Please help -- not eating after medication, concerning stool

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marhvee

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Hi, all. My nearly 11-month-old male beardie was having a small amount of blood in his stools, so I took him to the vet a few weeks ago to get him checked. His fecal test showed that he had a high load of coccidia as well as flagellates. He was prescribed Albon for the coccidia and Panacur for the flagellates, but we started with only the Albon. He was doing great -- no bloody stools, even gaining weight and eating more -- for around 2 weeks on the medication, when we had our 2nd vet visit to check up on him. He was doing so well that the vet told us we could start him on the Panacur as well.

However, after he started the Panacur, he started to eat less and less, until he just stopped eating altogether around a week ago. I rushed him to the vet to check him again, and according to his fecal test, his coccidia load was greatly decreased (maybe at most they saw a couple per slide) and he had fewer flagellates as well, so they suggested we perform a blood test on him. His blood test results showed that his hematocrit was low (so I'm actively working on hydrating him as much as possible) and his SGOT was high. Everything else was within normal ranges, aside from his high CPK, which the vet informed me could be from getting his blood drawn (he had to be poked quite a few times, which he was quite upset about). She said she could prescribe him some Baytril for the high SGOT, but I'm wary of putting him on meds again when he isn't eating. I've been syringe-feeding him turkey baby food as well as butternut squash puree I made him since he still isn't eating on his own.

Since he stopped eating and we started his new diet, he's had lighter-colored stools and has shown blood in them a few times. Here's his stool from today, which is practically all white and has some blood at the end:

104301-3058923651.jpg

Here he is, himself:

104301-4565240294.jpg

He's been working on shedding in his mouth and eyes area and, as seen, on his back and tail as well. He was 506 g at the vet's around 4 days ago, and weighs 499 this morning.

I'm just completely at a loss here and I feel absolutely devastated. I think I've cried every day since he stopped eating and I just don't know what to do anymore. If anyone has advice, similar experience, or even a show of support, anything, please, please let me know. I'm terrified.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, that's a good looking boy there ! He is a big boy , nice and hefty so the loss of appetite is not TOO concerning. I'd take him off the meds. + let his appetite come back without the stress of more vet visits ans antibiotics to possibly cause damage to the kidneys.

Albon is very harsh, especially 2 weeks worth and I'm surprised that vets still use it rather than Ponazuril which usually works in 2-3 days. I would just let him be for now , keep him hydrated and let his appetite return on it's own.
 

marhvee

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":3e8dusb8 said:
Hi there, that's a good looking boy there ! He is a big boy , nice and hefty so the loss of appetite is not TOO concerning. I'd take him off the meds. + let his appetite come back without the stress of more vet visits ans antibiotics to possibly cause damage to the kidneys.

Albon is very harsh, especially 2 weeks worth and I'm surprised that vets still use it rather than Ponazuril which usually works in 2-3 days. I would just let him be for now , keep him hydrated and let his appetite return on it's own.

Thank you so, so much for your insight -- I definitely won't be giving anymore meds for a while. If he still needs to address the coccidia in the future, I'll definitely ask about Ponazuril. Should I continue to syringe feed him, and how long should it take for his appetite to return?
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Just let him go back to his old self for a while and offer his fave foods . He will decide when he wants to eat, but don't get wporried if he doesn't for a while. Perfectly healthy beardies that grow quickly will even go off food at times simply because the change of season or because they are approaching adult stage. Mine still do at the age of 7 .5 years old. One of my guys gets interested in the bugs when I put them in a container + put it right near his face. He'll ogle at the bugs for a minute + then dive in. Just be patient and he should eat when he's ready. You can offer a little bit of the food after a week if he's not eating or drinking , mostly mix it with water to keep him hydrated. Hydration is important because of the meds. He should be O.K though !
 

marhvee

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Original Poster
AHBD":34u0gwqc said:
Just let him go back to his old self for a while and offer his fave foods . He will decide when he wants to eat, but don't get wporried if he doesn't for a while. Perfectly healthy beardies that grow quickly will even go off food at times simply because the change of season or because they are approaching adult stage. Mine still do at the age of 7 .5 years old. One of my guys gets interested in the bugs when I put them in a container + put it right near his face. He'll ogle at the bugs for a minute + then dive in. Just be patient and he should eat when he's ready. You can offer a little bit of the food after a week if he's not eating or drinking , mostly mix it with water to keep him hydrated. Hydration is important because of the meds. He should be O.K though !

Thank you again! I'll definitely try my best to hydrate him. Do you have any tips for hydrating him, and is there a certain number of cc's of water I should try to get into his system per day? I put him in a bath daily (where he tends to go potty for the day as well), but he never drinks out of the bath. I'll drip water onto his snout using a syringe and he still doesn't lick it up, like he isn't thirsty. I hate to do it, but I've been just pulling down on his lip or trying to gently open his mouth to get fluids in him, as much as he seems to dislike it.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is perfectly fine. You can just keep trying to drip the water/fluids onto the end of his nose
to see if he will just lick the water from a dropper, eventually. Pulling down the lip area works too
that definitely wont hurt him. Spraying his greens with water helps, also.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

marhvee

Member
Original Poster
Hi, all --

My little baby has started to eat on his own again! He's been eating his salad for the past couple of days, although he's only eaten 3 dubias during this time. While he'll come down from his basking spot to chew on his salad, he still doesn't seem to express much interest in his insects. There's still a bit of blood accompanying his stools, but my vet and I have agreed that we should just watch him until he's steadily eating again before we perform any treatment. I'll continue to be patient with him and update this thread on how he's doing!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
That sounds like improvement ! He is feeling more like his old self now. :) Hopefully everything will straighten out, post pics of his poos when you can .
 

marhvee

Member
Original Poster
Hello, all! My baby has started to eat his insects again too (he chowed down 14 medium-sized dubias today), and is in general eating a lot more, so he's starting to gain weight again. His poop is starting to normalize too, and he's had good-looking stools with no blood for a couple days now, though I'll continue to keep an eye on it (and try to post a pic soon). Most importantly, he's spending less time hiding in his hammock and is a lot more energetic. I'm beyond delighted to see him looking happier each day! :D
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is great news he is doing much better & has started eating again also. :D
Sometimes they just go through phases that last for awhile, then, they come out of them. He
may have just slown down some after a growth spurt, possibly.

Tracie
 

marhvee

Member
Original Poster
Hi, all -- thought I'd post an update as well as some questions I have!

My baby is continuing to eat both salad and insects every day, which is great, but I noticed that after a couple days of eating ~14 dubias for dinner, he's now only eating maybe ~3 dubias for dinner every day for the past couple of days. In fact, today, while offering him his dubias, he ate 3 and then went straight to his salad to start chowing down on that instead! It's very odd, considering how much he loved his dubias before. As a result, his weight over the past couple of weeks has been fluctuating from ~490 g down to ~480 g, then going back up to ~490 and now back down to ~480 again. His stools (sorry, I keep forgetting to take pics) have continued to look great, however. Any ideas as to what's going on?
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Yes that's perfectly normal, he is a large sub adult now and will soon not need a lot of insects. Some dragons sort of self regulate. They come from an environment where it would at times be feast or famine. We actually over feed them in captivity at times, there are many over weight beardies in captivity. His weight is fine, nothing at all to worry about. They can lose 15-20 grams with one large bowel movement. Everything sounds fine . :)
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is perfectly normal. They will often decrease their bug intake as they get older, so
unless he starts losing weight I wouldn't worry too much about his eating changes. It sounds
like he is eating well most of the time & he is definitely a good weight, too.

Tracie
 

marhvee

Member
Original Poster
Thank you so much for the reassurance! :D

Now that he's eating again, I've been wondering about the next step: when should I take him back to the vet's to resume treatment? I'm concerned that he'll get stressed and go off feed again, but I also understand that although they're in lower numbers, he still has the flagellates and coccidia in him. Is there a good window of time I should give him before reintroducing him to the vet/meds?
 
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