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Bearded Dragon Poop

What is Healthy Bearded Dragon Poop?

Updated on February 03, 2023
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Reviewed by Petco’s Animal Care
Education and Compliance (ACE) Team

Pogonas—also known as bearded dragons—can make excellent pets. They are commonly called bearded dragons because the underside of their throat looks like a beard when it’s puffed out. Like most small to midsize lizards, they love to gorge on insects like crickets and vegetation like watercress, kale, endive and bell peppers. And because they eat, bearded dragons poop.

Unlike people and other pets, these interesting reptiles can produce different kinds of waste, which can reveal a lot about their health and help determine if they need any changes to their diet. Normal bearded dragon poop will typically be brown and white, which indicates that your pet is generally in good health. However, if you notice your bearded dragon’s poop is watery, bloody or yellow it could indicate that there is a health issue. If you see these changes to the poop, or any other abnormal signs, you should consult your veterinarian about appropriate next steps 

Monitoring your pet’s waste is not the prettiest of jobs, but it is a good way to know how your dragon is doing.

FAQS about bearded dragon poop

Adult bearded dragons should poop around once a week—however, some can go as many as several times per week. It all depends on several factors, including hydration, stress, age, health and diet.

Diet is perhaps the most important factor affecting the frequency of their defecation. For instance, if your reptile eats a protein--rich, predominatly insect diet, they will likely poop more often than once a week. This is typically the case with baby and maturing lizards because they need to eat more insects than adult bearded dragons in orderto get the protein they require.Fully-grown beardies usually eat more of a vegetable-based diet with fewer insects and therefore poop less often.

Healthy bearded dragon poop should appear brown, white and firm in its consistency. The brown part is the actual feces, and the white part is a salt called uric acid that is actually a solid form of urine. Uric acid should be soft with little to no foul smell. By producing this solid form of urine, bearded dragons are able to retain water and stay better hydrated while still getting rid of toxic nitrogenous waste. If uric acid were to build up in their systems, it could crystallize in their kidneys and joints and cause painful inflammation—a condition called gout—that can be fatal if untreated.

As stated above, bearded dragons may exhibit seven different types of poop. Healthy fecal material is brown with a small amount of white, but the other six forms of poop look different and may have different implications. The other ways bearded dragon poop may appear include:

  • Runny (watery or poorly formed)
  • Green
  • Yellow
  • Black
  • Red/bloody
  • All white

Most of the time, green bearded dragon poop results from green pigment in their food. For example, some lizards favor certain colored pellets. If your pet eats a lot of green pellets and their feces appear green, there’s typically no reason to be alarmed.

Green and leafy vegetables can also change the color of your bearded dragon’s waste. If they eat these vegetables and leave green droppings in their cage and are otherwise in good health, there is no need to worry. Check out options for all sorts of bearded dragon food. However, if your bearded dragon’s poop is all green and they do not regularly eat green pellets orgreen veggies, consult your veterinarian to ensure there is no underlying health problem.

Yellow bearded dragon poop may indicate that your pet reptile has liver problems. It can also be a sign of dehydration. Occasionally, bearded dragons will have yellow poop when they eat a lot of yellow or orange pigmented vegetables like squash, peppers, or sweet potato. If your bearded dragon’s poop is yellow and they haven’t eaten a lot of yellow veggies, increase their hydration by soaking them in a shallow bowl of warm water. If the yellow poop persists, contact your veterinarian.

Red poop can result from eating red vegetables like red peppers and beets, , but it can also be evidence of your bearded dragon pooping blood. Traces of blood can signify a serious health concern such as gastrointestinal bleeding from a bacterial, viral or parasitic infection.

One episode of bloody stool is usually not a reason to visit your vet, but stay vigilant in monitoring your pet. If bloody stool occurs more than once, immediately seek medical attention.

Internal bleeding can be caused by swallowing a foreign object, eating an insect with thorny or spiky limbs or even gastrointestinal parasites. Parasites can cause internal bleeding by generating inflammation of the intestinal lining. With repeated bloody stools, pets can become anemic, lose their appetite and become lethargic.

While a small amount of white poop is normal from the presence of uric acid in the stool, all-white droppings may mean your lizard is dehydrated. Dehydration can be a concern, especially if your bearded dragon has runny poop or diarrhea and they have lost a lot of water. If you see runny or all-white poop repeatedly, try to increase your bearded dragon’s water intake. Give them short 15-minute baths so that they can absorb water through their skin, and also make sure they have plenty of water to drink.

If they continue to have runny or all-white poop after you have soaked and rehydrated them, contact your veterinarian. If left untreated, dehydration can lead to serious illness and death.

Even with a consistent, healthy diet, bearded dragons may go as long as a week without defecating. While this may be concerning for pet parents, it’s also completely normal as long as your reptile is not exhibiting any abnormal behavior. Any stretch of time longer than one week, however, may be a sign of constipation, especially if you notice signs like lethargy or lack of appetite. In this case, you should consult your veterinarian as to the underlying cause of your lizard’s infrequent defecation.

There are also a few things you can do to help encourage your bearded dragon to poop. First, try soaking your bearded dragon in a shallow bath of warm water. Soaking will help them absorb water and encourage defecation. Second, gently massage their belly in a downward motion while giving them a warm bath. This can help loosen any impacted fecal material in the intestines. If these methods prove ineffective, consult your veterinarian about further steps to determine what the underlying problem is.

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