“I found these dead worms in my 16-inch long bearded dragons stool today and I am baffled as to what they could be”, states this reader about the brown worms pictured below. “They’re approximately 1.5 inches long, all uniform in shape, size, color, and are all folded the same way upon death.”

“They don’t fit any of the descriptions for typical reptile gut parasites and I am extremely curious as to what they are while I locate and book an exotic vet. […] Any ideas on what these could be would be greatly appreciated!”

Now, since this is clearly a medical situation, we will unfortunately not be able to help our reader identify the creatures. This is because we are not medical professionals ourselves, and so we are not qualified to provide this type of help. It is good that she is going to take her bearded dragon to the vet, as that is what we would have suggested she do.

Nonetheless, we still thank our reader for sharing her story, which we will pass on in the case that any fellow bearded dragon-owners also find themselves in a similar situation and think that they too might need to take their reptile friend to the vet.

“There were about 10 that came out of her stool and no, there is no possibility of this being undigested food”, she continues in her submission. “She has not been putting on weight despite eating a very fattening diet in preparation for her brumation.” Brumation is the equivalent of hibernation for cold-blooded animals: a period of cold temperatures (usually winter) during which reptiles move very little.

She adds: “she was hand-raised on an exclusive diet of homegrown (and washed) vegetables and clover, with no pesticides used, as well as home-hatched and -grown silkworms that have a pure diet of only homegrown mulberry leaves. No access to other insects, including typical parasite-ridden crickets or dubias, has been allowed. I have no idea how she got any sort of parasite with how cautious I am.”

To conclude, we are unfortunately not qualified to identify the worms our reader found in her bearded-dragon’s waste. We hope that her consultation at the vet goes well, and that this issue will be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. We wish her, and her bearded dragon, the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Dead Worms Found in Bearded Dragon's Waste

Description

"I found these dead worms in my 16-inch long bearded dragons stool today and I am baffled as to what they could be", states this reader about the brown worms pictured below. "They're approximately 1.5 inches long, all uniform in shape, size, color, and are all folded the same way upon death."

Author

Worm Researcher Anton