my leopard gecko

Question
Hi Thea! I have a 3 month old juvenile. I do not know her sex yet though. This morning when i woke up there was a strange fluid in her "potty corner". I don't know what the substance is. The substance was mostly liquid and had black and white goo in it. Do you know anything about this? Thanks for listen!

                                   PLEASE HELP!

                                                  THANKS!

Answer
Hi Gracie,

Normal reptile droppings usually have 3 components . There is the fecal/stool portion from the intestines which can range in colour from dark brown/black to dark greenish depending on the diet. You may see the more undigestible insect parts like wings and legs in this portion. The white or very pale yellow pasty part is the urates which is from the kidneys and is the equivalent of urine. Excreting urate crystals rather then urea (as mammals do) allows reptiles to conserve water and is the same system that birds use. In a well hydrated animal there is usually a bit of clear or slightly mucousy fluid excreted with the stool and urates as well.

The 3 parts are all deposited into the same holding area (the cloaca) before being excreted from the body. The stool portion is usually well formed and tubular shaped.

I don't know how long you have had your leo and if you are familiar with how its droppings normally look but it is a good thing to keep an eye on and monitor. Intestinal parasites can be a problem even with captive bred animals and change in the consistency is often an early sign.