Protozoas?

Ok. Home from the vet, and she did another treatment of Flagyl. She tested this morning's sample and stated that the Protozoas were "scant", that there had been about 30-40 in the sample 13 days ago & now she saw about 5. She lost about 7 grams since last visit, but she didn't think it was a significant loss, especially since she's been eating well. She thinks the mushy poop yesterday was probably the Protozoas trying to re-establish, and this treatment should be it. She said to keep an eye on it for the next 10-14 days, and if it happens again, she will send a third treatment home with me. I have to say, I prefer her to the main vet, and I think I'll stick to her from now on. What a relief to have a good reptile vet!

I wish that the Protozoas had been completely obliterated (I don't like anything that makes my little baby dragon sick ) ...
But I'm SO relieved to hear it from the vet that she's doing better! :love5:

That's great news! I'm glad you like this vet as well. I'd keep going with the treatment until they are completely wiped out because they can re-establish quickly. That's the reason for keeping everything super sanitized as well. It's very easy for them to become re-infected if not careful.

Yes, I was really worried about seeing the "new" vet again, but it wound up being for the best! I don't mind going there now! There isn't another reptile vet anywhere near by. I travel about 30-40 minutes to get to that office, but I know people from the Baton Rouge area that drive down to the vet's office, such as babyheartthrob, who is in Baker, because there aren't any other options.

I'm going to monitor her poop (doesn't that sound exciting? :lol: ) and if there's another bout of mush, then I'll have to go get a 3rd dose. The vet said she would just send it home with me, rather than make Smauggie come back in. I just wish I knew how she got them in the first place. I clean her tank as soon as she poops, unless she poops after I leave for work, in which case it sits in her tank until about 3:30 when my son gets home. And she typically poops on the tray or in the water bowl itself, so it's pretty contained. I'm wondering if maybe a loose roach got into the poop, and then she later ate the roach?

Hello,

That is great news everything is going so much better now!
How is her appetite doing? Well, a 30-40 minute drive isn't bad at all. It's worth it if you like or trust the vet because it's so hard to find a good one these days.
There is no telling how she got this issue, but it is fairly common. She could have drank some dirty water or like you suggested, a feeder who had run through the mess, but it happens! It sounds like she is doing wonderfully now.

Tracie

She's eating quite well ... Except that she's on veggie/fruit strike again. :roll: Every now and then, she just refuses to eat them. But I bought Phoenix worms at Repticon in Baton Rouge last weekend, and those are her favorites, so she's been gobbling them up. :lol:

(Also posted this on her thread, but wanted to update here, as well.)

Smauggie was doing ok after the 2nd treatment, but then she had mushy poop again on Saturday, so I went to the vet's office after work yesterday and picked up a 3rd dose, which I gave to her this morn. She was not happy and fought me to take it but I managed to get it in her. Prior to giving her the med, she ate very few dubias. I gave her greens (kale and mustard) and squash and zucchini, but she wasn't interested in any of it (at least, up until the time I left for work). Hoping she ate after I left.

That's too bad, and it seemed like it was working....or it was but didn't quite offer the knock-out punch. So they are certain that just with a symptom of mushy poo that there are still protozoa ? Because other things can cause soft poos. Don't worry too much about lack of appetite, she's actually overweight and losing some would be helpful.....about 500 grams is good for a 19" dragon. Of course you don't want her to lose it from being sick, a little reduction in food is fine though.

But hopefully she'l get through this and be rid of the protozoas,with no lasting ill effects from them or the treatment.

They didn't actually check the sample this time, but they did the two previous times and there was some protozoa left, but no where near as many as it had been, so it was significantly better than where she started.

I didn't realize that she was overweight until I did some research online. :shock: It didn't seem like she ate very much. I only offer dubias in the morning and then veggies after, which she may or may not eat, depending on her mood. :roll: Due to our schedules, we had to stop offering her a second "portion" of dubias a year ago because no one's home at noon. Maybe we need to get her into beardie aerobics ... Or yoga? :lol: The other day, she was on my son's bed with me and our 3 cats, and she kept crawling back and forth over me to get to each cat, which caused them to jump off the bed and leave the room altogether. It's like she meant to scare them off "her" bed. :whip: That was a little exercise ... But mostly for the cats. :lol:

Oh, I think I read somewhere that cat chasing actually ranks as one of the best calorie burners and is the newest trend in big beardie body building + fitness magazine. :lol:

:lol: I'm sure the cats are happy to hear that they're helping their youngest sister out.

Hello,

At least though her samples have reduced amounts in them & the meds have helped out.
I am sure if she loses a little weight & eats more greens, she will feel better & probably become even more active. I am glad she is running off the cats! LOL
You could build a jungle gym for her so she could do some pullups.

Tracie

Lol! Someone has to keep those cats in line!

She did eat a few roaches this morning, but not her veggies/greens. As long as she's eating something, that's fine with me. I didn't realize just how pesky these parasites can be.

Tonight: wrestling with cats.
Sami is our most easygoing cat. She didn't move, or fuss, or run off. I just picked Smauggie off of her, and Sami went back to napping.
Eric is like, "The dragon wins!"

Hello,

That's a great picture! It's a good thing Sami your cat is SO easy going, most of them are not.
I hope everything is going well with Smauggie.

Tracie