good eaters. They are both active and they are both growing well. Their bowel movements differ significantly, so I am having trouble telling if either is abnormal. I do have a negative fecal check on both already. I will schedule an appointment to bring them into the vet if I need to.

My males bowel movements are firm and large. He defecates about twice a week and its appearance is a lot like a dog turd with urate and sperms plug attached. He likes an audience when he poops and i have never seen any straining

My females bowel movements are formed but it has the texture of a water balloon. If you squish it it kind of turns to jelly. She defecates pretty much every day. She's more shy so I do not get to see her pass bowel movements.

should i take someone in to the vet? the females is probably a little more concerning but i also don't know if this is an acceptable fecal texture for a chameleon. I appreciate your input

 

[MissSkittles]

He likes an audience when he poops

This is making e giggle.
I honestly would say, if in doubt, get some fresh fecal checks on one or both. I don’t really see anything abnormal about their poops, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have parasites. It can happen that you get a false negative result if the parasite isn’t currently shedding (or whatever it is they do). It can also happen that a once clean animal is later infected through pet store feeders. We have no guarantee of what goes on at each pet store with their feeders. Has an employee taken uneaten feeders from one animal and put them back in the feeder bin? Have they washed their hands in between coming into contact with an animal or its habitat and then contacting the feeders? Has a stray escaped cricket walked in who knows what and somehow made its way back into the bin? While I’m sure the stores do have rules and protocols, how do we know that everyone follows them?
I maybe can explain the difference between the quality of their poos…guessing that reptile anatomy/physiology is similar enough to ours. As the colon holds the poo, it is absorbing fluids from it. So the longer the poo is inside the body, the more moisture is removed from it and the harder and drier it will be. Your boy only poos every few days, so his will be firmer and more solid. Since your girl poos daily, they are moister and softer.
I hope I’ve been of some help to you.

 

[ColorsOfTheWind]

Thank you for the input! I ran a fecal last week so I will wait a week or two and run another to be safe. They seem to be doing well but I will continue to monitor them for the time being.

I appreciate all of the input. I'm still trying to get a firm grasp on what is normal and abnormal. So glad this community exists to ease my anxieties a bit.