Coccidia and Parasite Treatment

Today we had fecals done on my about 6 month old Bearded Dragon, Hadron, and it came back positive for coccidia and a protozoan (worm). Sorry I can't remember the name as the vet told us over the phone. He wants us to begin treatment on Monday so we have already scheduled an appointment to receive his first dose and a follow-up dose for 48 hours later. I'm not sure if we are treating both at once but he mentioned inserting a tube to give a larger dose at a later point. I will try to clarify this after our next visit.

This was Hadron's first vet visit and he is otherwise healthy at 211g, eating fine, gaining weight/growing steadily, active and alert, etc. I read the article on Coccidia and Parasite care but I was wondering if there are any other items I should pick up just to be on the safe side? I went ahead and ordered Benebac for Birds and Reptiles and Jump-Start on Amazon so they should be here this weekend. I will also probably pick up a bottle of Pedialyte and some extra baby food just in case.

With regards to his terrarium (approx 45 gallons), I have read that all of his stuff needs to be disinfected and sanitized. I have some ammonia on hand, will that work to sterilize the terrarium? And what ratio should I dilute it to? He currently lives on play sand with a portion covered by reptile carpet for his veggie and water bowl, I assume that I should empty all of the sand out and sterilize or discard the carpet? I will probably use paper towels or newspaper to line his tank until he gets a clear fecal test. Is it effective to disinfect wood pieces by pouring or soaking them in boiling water?

Thank you all so much for your help and taking the time to answer my questions! I really like to be prepared so that my baby is as comfortable as possible during his treatment.

Drache613":v9urvxl3 said:

Moved by Moderator from Health to Infectious disease

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Thanks! Sorry I must have missed this forum.

Hello,

That is ok, so sorry I didn't make it back to post for you.
Did they place him on Albon, or ponazuril or toltrazuril for the coccidia?
Did you already receive the benebac in the mail? You can use a diluted bleach solution for wiping the enclosure down but be mindful in being sure you get it all so it doesn't off gas. Ammonia should be fine, but it needs to be very diluted so it wont off gas. All of the wooden items you can take out, soak in hot soapy water, then bake them in the oven at 250 or so for 20-30 minutes to kill anything. Be sure the tank is all dried out, etc & you can't smell any residue of cleaner when putting him back in.
Just to keep from reinfecting, you can use paper towels or newspapers for the liner on the bottom of the tank & then cardboard boxes, etc for the basking areas, for temporary use. It is easier to throw those items away. It makes cleaning easier, too.
I think that should be it, the benebac will help while he is on the meds. The pedialyte can be used to help with hydration. Use a one part pedialyte to a 3 parts water for him when using it.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Today the vet put him on ponazuril. He gave him one dose in the office and gave us another dose to administer in 48 hours. According to him, this medication is supposed to be extremely effective at reducing/eliminating coccidia in about 2 doses. I haven't administered the benebac yet since our appointment was fairly late in the evening and I didn't want to interfere too much with the antibiotic. Should I administer it tomorrow even if he seems fine, as a precaution? And should I go ahead and use the pedialyte when he soaks or just wait if he seems to be eating/drinking normally? The vet also gave him a deworming treatment for his parasite and we are to come back in 2 and 4 weeks for follow up treatments and a repeat fecal test in 8 weeks.

To clean his tank I ended up using a solution of 1 part ammonia to 32 parts water to wipe down the sides and back. And I used "Wipe-Out" to clean his hammock (plastic like material) and dishes (stainless steel and ceramic) then rinsed them out with hot water. I removed all of his wood pieces and replaced them with small usps boxes and a new paver stone. Although I switched his substrate to paper towels, he tends to go to the bathroom at the same time everyday so that's when I usually take him out to eat, soak, and poop. It helps to keep his tank cleaner and is much easier for me to clean up.

Thanks so much for the help! I will update you as his treatment progresses.

Hello,

That sounds good, the Ponazuril is an anti-coccidial agent & should wipe it out in 1-2 doses.
You can start giving the benebac anytime, just be sure to give it several hours apart from the meds, just to be proactive.
You can soak him in a pedialyte solution if you would like, if he seems dehydrated. Has he been drinking on his own much?
It does make it easier if he goes potty out of his tank! Your cleaning regime sounds fine, poor guy he is without his basking logs! Paper towels are very easy & helps save some time, too.
Hopefully you can get all of his stuff put back in soon for him!
Let us know how things are coming along.

Tracie