coccidia treatment, not eating

Hello all,
Last week my youngest beardie was diagnosed with coccidia. The vet gave me calcium drops and a clear medication to treat the coccidia. However my beardie still remains undernourished and dehydrated. I offer a contant supply of phoenix worms and small greens but she wont eat anything. I mist her everyday and even have a water bowl in there but her back still has wrinkles and now her ribs are even more exposed. How do I get her to eat? She has not had a regular stool for weeks now.

temps in tank are 90-100

My little one also has coccidia, but she hasn;t ever stopped eating. Maybe try giving her a bath? Keeping her well hyrdrated is important when you treat coccidia when they're on albon, it makes them thirsty. Try giving her a nice bath and then see. I'd also work on your temps, since she is a juvinille, they need there temps at aorund 105-110.
Hope this helps!

As Katiekat mentioned, albon dehydrates them. When my girl was on it she would gulp water out of the bath for 2 minutes straight, but I would also give her extra fluids just to be safe, with a syringe just like you would give the albon. It's normal for them to not eat when on it since its very harsh on their tummies, so you should use a probiotic along with the meds. This will help their belly aches and the albon flushes all good and bad bacteria out, so the probiotic will put the good bacteria back in their systems. You want to give the meds in the morning and probiotic about 4-6 hrs later so it doesn't interfere with the albon. After I would give her the albon I would fill the syringe back up with water and give her that and do the same after the probiotic, along with baths and veggies this keeps them hydrated well. For probiotic, you could use acidophiliz, bene bac or non dairy soy yogurt. I have yet to find the yogurt so I ordered bene bac. You want to continue on the probiotic for a few weeks after meds as it can take awhile to replenish their systems. This could help her gain her appetite back a little too, but wouldnt worry too much about her not wanting to eat, especially since she hasn't been on a probiotic. If it goes too long you could give her a little babyfood (chicken & squash)

Hope this helps too

thanks for the tips all, I have been giving her daily baths but I will try to food suggestions and the water vile. So are phoenix worms and crickets off the menu for her?

Nah, just try and feed her as you usually do.. Other than giving her the meds, nothing really changes. Though you should clean her vivarium out so she can't get re-infected.

What kind of meds is it? Is it Albon or Ponazuril? Albon is harsh on their system and can make them go off food. What are you using for a UVB light? I couldn't tell with the lights on the cage. You have a lot of lights in one spot. Those stick on thermometers don't work. You need one with a probe on it. The one you have can be off 20 degrees. You might be cooking your beardie.

Hi,
I'm so sorry your little one isn't doing so well.
Imo she almost looks almost critical.
Being that she hasn't been eating for a while I'd syringe feed her til she puts some weight on.
Being that she is so very much underweight I'd not wait. I'd try syringe feed her several drops
to .5 ml to start at least 2 times a day and slowly increase the amount as she tolerates it.
If she get the Albon in the morning I'd put the supplements and probiotic in the second feeding
later in the day.
The probiotic and liquid calcium can be given together in that same feeding.
Baby food squash is a good basic along with baby food plain chicken and baby food plain turkey.
You can use a few drops of diluted Pedialyte to slightly thin her baby food and for her to drink.
Dilute it 2 parts water:1 part Pedialyte.
You can also add a few ounces of Pedialyte to a shallow bath for her to absorb the electrolytes from.
I'd give a quick 10 minute bath daily to keep her hydrated.
Those round gauge thermometers can be up to 20* off.
You need a probe type thermometer or a temp gun to accurately measure her temps.
You place the probe on the basking spot to check temp.
As stated above she needs to be at 105 to 110.
If you can keep her night time tank temp at about 80* it will boost her immune system.
I hope any of this helps you!
Amanda

Thanks all for your kind concerns and help. This beardie was allready uderweight at petsmart i guess I just wanted to take care of it and thanks to these forums I think she can get better.

The thermometers on the outside of the tank are old I dont go by those, just need to take them off. The little round zilla thermometer inside came with a bigger tank i have, but im starting to get a resentment at Zilla for poor quality but thats a whole new story. Im going to pick up the new temp tomorrow and all the baby food/ supliments. Was able to feed her a chicken smoothie tonight and it was nice to see some life in her eyes cause she must be craving that. I did a 10min bath a little warmer than normal she liked that.

The lights I have right now are
250v 660w night light with an older heatlamp next to it
For day the older heat lamp stays on with a 20w dessert zilla daylight
And a 75w bulb in a 250v 660w lamp

that seems like ALOT of heat... You NEED to get a Reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb ASAP. Hang it with Command hooks INSIDE the cage..

She should only need a 60 watt halogen flood lamp for heat 1 bulb that's it, then you can get a low wattage bulb for light for the other side of the tank.

Here is the Reptisun:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/11442-504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10-0-uvb-bulb.html

You need to get a good temperature gauge I really think her cage must be boiling.
I found these to be the best
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=acurite+thermometer&gbv=2&gs_sm=1&gs_upl=906l2672l0l5094l8l8l0l0l0l0l266l1766l0.2.6l8l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12948369471622400109&os=reviews

And you shouldn't have a night light on... it should be totally dark, they need that cool down period. Any sort of light with disturb their sleep. As long as it doesn't get below 65 degrees at night in their cage, they are fine.

I really think all your tips are starting to work. I can't thank you enough. This morning she started eating some phoenix worms, and has been nibbling through out the day. I got the new thermometers and tok out some of the lamps. the zoo med probe is now reading 101.f

going to give her some pedialyte and probiotic with some sweet potato baby food here to see how she likes it.

She's a pretty girl! Glad to hear that she's doing a little better. I found the care page on this site for "SUPPORTIVE CARE DURING TREATMENT for COCCIDIA" to be REALLY helpful-- I'm actually treating a couple of my little guys for coccidosis right now. It's rough on them for sure.

I still don't see what you are using for a UVB???

this is on the left
http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/day-blue-light.htm

this is on the right
Desert 50 UVB Fluorescent Bulb 6.6" x 3" x 8.9"
http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/uvb-flourescent-bulbs.htm

ashmanz":1olmj841 said:

this is on the left
http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/day-blue-light.htm

this is on the right
Desert 50 UVB Fluorescent Bulb 6.6" x 3" x 8.9"
http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/uvb-flourescent-bulbs.htm

Click to expand...

that uvb is not good at all, and you should really replace it with a Reptisun 10.0. Especially in the shape your poor baby is in. They are only about $30 with shipping and will fit in the fixture you have your zilla in. As long as it's not that compact coil. Those are even 10x worse.

is this the one that will fit in my lamp?
Reptisun 10.0 UVB Desert Bulb : - 26 Watts