Diarrhea from smelly pot

[jonknutton]

Ok some background info first. so I have just bought two new leo's. One is housed in a 55gal tank with lino substrate, heater mat, day timed light, moist warm hiide, warm hide and a cold hide that he uses as a toilet. He also has a branch decor, water bowl, access to pheonix worms and mealworms at all times, calcium and a big foam tunnel log hide (loves it.) The day time temp settles at 35 celcius (95f) and niight drops to 26ish (79f). I have a temp and humidity guage in there and humidity is always 20-40%. this will eventually become my femal tank. The second is a 30gal tank which is basically a scaled down version with only two hides (one big that covers hot and cold sides and one warm moist.) I feed them on a staple of silkworms that are fed on mulberry paste with calcium in it and waxworms and butterworms as treats. I also give them crickets and locusts from time to time to spice things up. both are albino variations and have been eating fine and picking up weight. i have had them for 6 weeks(1) and 4 weeks (other) and the vivs have started to smell. Up untill now I have only really spot cleaned by removing the toilet paper ladened with feaces and wiped the area (also picking up remains daily.) I have read on a few websites that the smell is sometimes due to pheromones that they wipe to mark territory. This is why I was reluctant to clean the vivs thoroughly as it may stress them so instead I have opted for an alternative solution to the smell. I looked at plants and at this time of year could not find a suitable type so instead I bought naturally smelly pot pourri's and planted a new pot inside the viv with them in. From first glance this seemed to be a success. both geckos still had there appetites and were acting as though nothing had changed. today after feeding them I went to clean the poo paper out and found both had runny poo and one had several (still alive) pheonix worms in it. I would say it is pretty conclusive that the pourri pots are the cause and needless to say have removed them but my question is, is this most likely stress induced diarrhea or possibly parasites from the pots?
Both ate as normal and were acting normal.

also the gecko at the top physically smells today and has smellier poo, hides all the time, is jumpy and is youngest if that helps. maybe they both have some sort of parasites? they are from the same source.

 

[Khrysty]

I don't know how likely it is that the potporri is the cause, as leos don't generally go around looking for non-living things to eat. But I can say that you didn't find poop. If it was poop, the worms would have been dead. Likely, it was a regurge that you found. What is the ambient temp in the room?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Some smells can make humans nauseated so I wonder if it could upset a gecko's stomach. As Khrysty said, live food in the poo looking stuff is a reguritation. It might be a good idea to hold off on the treat foods and just feed mealworms until everything has stabilized. Also, I would clean the poop area so it doesn't smell or provide an environment for bacteria or parasites to grow.

 

[jonknutton]

They are both hiding more than usual now. Ambient room temp is 20-22 usually. The pots are too high for them to climb and netted at the top so it is unlikely they have eaten it. Checked the poo/vomit today. Top is slightly more poo shaped and I can see urate, bottom is the same as before so possibly vomit like you said. Do silkworms class as treat? Just they love them so it will be hard to switch to mealworms. Cheers for your input guys

 

[Dog Shrink]

Maybe try super worms insted. More meaty less shell. Or phoneix worms if you can find/afford them. Here is a nice prey breakdown as far as what prey offers what and can be classified as a trait or staple:

wax worms and butter worms are higher in fats which could contribute to GI upset with both diarhea and regurging. Higher proteins and lower fats make a staple.

Also rank runny poo could indicate a parasite load so it may be prudent to take a sample to be tested just to rule it out and be safe.

Your ambient room temps work out to about 71*F so you are supplimenting with an under tank heater for the leos to reach the 34-37c they need to be healthy plus a "day light (UV??) bulb on a timer"... UV lighting will stress a leo since they're nocturnal. UV light doesn not benefit a leo in any way. If you need to suppliment heat with light maybe try a moonlight blue or infrared heat bulb insted. If you're using it to help regulate day/night cycle, a simple 15 watt incandescent bulb or placement where a window's light is present should be all the natural lighting they need to keep their day/night cycle correct. Stress can also cause changes in diet and GI upset. How do you monitor your temps and what is your hot side temp range plz?

Well hope some of this helps.

 

[jonknutton]

Hi poo has returned to normal now thank god. Cheers for all of your advice. I use an incandecant bulb (17w for big viv and 8w for small) which is used purely to regulate day times and ive found it raises ground temps by about 3 celcius on the rock so a good basing point. atm i feed them pheonix worms and silkworms as a staple but am thinking about adding dubia's to the list. Waxworms are fed once a week. Had the poo checked this week and no parasites were found so It is safe to assume the upset was from the "new smell." I use digital temp probes on the floor to monitor the temps and the heat pad is set at 35 day, 26 night so stays around those temps. the hotest i have seen it go is 37 and the lowest is probably 35 in the day. is it necessary for me to carry on calcium coating there food on a staple of silkworms, pheonix (calci) worms and dubiias and also should i drop the amount of silkworm intake they have at some point as silkys by that table have a lot of fat? they are still quite small atm so i wouldlike to fatten them up. BTW helpful table