Atadenovirus and my Dragon

My beardie Rook is my first and only dragon. He was three months old and 10 inches long when I got him. He settled in relatively quickly, eagerly eating dubia, worms of all variety, and veggies ranging from collards to squash. A few weeks later, I took him into the vet to get checked up on because his eyes seemed droopy one day while taking a bath. The vet assured me if he was eating right and going to the bathroom regularly, that it was probably nothing. But still, we did a fecal test and found coccidia and pinworms. After 10 days of treatment, he was his same amazing self. I took him in for a followup with a different doctor (but same office), where we did a recheck on his feces, where he claimed to still see pinworms. I was shocked, because I did everything they told me. Yet another 10 days of treatment, and we were on the other side again... except this time his appetite had really diminished. No greens. Refuses ALL greens... Then he went from eating 14 dubia a day, to eating 1 or 2. Eventually that turned into not even eating a single one, yet he stilled ate phoenix, horn, and superworms. I figured he was just in a worm mood.

Well beardie parent panic set in, and I wanted a second opinion on the matter, so I took him to a different vet office. This was exactly 54 days later, and his current growth is up to 16 inches, weighing 506g. During the next fecal check, protozoa was found, indicating he still had parasites. The vet also wanted to do a check for Atadenovirus, which I agreed to, thinking nothing of it.

Well, we just passed the 7th day of his third parasite treatment, and yesterday my vet left a voice mail saying he tested positive for Atadenovirus. I didn't know much about it, so I sleepily started reading up on it, which immediately woke me up to the maximum extent. My dragon has "Wasting Disease". I've only had him for 15 weeks, but I've bonded so closely with him. I've never owned another reptile, nor have I even handled one. I've found websites, such as http://www.everythingreptile.org/adenovirus--atadenovirus-in-bearded-dragons.html, as well as other sites with some information on living with it. I'm just so sad this had to happen to him. I guess now is just the time to continue to do my best on giving him the best life while I can.

Does anyone else own a beardie with ADV. What can I expect down the road?

Rook
Male
6 months old
Length = 16''
Weight = 506g
48'' x 16'' x 21'' enclosure
Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO Lamp, 24w, 22" (mounted inside enclosure) @ middle of enclosure
75w Halogen flood lamp (heat) (above screen) @ basking rock
100w Megaray MVB (above screen) @ basking rock
Reptile carpet substrate
Insect Diet: Dubia roaches, horn worms, phoenix worms, wax worms, and superworms.
Veggie/Fruit Diet: Collard greens, dandelion greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, butternut squash spaghetti squash, sweet peppers (red, orange, and yellow), blue berries, and mango.

Hi there....Rook sure is a beautiful boy ! I'm sorry that he's been diagnosed with ADV. He looks very healthy + happy right now, and I believe that some beardies can live for years with it. There are at least a few posters on here that have ADV beardies. If you look at the thread right below this, the very last poster on that thread is kcarello....she has 2 ADV positive beardies. Maybe shoot her a p.m and get some advice from her. Hopefully that will ease your mind a bit.

I hope for all the best to you + Rook !

Already ordered some supplements, so hopefully he can get his appetite back soon. Thanks for the tip, just gave them a message. And thank you, I really appreciate the kind words.

You're welcome....I hope Rook will be O.K !

Hello,

Atadenovirus isn't always a death sentence, thankfully. It can cause health issues but if you are proactive you may be able to head off a lot of the problems. Primarily it can depress the immune system which causes secondary infections but the virus tends to want to affect the liver mostly.
Has he had any health problems other than a loss of appetite recently?
Rook is a nice looking boy indeed!
The Reptisun 5 HO tube bulb is terrific so he should be getting plenty of UVB then. You are using the Megaray 100 watt MVB along with the halogen together? What are the temperatures in his tank?
His weight is very good for his length, also & his diet is phenomenal as well.
Are his parasite issues cleared up now?
You can take a proactive approach & keep his diet nice & lean so he doesn't build up too much fat storage when he is young which can be hard on the liver.

Keep us posted on his progress.

Tracie

No other health issues besides the parasites. He had slightly and some recent lethargy, but that's about it. Warm side is around 91 and cold side is about 83-85. Basking spot is between 105-110. Lately I've been keeping his CHE on at night to keep his tank around 80, because he seems to be more active in the day when the tank doesn't drop into the seventies.

Hopefully the parasites are gone, I have to take a fecal into the vet next Monday for a recheck, but if they're gone, I'll be ecstatic. Thanks for helping me out with this, I appreciate it.

Hi there - I agree with Tracie, it sounds like your boy has a good set up and is being well taken care of. How did yesterday's fecal come back?

I had two beardies with ADV. One is a 6 yearish old girl, she is healthy as a horse and I've never had any health issues with her outside of a bum hip.

I just lost my other beardie a few weeks ago. Long story short, she got an infection last year (osteomyelitis was my vet's diagnosis), and while we were able to clear up a lot of the infection, it took 6 months and 6 different antibiotics before she responded to any, and we believe ADV was a big contributor to her ability to fight that infection off. When she died, I had a necropsy done, and they found all of her organs were just covered with little spots of infection. She had just turned 3.

I am not sure if ADV affects the difficulty of getting rid of parasites. Since you know he has it though, I would just be vigilant with his health, and get him to the vet if something ever seems off.

I'm sorry for you loss

I've read that dragons with adv are prone to coccidia and pinworms in particular. His next fecal check is this next coming monday, so I'll know by then. He's been in and out of the vet for these parasites, so I'm hoping this is the end of it. He's been taking his milk thistle and colloidal silver very well though, so Im going to definitely be monitoring his conditions closely for some hopeful progress.

Update

Rook is taking to his supplements quite well. He's started on milk thistle and colloidal silver. After 3 days, he's already been waking up earlier, going to sleep later, and willing to eat his dubia and (some) veggies. He's still been on baby food slurries (chicken and squash), which he absolutely loves, which is a plus, because it makes giving him his supplements so much easier. Today will be his first day with the inclusion of bee pollen, electrolytes, and serrapeptase.



He's actually been really energized. He was under his basking lamp for only a little bit, before he started walking around the viv and leapt up on on his branch. I love seeing him jump


Will update again once test results are back on Monday

Hello,

That is great he is doing better & has been more active. He sure is a nice looking dragon, too.
It sounds like his appetite has improved also already. I hope his parasite issues do get cleared up, he would be so much happier!

Keep us posted on him.
Tracie

Negative for parasites!

Great news!