Can bearded dragons be potty trained? Well, they can. Our cutest little friends produce a very stinky poop, if you own a beardie, I know you know what I’m saying.
A beardie pooping on tiles or carpets leaves a runny poop that is a pain to clean. Potty training a bearded dragon is a great option to keep the enclosure clean and prevent your pet from pooping everywhere.
To learn more about how to potty train a bearded dragon, just keep reading.
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Why Potty Train a Bearded Dragon?
One bearded dragon tends to behave so differently from another. Some beardies will only poop when you get them outside the enclosure. They will just poop everywhere, on beds, tables, carpets, books, and other places they access, not within the habitat.
It is more frustrating to have their stinking pile of poo around the house and mostly on furniture. It is even more tiring and annoying to clean their foul-smelling waste.
Some beardies will poop in specific locations in the enclosure. Bearded dragons are clean pets; they will not get close to an area with poops but instead chooses a clean place. It is still tiring to search the enclosure for the droppings.
The best thing is to get our beautiful little pets to poop in one place; it will make cleaning work more manageable. You will also be at peace when the beardie is out around the house and inside. It is possible to potty train a bearded dragon.
There are various ways dragon owners have succeeded in potty training their beardies.
Potty training allows the bearded dragons to go in a single place. It enables you to clean the enclosure easily and faster with minimal disturbances to your pet.
What You Need to Potty Train a Bearded Dragon?
It is always good to remember that bearded dragons are not alike. Before you start training your beardie, there are several things you need to understand.
- Master all the Habits About Your Bearded Dragon
First, get to know your dragon well and learn all its habits. Keeping the bearded dragon, you will come to realize many behaviors about them. They tend to sleep in a single place, expect food at a specific time during the day, among others.
New to bearded dragon? Check out the bearded dragon care sheet now! We had listed out all the things you need to know about bearded dragons as pets. Check it now!
For successful training, it is necessary to know all that concerns your beardie.
- Get Your Pet on a Schedule
How a bearded dragon behaves is affected by the cycle of their day. Always ensure that each day the beardie enjoys the 12 hours light and 12 hours off light cycle. It encourages them to behave as they would do in natural sunlight.
Also, provide food during a specific time each day. When to give food to beardies varies from one person to another. Some feed their beardie once and others twice in a day, which is still good.
Depending on the number of times you feed your pet, ensure you provide the food precisely at a specific time every day. Whether the beardie takes the food right away or they just lazy around before eating, stick to that particular time without failing.
- Know the Time Your Beardie Likes to Poop
Giving food the same time each day gets your bearded dragon into a routine. It makes their body get used to pooping at the same time every single day.
But don’t panic if your beardie does not poop daily, it is normal. Just as I mentioned, bearded dragons differ significantly in their behaviors from each other. While some beardies can poop every day, others will poop after 2-3 days. Others can go up to a week or even two before defecating.
Don’t worry about your pet pooping behavior; what is essential is to know the time they like to poop.
- Know Where Your Dragon Likes to Poop
Knowing where your bearded dragon usually poops is very important because it also makes potty training easy. You need only to make sure you identify the places with the beardie’s waste in the enclosure or observe where they go to poop when outside.
Always ensure that these places are clean so that your beardie can come back again. Beardies don’t revisit their pooping spot if it is not clean.
When you master the above four steps, you can now start to potty train your bearded dragon. They are the foundations to potty training.
How to Potty Train a Bearded Dragon?
Two main methods are effective in potty training the beardie. Which means to use will depend on the place your beardie regularly defecates. Let’s have a look at each of the methods and how to go about them.
- Training Your Beardies to Poop in a Certain Spot on a Litter Box.
A litter box method involves several steps and can take time before your pet adapts to it. You just need to keep repeating the same process, and it will eventually learn.
Now that you are familiar with your beardie’s favorite pooping spot inside the enclosure, you use the same place with your training. Here are the steps to follow.
- Get a towel paper and place it on the beardie favorite potty spot. With time, the beardie may potty on the towel paper.
- When the pet defecates on the paper, remove it and replace it with a clean one. Add some sand on this paper and when the dragon potties on it, go ahead and add more sand.
Repeat the process multiple times until your pet gets used to potty on the substrate.
- The next thing to do is to introduce the litter box into the enclosure. This time, put the paper towel to the litter box. Transfer the box to the same spot where the paper towel was before.
Be patient until the beardie can potty in the box.
- Add sand to the paper towel in the litter box. Start with small amounts and increase it each time the beardie poops until the paper is almost covered with the substrate. Allow the pet to relieve itself around three times before moving to the next step.
- This time, we only need the litter box and the substrate. Remove the paper towel from the box. Slowly by slowly, move the box to your desired area.
Ensure you take enough time in each step to allow more time for your beardie to adapt. If this method doesn’t work for your beardie, you can try another one. But keep in mind that this method can take a long time, but the outcome is worth it.
- The Bath Method
Bath method is a great option when your beardie likes pooping outside the enclosure. It is useful if you know when your pet likes to poop each day.
When it is time for the beardie to relieve itself, give them a bath in lukewarm water. The majority of the bearded dragons enjoy bathing, and you will notice they even drink the water. Some beardies immediately they get into the water, they tend to defecate.
If that is the case, always give a bath to your beardie, depending on how often they defecate. The bath method makes cleaning easy; you only need to pour the water with waste in the toilet and flush. The enclosure is always free of poops.
Some bearded dragons tend to let you know when they want to relieve themselves. They do that by jumping on the vivarium glass anxiously.
New to bearded dragon? Check out the bearded dragon care sheet now! We had listed out all the things you need to know about bearded dragons as pets. Check it now!
How Often Should a Bearded Dragon Poop?
Various factors affect how often a bearded dragon poop. Remember, how frequently a beardie poop is a habit; it is not about health issues.
One thing that will affect how often the beardie poop is the current diet. If you give your dragon feeders loaded with calcium like silkworms, they tend to poop more frequently. The case is different with beardies who feed on sole crickets; they poop infrequently.
Also, exposing bearded dragons to different levels of UVA and UVB, makes them vary in the rate they have a bowel movement. Both UVA and UVB help in calcium absorption during the digestion process. It will then determine how often the beardie will poop.
Among the variables affecting the frequency of defecation in beardies is the age. The babies relieve themselves more frequently than the juveniles and adult bearded dragons. We are going to see how often a beardie should have a bowel movement at different ages.
How Often Should a Baby Bearded Dragon Poop?
Baby bearded dragons (between 1-3 months) are rapidly growing, and at the same time, the body is developing. The rate of body development, together with the protein-rich feedings in a day, affects pooping behavior.
There is more production of waste where the baby beardie’s body is rapidly developing. Also, access to several foods rich in protein throughout the day increases the waste.
Typically, baby bearded dragons should defecate around 1-3 times per day. Always ensure you clean up the waste more often. If you own, or you are planning to get a baby dragon, be ready with regular cleanings.
How Often Should a Juvenile Bearded Dragon Poop?
Juveniles as young as four months old have a single bowel movement each day. Juvenile beardies are still growing just like babies, but this time their growth is slightly lower.
As the beardies approach 18 months, you will realize that pooping is infrequent. They tend to relieve themselves about 1-2 times a week.
How Often Should an Adult Bearded Dragon Poop?
How often an adult bearded dragon defecates depends on the diet and the presence of UVA and UVB. If they have adequate levels of UVA and UVB and are free from stress, the adults’ poop around 1-7 times per week.
The adult beardies who regularly eat feeders like silkworms that are very rich in calcium tend to poop once every single day. On the other hand, the beardies who consume crickets and veggies usually have a bowel movement around 1-3 times a week.
So, there you have it. Don’t get stressed when your beardie stays for multiple days without relieving themselves. It is normal behavior. As long as they have a good appetite and a healthy energy level, there is nothing to worry about. No beardie is alike; they differ in their behaviors significantly.
Now you have all you need to know about how to potty train a bearded dragon. Whichever method you choose is essential. Enjoy potty training your beardie.
Why Is My Bearded Dragon Pooping A lot?
To reiterate, each bearded dragon is unique in its way. What may appear to be a lot in one beardie is normal to another. Always keep that in mind. The only way out is to learn and understand all about your beardie. Never compare her with your neighbor’s beardie.
Let’s see what may be causing your beardie to poop a lot.
- Pregnancy
A female beardie is said to be pregnant when it has eggs yet to be laid. The eggs seem like marbles inside the female, and you can feel them. Gravid female beardies tend to poop a lot than they usually do.
A beardie does not necessarily need to copulate to become pregnant, unmated females produce infertile eggs. Also, a beardie tends to eat a lot when she is preparing to lay the eggs.
- Stress
A beardie may poop more frequently when it is stressed. Many things can cause stress to a bearded dragon. For example, if you move her into a new enclosure, incorrect temperatures, a new diet, among other factors.
Address any situation that may be resulting in stress in beardies before the problem becomes severe.
- Parasites
If your beardie has parasites, it could be the reason why it is defecating more often than usual. In case of a runny poop or a very stinky poop, you need to inform a veterinarian. He will be in a position to test your pet and identify the kind of parasites available. The parasites can be controlled with a specific anti-parasitic drug.
Conclusion
There you have it. How to potty train a bearded dragon is simple and can make your life much more comfortable. Both methods are valid and help to keep the enclosure free of poops and the stinky smell.
The primary thing is to understand that your beardie is so different from another beardie. Understand all its habits and appreciate the fact that it may or may not take time before it gets trained.