Issue with urine/ poop

[Jessandsprinkes]

Hello! I switched to Dubia roaches about a month ago from crickets to work on adding variety to Sprinkle’s diet. I am also ordering silk worms and give hornworms as treats.

For the past few weeks I noticed a very strong/ bad smell coming from his pee/ poop. I got a fecal test which came back clean. His urine was extremely watery, and then pale Orange in the center. Before it was always solid and white. The smell is almost rotten/ fishy. Is it possible the dubia roaches don’t agree with him? Im at a loss here because I don’t know why he is dehydrated/ having issues.

I have an automatic mister going off for 5 minutes twice a day (morning and night). He has been running from it, I am thinking he doesn’t like the vibrations of the mister.

Any ideas on what could cause a fishy smell/ watery urine with orange? Or ways to hydrate him? I didn’t take pictures of his poop, I will post when I do

Thank you!

 

[MissSkittles]

This is an unusual one.
Are you feeding him only dubia? What do the dubia eat?

 

[Jessandsprinkes]

This is an unusual one.
Are you feeding him only dubia? What do the dubia eat?

They eat fruits/ veggies and cricket quencher for water. Apples/ spinach/ carrots or whatever I have on hand.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m going to say to feed him something other than roaches for a week or so and see if that has any effect. A diet strictly of roaches or any other single feeder isn’t so great, and I wonder if that is causing the odor.

 

[Jessandsprinkes]

I’m going to say to feed him something other than roaches for a week or so and see if that has any effect. A diet strictly of roaches or any other single feeder isn’t so great, and I wonder if that is causing the odor.

Thank you, I will probably start him back on crickets and order some silk worms. How often should I cycle through different feeders? I’m still so new to this all.

 

[MissSkittles]

I give a mix with each feeding. Today was some roaches, some crickets and a small superworm. It all depends on what I have available. When I have silkworms or another feeder, either the roaches or crickets will get a reprieve for a week or so. I haven’t had bsfl or wax worms in a while, but when I do have them they are added to the menu and just for a fun change, I let the bsfl pupate into flies. I just try to keep it interesting for my chams.

 

[elizaann2]

I do different feeders each feeding day. An example of what I do:

Monday: crickets
Wednesday: dubia
Friday: bsfl
Saturday: (treat day) wax worms or supers worms.

 

[elizaann2]

Has your guy been tested for parasites? Sometimes strong smells can be from parasites.

 

[Oosh4]

Hi there! I'm sorry to hear about the issues you're facing with Sprinkle. It's possible that the change in diet could be causing the unusual smell and changes in urine. Dubia roaches are generally considered a good staple feeder for chameleons, but every individual can have different reactions. It might be worth trying a different feeder insect to see if that improves the situation. As for hydration, the automatic mister should be helping with that. However, if Sprinkle is avoiding it, you could try hand misting him directly or offering water through a dropper. It's also important to ensure that the enclosure has proper humidity levels. If the problem persists, it might be best to consult a reptile veterinarian for further advice. Bathe Dogs

 

[Newtoreptiles]

Has your guy been tested for parasites? Sometimes strong smells can be from parasites.

They did mention that they did a fecal and it came back clean.

 

[Steve A]

I do different feeders each feeding day. An example of what I do:

Monday: crickets
Wednesday: dubia
Friday: bsfl
Saturday: (treat day) wax worms or supers worms.

This is interesting.

I wonder if I'm not quite feeding Spike as I should (though... the results seem good??)

I feed Spike the same just about every day.

24 crickets (he never eats them all and lately has been eating a bit les, but usually eats 12+ I'd say)
12 BSFL (usually will eat all, or close to all. Not unusual for 3-4 to be left)
3-5 Silkworms (depending on their size. He's gone back to eating bigger ones now so it's been 3 lately. He eats 2-3)

I am going to try reintroducing some dubias to him soon (wouldn't touch them before but he's bigger now). I also
would like to bring in some horn worms again too. I just hate buying those and them going to waste. Though I feel he
would eat them now.

Spike is also still only just under 6 months though

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

This is interesting.

I wonder if I'm not quite feeding Spike as I should (though... the results seem good??)

I feed Spike the same just about every day.

24 crickets (he never eats them all and lately has been eating a bit les, but usually eats 12+ I'd say)
12 BSFL (usually will eat all, or close to all. Not unusual for 3-4 to be left)
3-5 Silkworms (depending on their size. He's gone back to eating bigger ones now so it's been 3 lately. He eats 2-3)

I am going to try reintroducing some dubias to him soon (wouldn't touch them before but he's bigger now). I also
would like to bring in some horn worms again too. I just hate buying those and them going to waste. Though I feel he
would eat them now.

Spike is also still only just under 6 months though

I have that same issue Bolt is not a wormy guy. I offer the worms 1st. I give him 1 hour with the worms. Then I add grasshoppers/crickets or dubia. He rarely eats the worms. He has eaten a few wax worms but nothing else. He fired up at the last small horn worm

 

[Steve A]

I have that same issue Bolt is not a wormy guy. I offer the worms 1st. I give him 1 hour with the worms. Then I add grasshoppers/crickets or dubia. He rarely eats the worms. He has eaten a few wax worms but nothing else. He fired up at the last small horn worm

Spikes favorite at his breeder was silkworms. I get him, he instantly took down silkworms (practically from my hand. I was putting them on a branch for him). A few days later I introduced crickets (he got these w/ breeder too) and BSFL. Once he got a taste for BSFL he wanted NOTHING to do with silkworms for weeks!

I decided to get tiny tiny silkworms (as close to BSFL size as I could get. I literally treated him like a child where I mixed in the silks with the BSFL, and he started eating them again. Now he's back to eating a medium sized silkworm again. It's just hilarious.

He's absolutely refused Dubais, superworms, and hornworms. However, I think he'll eat hornworms soon. I just have a feeling. Gonna try them small too

 

[Beman]

Hey there so just want to touch on your gut loading. Avoid spinach it is calcium binding... Use the fresh items from the gutload list in the ratio suggested and drop the pods. you do not need them because your insects get water from the fresh items.

Second when did you start using the auto mister? Is this a recent change? Were you doing shorter misting prior by hand?

The change in the urate going from solid to watery can indicate that he is extremely hydrated not that he is dehydrated.

 

[Jessandsprinkes]

Has your guy been tested for parasites? Sometimes strong smells can be from parasites.

Yes! He was just tested this week. Came back clean.

 

[Jessandsprinkes]

I give a mix with each feeding. Today was some roaches, some crickets and a small superworm. It all depends on what I have available. When I have silkworms or another feeder, either the roaches or crickets will get a reprieve for a week or so. I haven’t had bsfl or wax worms in a while, but when I do have them they are added to the menu and just for a fun change, I let the bsfl pupate into flies. I just try to keep it interesting for my chams.

I will work on mixing it up for him. Thank you so much for this! I was able to get a pic. The black stuff fell from a fake branch above (it’s not in his cage)

 

[Jessandsprinkes]

I will work on mixing it up for him. Thank you so much for this! I was able to get a pic. The black stuff fell from a fake branch above (it’s not in his cage)View attachment 344155

 

[Jessandsprinkes]

Hey there so just want to touch on your gut loading. Avoid spinach it is calcium binding... Use the fresh items from the gutload list in the ratio suggested and drop the pods. you do not need them because your insects get water from the fresh items.

Second when did you start using the auto mister? Is this a recent change? Were you doing shorter misting prior by hand?

The change in the urate going from solid to watery can indicate that he is extremely hydrated not that he is dehydrated.

View attachment 344130

The auto mister is recent. I used to mist by hand but got busier and thought a set schedule would be better. I do 5 mins morning and night with the automatic mister.

I will make changes to the gutload. Appreciate the help! I attached a picture from today. It’s more solid but he seems dehydrated ):

 

[Beman]

The auto mister is recent. I used to mist by hand but got busier and thought a set schedule would be better. I do 5 mins morning and night with the automatic mister.

I will make changes to the gutload. Appreciate the help! I attached a picture from today. It’s more solid but he seems dehydrated ):

So the fecal and urate look fine. I would not be concerned...

Per the mister... Hand misting to auto misting can be a big change for them. They eventually figure out the schedule and are not as shocked by it going off. Make sure your lines for the mister are anchored properly and the nozzle as well. This will reduce vibration from them.