Help with Coccidia and pinworms returning

Hi guys, I am lost on what to do as despite following the vets advice and 2 courses of sulfatrim and one course of Drontal puppy suspension the pinworms and coccidia still return by the time the next sample is taken, I have been bathing him 1-2x a day as requested by the vet and the picture of his basking spot is dated as I have since moved to paper towels which are changed daily and the surfaces within the Vivarium soaked in scxd vetinary cleaner as a strong dilution as well as the basking platform and any hide within his enclosure also disinfecting his bath every day or so and following this rinsing with water then steam cleaning everything to top it off. I also moved off crickets and locusts to Dubia roaches to reduce the chance of parasites,

Any ideas would be amazing as I hate having to give him sulfatrim as it really upsets him and leaves him looking tired and sad

Many thanks,

Josh and more importantly Kit

Hi Josh, no wonder poor Kit is sick, those sulfa drugs are very harsh . Are you in the U.S. or U.K ? Was your dragon acting sickly before the treatment ? Many vets in U.S. use Ponazuril or toltrazuril for coccidia , it often works in just 2 doses. And Drontal is for tapeworms in dogs + cats, not for pinworms in beardies. Panacur is the usual med. Don't give him the Drontal. No need for 2 baths a day, totally unnecessary and probably adding to the stress. But try to remember, was he sick + not eating before he was started on the meds ?

Hi, thanks for the quick response,

I am in the UK and yes before the treatment for the coccidia began he was hiding digging during the day which was unusual for him although his appetite was still normal . As for the baths, this is due to the sulfatrim dehydrating him although it does stress him out somewhat so I don’t normally do 2. When he’s on the sulfatrim his appetite goes down to next to nothing although doesn’t drop in weight. And as for the Drontal puppy I looked it up and couldn’t find anything apart from one guy on a forum about deworming in reptiles. So I called the vets (who only see reptiles and small animals) and they said that they use Drontal for all their deworming of reptiles and that it isn’t harsh at all? Maybe they’re wrong?

Thanks,

Josh

I forgot to ask, how old is Kit ? Anyway, digging is 100 % normal behavior and should not be taken as a sign of ill health. The fact that he was eating before leads you to the conclusion that the " cure " is worse than the " ailment " that he has. Many reptiles carry parasites at stages of their lives with little trouble at all. The drugs he is on are worse than the parasites so I would stop both . In the mean time I would look for a vet that uses Ponazurul + Panacur which are both much more easily tolerated in almost all cases I've heard of. As for baths for dehydration, they only help if the dragon drinks. The old thought was that they absorb water through their vent, hence the advice to soak beardies twice a day. IInstead of that, just offer water dripped on his snout every few days or a soak if he drinks. But I would't give him another drop of those meds.

Thanks again,

Kit is 6 months almost at around 200g and although I know digging is a normal behaviour this definitely was not, prior to the when the digging started he would bask for 6-8hrs or so which declined to almost no basking unless placed there and even then would begrudgingly stay and he would hide away into the cave and begin digging and would then either sleep or just lay there till taken out which if I left him I doubt he’d leave at all, this is when we took him for the first fecal to find the high levels of coccidia the first time.
As for the meds I was told they can cause reduced appetite so I assumed this was normal. And this vet is the only reptile vet near me, still an hour drive, but others are 2hr+ I’ve asked about other meds and they said that this is always what they use and they don’t use anything else and I have also asked a separate vet who isn’t specialised but has some sort of reptile certificate and she said she would prescribe the same, is it worth just buying them online? And due to how dehydrated the sulfatrim makes him when on it he literally puts his mouth level with the water in the bath an laps it up and even bobs under for a second and swims around, regardless I’ll bath less and drip water more.

ThNks,

Josh

Hello Josh,

I agree, a lot of times medicating them with too harsh of drugs will completely obliterate their
systems & make them worse. If he was losing weight, not eating or basking before starting the
medication rounds then the coccidia may have been bothering him. The Ponazuril for coccidia
& Panacur for pinworms are better & less harsh choices for treatment.
Have you been giving him any probiotics also while he was on the meds, to help restore his gut
flora?
Be sure to keep him a little warmer overnight, around 75-80, to help boost his immune system
right now.

Tracie

Thanks for the added details Josh. If he likes being in the water and drinks then that's perfectly fine, I know some dragons hate it while others enjoy a good soak. As for continuing treatment, that's up to you completely . If you feel more comfortable doing so then you have to make the choice. Best wishes for a good outcome and good health for Kit !

Hey guys, I had read your answers just been so caught up with a number of personal issues and work I forgot to respond but following your advice I have got him some Panacur although for the coccidia I cannot find a vet who will prescribe ponazutril and cannot find it for sale In the UK regardless so I am limited and as the coccidia was definitely having a negative effect on him and I cannot find a vet who will prescribe anything else for it so I am using the sulfatrim although only once a day as I am still looking for an alternative as he goes to eating nothing if he has 2x doses a day instead of just 1x.

I am bathing him with Vetark repto boost, electrolyte and probiotic powder which he drinks from and I also have a diluted bottle of it which I am using with a syringe to drop on the end of his snout the same I would with water as I thought it can’t hurt to try increase his appetite. Is this sufficient or should I get something such as benebac gel? And as for nightime temps I’ve got the radiator keeping the room at around 75 the whole night.

He still seems very interested in his veggies however, unlike the roaches, maybe due to being easier to digest I don’t know? Similarly I bought a “dragon gel” which is just a blended mix of feeder insects and veggies for beardies that I used last time his appetite dropped whilst on the meds and he loves it, I assume there’s no problem feeding this as a temporary measure? And despite the bouts of coccidia and worms he has gone from 200ish to 265 in the past month so atleast that’s a positive, just wish I knew what I was doing wrong for it to return as I am trying my hardest and ensuring everything’s super sterile.

As always, thanks for all the help you guys

Josh and Kit

Actually everything you're doing seems very helpful, just keep it up. He's gaining weight so that's excellent. You prob. don't need the Benebac gel but if you feel more comfortable using some it would be fine.