Red crystals????

Question

Red crystal   QUESTION: I'm really worried about my two bearded dragons. I know they are shedding but one has a white thing hanging out of its nose. Is it shedding out of its nose? Should i take it off? Also as i cleaned their cage i found a red crystal. What is it? I have attached a picture to show you. Is it normal? It was right behind their usual basking spot.

ANSWER: The white thing may just be a shred of skin.  Remove it gently.

The red crystal is a lot more inexplicable.  I can only theorize.
Did you feed them anything with red dye in it, or red-colored foods?  If so, it may have dyed their urates red. :)

Is there anything else in their behavior that worries you?  Are they eating well, and have good weight?

If you have any concerns, of course, your first step is to check your husbandry--make sure that heating, UVB lighting, and space are correct, and that you're feeding them a balanced and healthy diet of calcium-dusted insects and fresh mixed greens and vegetables.  (There are many bearded dragon salad recipes online, since reptiles can't just be given lettuce or many of the common greens we eat).

If all of that is right, but they still aren't behaving or eating properly, take them to a veterinarian.

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QUESTION: Nothing with red dye or red coloured food. I changed their crickets, they are now black. They eat really well at 3 months, they eat at least 4 crickets per day, 3-10 mealworms per day and maybe 2-3 waxworms per day but not always. I checked online about the heating, it said it can be anywhere from 30-45centigrade at the highest basking spot, is that right? The red crystal is still really bothering me, i cant find anything that explains it online.

ANSWER: No, I would say 30c is much too cool for a bearded dragon hot spot.  I would keep the hot spot at least 35c.  The cool side can be 27c.  You did not mention the salad--they need salad every day, even as hatchlings, although they may not eat a lot of it.  They will eat increasing amounts as they get older, but it should be introduced immediately.

Do you use supplements on their crickets?  Cricket water gel?  Cricket gut-load formula?  These things all might contain dyes.  If the crickets were kept with a red-dyed gel formula, or fed a cricket food with dye before you got them, that could do it, too.

It really looks like the urates were dyed.  The color is very uniform.  

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QUESTION: I feed them watercress but i am looking into a more varied salad. There isnt any bug gel in with them i only feed the crickets watercress with water still on it. I put calcium dust on them every day for one feeding. I will put the heating up tomorrow as their bedtime is around about now.

Answer
If they both continue to produce pink or red-tinted urates, it may be something the source you get your crickets from is giving the crickets, and nothing to worry about.  If only one animal does so, then you may want to consult a veterinarian.

99% of the time, though, pink or red urates are caused by tinting from something in their food.  If it never happens again, don't worry about it.