And The Poop Goes On...

Poop 4 was a squirty and wet as all the others except this time it occurred the next day rather than a few days inbetween...and it was not egged on by any pumpkin.

Rocky started getting excited when I was putting his dubias in his dish and I guess it got him worked up for the 4th messy & stinky poop. Gotta be coccidia...or some kind of parasite.

Vet sees him on Thursday but if he does it again while they are open this week I will do my 'doody' and scoop up the poop & run it over to them.

Aside from the wet poops, he does seem a little lethargic especially in the mornings...though today he was up on his basking spot quicker than ever before. He does tend to act as if his right eye is more sensitive. But he also seems to have a decent appetite. GAve him some hornworms yesterday and today to help with any hydration issues...plus today I gave him some bene-bac for reptiles after he pooped to help ease his tummy.

Can anything else cause diarrhea like this? I'm keeping his diet mostly greens and dubias with some pellets that he probably doesn't eat....and an occasional treat of worms. Mostly the phoenix, butterworms, and hornworms. staying away from the wax worms and superworms for a little while longer.

Temps are good low 90's to high 90's. Humidity is fluctuating between 40-50. I do have my Eva Dry 333 inside tank hoping that will help keep humidity from getting too high. Still bathing him on a regular basis. And giving daily pets and cuddles.

Today I let him get some fresh air and sun while sitting on my lap as I enjoyed a cup of coffee with my husband. He seemed curious about it all but was pretty calm overall. His godmother sent him a special gift, a repartarium, so I am anxious to get him outside in it, but not until I know for sure he has no parasites. One less thing I have to sterilize. Ugh....I HATE PARASITES.

And now you have Sonny and Cher in my head... And the beat goes ooooon and the beat goes on!

Having diahharia you might want to stay away from worms, since they tend to be hydrating anyway. I don't know if worms would have an opposite effect on dragons or not, but it seems crunchy things would be better for that till he sees the vet. Poor guy. Diahharea hurts the muscles as well as the insides.

It's very possible that it's still from the pumpkin he had on Sunday , and hornworms have ALOT of moisture...that combination could cause it for sure. I know you gave him the pumpkin because he hadn't pood in a few days but larger dragons don't always go every day, every 2-4 days at times, especially after going to a new home. Of course there's a chance that he does have parasites, but that doesn't necessarily cause diarrhea....many dragons have parasites without having loose stools. It will probably return to more normal looking poo sooner or later, but a fecal check will ease your mind. Remember, too, that it isn't always necessary to treat low levels of parasites , so try not to be too worried. Rocky should be fine.

Oh, one more thing ....you say the temps. are from the low 90's to the high 90's....is there a cool side around 80 ? Sorry if I missed that.

Okay, thank you! Hadn't thought about the four hornworms the day before could cause his system to go funky...

Yes, he does have a cool side low 70's....his temps were even higher on the hot side at one point because he was on a higher basking tree and I was getting readings of 104. Now that it is lower I had to actually turn the heat up so his bricks could be in the 90's. Will be getting a 9 inche high platform soon from JoJo's HIdes on Etsy so I will need to readjust the setting again I'm sure. Does he need to have the temps in the low 100's like juvies since he isn't an adult yet. I have caught him with his mouth agape. So I wondered if he wasn't already too hot or feeling dehydrated....

I will lay off the hornworms until his vet appt Thursday...will stick with the basics: greens & dubias. :wink:

Sometimes wanting to do too much is just that...TOO MUCH. Reminds me of when I grew up in Brooklyn...there was this first generation family from Italy that lived across the street...every time her sons sweated from playing she would run outside, yell their names, and they would go to her and she would wipe down their faces. Always wondered how they ended up as adults...did they keep their sweat in check, or did they rebel and never shower. Sorry....I digressed. :shock:

What do you think about his sensitive eye...? Is that normal too? It has no other obvious issues...just tends to close more than the other whether I am petting him or even if he is just basking. While his left eye seems more alert.

Thank you for the feedback and support!

KarenInCA":3fh1qtxo said:

And now you have Sonny and Cher in my head... And the beat goes ooooon and the beat goes on!

Click to expand...

Heeheee...me too!

Oh, that's funny about the hyper lady who wiped the brows of her sweating young un's ! It does make you wonder how they turned out, ha - ha ! I've never heard of such extreme hovering . But back to beardie care....I think 100F is fine for a basking temp., and as for the closing of one eye, lots of beardies will do something similar, there's probably nothing at all wrong with it.

Had Rockys vet appt yesterday and told them about my concerns over his continued diarrhea and dehydration... I did nut have a pop sample to give that day but they went ahead and gave them a dose for pinworms since his breeder said he had not yet been treated for that as he was a little too young... She also sent him home with baytril since she suspected he could also have a bacterial infection if the poop odor was bad... Plus said he was dehydrated and needed to have oral pedialyte. Other than that he looked healthy n she was glad to know his appetite was good. She said to give him some pumpkin to see if we could get a decal before the weekend.

Like a good boy he ate some pumpkin for me, took his meds reluctantly, and then it was a waiting game. Payoff came this morning. It was still diarrhea but it had a little more form than before so to me it meant the meds were starting to work which also meant he probably does have something... It didn't take long for them to call me back into the room after testing his poop to give me the bad but not surprising news... Pinworms & coccidia... It was like reliving a nightmare all over again with Pogi... Cept this time I was mentally more prepared and knew what I needed to do. Plus Rocky is older n bigger n has a better appetite so he has a stronger chance at beating this better than Pogi... And I still have all my sterilization tools. So I will be steam cleaning tonight n going back to hospital settings for him. Just hate we have to start our relationship with me prying his mouth open to give him meds.

I'm also babysitting another beardie who came by today so I am going to be extra precautions not to cross contaminate. They are in separate rooms so they shouldn't even know the other is here. Ironically, his set up is as bear minimum as you can get, has a missing tail, broken toe, but is a happy healthy boy of 4 years old.... Whereas I have this designer set up and specially bred beardie who is sick... Go figure. I should start up smoking cigars again and drinking so I too might live longer. This healthy lifestyle might do me in. Like Billy Joel said: only the good die young!!!! Sorry I digressed and am blathering... Been a long week.