Steamer for Coccidia and Positive Stories About Medications

Hello again!

Recently I found out that my beardie has three different types of parasites and I am going to be starting Ponazuril, Metronidazole, and Panacur. They won't be at the same time (one at a time), thankfully, but I'm still nervous about everything from the effect it'll have on my baby to even opening his mouth and giving him meds. I can pill a cat like a boss but I'm terrified of even trying to get my Dalí's mouth open. He's so precious and delicate that I feel like I'll hurt him.

I have a plan ready, at least. I bought puppy pads for his tank because paper towels aren't as absorbent and they're difficult to deal with; I'll be making basking spots from cardboard boxes for each day he's on meds; I'll be getting Bene-Bac and Acidophilus; I got a CHE to keep him warm at night; and I am going to get a steamer to disinfect the enclosure. I need some recommendations, however. What's a good steamer to get that actually works and doesn't cost $1,000,000? I'm open to all suggestions.

Also, I was hoping to hear positive stories about medicating beardies. So much of what I see is about how sick they get because of the meds or how it doesn't work or the like that it seriously stresses me out. Obviously, the meds will affect him even if only mildly, but I need positive stories.

Thanks!

Those meds tend to be pretty successful and aren't too harsh on their systems. Offering probiotics is helpful too. I found with my guy that he liked the flavor of the medicine so if I dropped a bit on his nose he'd lick it right up and sometimes would go after the syringe so I could give him the whole dose at once. As far as a steam cleaner goes, I have a 1000w shark steam cleaner that looks like a teapot with a hose. I picked it up at Big Lots for about $45 and it works really well.

Thanks. I'm not sure I'll be able to get them flavored but I'll try. I think that steamer you described should be good. I used to have one and I liked it.

Has anyone here bought meds from beardeddragon.co? I see they have toltrazuril and also an anti-protozole 10% Metro suspensions and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them.

My vet calls orders into either Diamondback Drugs (AZ) or Wedgewood Pharmacy (NJ). They formulate the meds to spec and ship them out within a couple of days.

Yeah, I know. I was just curious. If I were to go with toltrazuril in the future, I'd buy it off Tracie's site. It's just that I see the beardeddragon.co site a lot in my searches.

Wherever you get your meds from be sure to coordinate your treatment with the vet. Is there any reason why you want to bypass getting meds from a vet?

I am not. I already went to my vet.

So my beardie is done with his first round of meds for coccidia and pinworms. Ponazuril twice 24hrs apart and then Panacur for 5 days. I have to repeat in 2 weeks. I have been steam cleaning his tank every day and pouring boiling water in it to cover the bottom since that's where his butt touches. I am also using puppy pads to line the bottom and boxes to make basking spots. I replace the puppy pads and basking boxes every day and bathe him to get poop off before putting him back. He also gets Bene Bac gel every night. He loves it. I use a CHE to keep his tank at 80F, too.

Sometimes I feel like my steamer doesn't get hot enough, though, but I suppose that's just because the areas cool fast after the steam is released? How long do I need to leave the boiling water in there? Must I use a cleaner on top of that too? I'm terrified of this not working and either his having to take meds yet again or his getting reinfected. Is there anything else I can do or have I irreversibly messed up someway already?

His poops are still mushy, smelly mounds, though they seem better than before the meds. They are no longer so watery or loose but still don't have normal log shape. When should they start looking better? Does this mean the meds aren't working? Or is that a result of the antibiotics which themselves can cause loose stool? I know sometimes it takes days or even a couple of weeks for poop to look normal after antibiotics because of the upset they cause. My cat once had diarrhea for a month after antibiotics before making normal poops again--despite my giving her yogurt and Bene Bac. I'm so scared of having to do this yet again! It's exhausting all the cleaning I do for him.

It sounds like you're doing a great job, it's normal to worry but try not to be too stressed. The poos may still look " off " for a while, like you said it can be natural during + after treatments and some dragons have looser stools anyway. There are many owners who don't do half the precautions that you're taking and their dragons do not get re-infected. And some dragons do fine with low counts of parasites if they are not knocked out within a couple treatment attempts.

For cleaning, try red wine vinegar diluted about 1 part to 15 parts water. It's 100X stronger than bleach and used in 3rd world countries to kill cholera. This is not white vinegar, it's red wine vinegar.
Scroll down to point # 4.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiTicXOscDMAhVEGT4KHU5HDLwQFggnMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.softpedia.com%2Fnews%2FSeven-Facts-About-Food-and-Water-Originated-Infections-72973.shtml&usg=AFQjCNHN7bmkuL--w2_4WC-1zZcGalv0hw&sig2=X4EJOuUdHbbyT0KW0NwPaw

Just wipe the tank down with the mix, then wipe it off with another wet cloth or paper towels.

Thank you! I actually have that at home.

I'm just really worried I've essentially done a poor job of cleaning. At least I've been doing something, I suppose. Is the re-infection route fecal to oral? Because as soon as he poops, I wash him off and then take out the pads and everything inside so he has no chance to walk around in it. So I can only hope that reduced the chances of re-infection even more. Today, though, he decided to get his whole body dirty with poop in a matter of seconds, including right on his chin and beard. What the heck?! More stress. I don't think he ate the poop, though. Sigh. I'm so tired.

No, he wouldn't eat the poo, just made a mess to frustrate his mom. It can be fecal to oral, but every dragon will come in contact at some point with it's own poo, as long as your'e taking precautions and cleaning well then the meds. should do their job. How is he doing, and how is his appetite ?

His appetite hasn't changed at all and neither has his behavior, so I feel ok in those areas. I'm just so exhausted from all the cleaning. To think it has done no good is frustrating. I'm at work right now and apparently he pooped again and ran through it...again. All my mom did was change the puppy pad in his tank but he has been sitting and running through his own feces again for who knows how long and I won't be able to clean him for a few more hours. He gets to sit in his own filth. Things like that make me want to give up because I feel he'll just get re-infected no matter how hard I try. Ugh.

And I saw the poop he did while I was at work and there was a worm in it. I'm not sure whether to feel happy because that means the meds are working or to worry about getting worms myself. Lol. It doesn't help that I was reading an article about roundworms and how eggs can be aspirated and swallowed. This is all too stressful.

It sounds like he's doing well, don't stress over what you can't control. And even if he DID continue to have a low count of parasites, many reptiles do, and they are fine.

Don't worry about getting worms yourself now on top of everything ! lol, I read that about roundworms, too because my father has a nice big yard that borders on some woods and I sometimes scoop up raccoon poo from the base of a pine tree near dad's house and coons carry roundworms. I read, too that eggs can go airborn somehow and I was all OCD about it.

We pet owners come in contact with all types of critters that harbor viruses, parasites, etc. Just wash your hands well + use common sense and don't be over-paranoid/stressed which can become a health problem in itself. Aside from pet owners there are vets, Dr.'s, zookeepers, animal trainers, breeders and in general people are not getting sick from caring for animals.