ADV+ Beardie with parasites, please help!

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Hi all,

Thank you in advance for reading—I’m getting desperate. I have a juvenile bearded dragon that is approximately 9 months old—his name is Dobby. I got Dobby at a reptile Expo back in November after a heartbreaking experience losing a baby I adopted that ended up passing away from Atadenovirus (all new tools, tank, accessories, etc).

Dobby came to me at 3ish months in November eating and growing like a champ. He grew incredibly quickly, and was really active and thriving. Fast forward to about a month or so ago: little guy started spending most of his time in his hide, only to be coaxed out by food. Quickly, his appetite began to lessen, and then he went off food completely (even waxworms :O).

A vet trip to my fav herp vet and a fecal sample discovered high levels of parasites—coccidia, pin worms, and some sort of amoeba? He got two does of ponazuril spaced 48 hours apart (11 and 9 days ago) and is due for a follow up fecal in 3 days. All the while, he completely refuses food. At the time of the fecal, paranoid me also requested an ADV test, which came back positive :(

Despite nearly 4 weeks of next to no eating, Dobby only lost 10 grams (down from 268g), which the doc said is good news. Doc also said that he has more fight and energy than most beardies that succumb to active ADV, so he’s hoping that the lack of appetite is due to the parasites (which is treatable), and not active ADV (not treatable). Doc said that while he could stand to gain a bit more weight, he’s generally pretty healthy (blood tests showed normal calcium, liver, kidney, white blood cell count, no anemia). Other than the panacur, doc prescribed trips outside for UVB (which Dobby HATES), and assist-feeding with Carnivore care (which both Dobby and mommy hate). He did seem to gain some energy after the Panacur, coming out of the hide for hours at a time, but he’s still lazier than his younger self. I’m currently assist-feeding daily and orally giving Acidophiliz in case the parasite treatment is informing his lack of appetite.

I guess my question is: is there anything more that I can be doing?? Does anyone have any experience with this? I feel like the assist-feeding is incredibly stressful for him, even though I try to do it gently. I think I’m beginning to notice him fearing me when I come to the cage :( I’m starting to feel like it may be doing more harm than good in terms of stress, but also want him to have energy to fight off whatever is going on with him, which he can’t have without food! Also feeling a bit doomed because of the ADV diagnosis, but also he’s so much healthier than my tiny little guy that passed to ADV last year. Any advice? Tips? Miracle cures? (A girl can dream ?).

Oh! And set-up!: 40 gallon (36x18x18) with Repticarpet (recently switched out with paper towel to help with sanitation). Banking temp-105, cool side-85, hot side not directly under spot lamp-92 to 98. Temps taken with infrared gun. Exo-Terra Intense Basking Spot Lamp (100W) for basking, Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO Lamp and bulb (2 months old) for UVB.
 

DobbysMomma

Member
Original Poster
Hi all,

Thank you in advance for reading—I’m getting desperate. I have a juvenile bearded dragon that is approximately 9 months old—his name is Dobby. I got Dobby at a reptile Expo back in November after a heartbreaking experience losing a baby I adopted that ended up passing away from Atadenovirus (all new tools, tank, accessories, etc).

Dobby came to me at 3ish months in November eating and growing like a champ. He grew incredibly quickly, and was really active and thriving. Fast forward to about a month or so ago: little guy started spending most of his time in his hide, only to be coaxed out by food. Quickly, his appetite began to lessen, and then he went off food completely (even waxworms :O).

A vet trip to my fav herp vet and a fecal sample discovered high levels of parasites—coccidia, pin worms, and some sort of amoeba? He got two does of panacur spaced 48 hours apart (11 and 9 days ago) and is due for a follow up fecal in 3 days. All the while, he completely refuses food. At the time of the fecal, paranoid me also requested an ADV test, which came back positive :(

Despite nearly 4 weeks of next to no eating, Dobby only lost 10 grams (down from 268g), which the doc said is good news. Doc also said that he has more fight and energy than most beardies that succumb to active ADV, so he’s hoping that the lack of appetite is due to the parasites (which is treatable), and not active ADV (not treatable). Doc said that while he could stand to gain a bit more weight, he’s generally pretty healthy (blood tests showed normal calcium, liver, kidney, white blood cell count, no anemia). Other than the panacur, doc prescribed trips outside for UVB (which Dobby HATES), and assist-feeding with Carnivore care (which both Dobby and mommy hate). He did seem to gain some energy after the Panacur, coming out of the hide for hours at a time, but he’s still lazier than his younger self. I’m currently assist-feeding daily and orally giving Acidophiliz in case the parasite treatment is informing his lack of appetite.

I guess my question is: is there anything more that I can be doing?? Does anyone have any experience with this? I feel like the assist-feeding is incredibly stressful for him, even though I try to do it gently. I think noticing him fearing me coming to the cage :( I’m starting to feel like it may be doing more harm than good in terms of stress, but also want him to have energy to fight off whatever is going on with him, which he can’t have without food! Also feeling a bit doomed because of the ADV diagnosis, but also he’s so much healthier than my tiny little guy that passed to ADV last year. Any advice? Tips? Miracle cures? (A girl can dream ?).
 

rjaimz1

Member
I am so sorry to hear this. My heart goes out to you and your little one. The vet seems to be covering all the bases. I do have a question. Do you know how the little one developed this? It is highly contagious and can be spread quite easily by several different avenues. I again am sorry you both are going thru this.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
It sounds like you're doing everything you can and you have a good vet. Hopefully the parasite meds will do the trick. Just keep everything very well cleaned and sanitized to help prevent re-infection. As far as the feeding goes, that's a tough call. If he isn't dropping a lot of weight then it might be best to hold off and save him the stress. Let his appetite come back on it's own and try just hand feeding his regular food. If he is losing weight and very low energy then the force feeding might be more necessary to keep him going. Hopefully once the parasite issue is out of the way then the ADV will be manageable.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Sorry Dobby is having so many issues right now. Adeno is horrible & does cause a myriad of
problems for them.
Which UVB lighting are you using & what type of supplementation does he take? Can you post
a picture of him along with your tank setup for us? The primary thing is to keep their stress
levels low when they have Adeno.
I have been working towards a cure & while I can't claim a cure, I can say that I have had some
success in clearing our two out. It isn't a perfect science, but if it helps even a fraction of the
dragons, then it is worth it to me. I never want to get hopes up but if you would like to discuss
treatment possibilities, you can PM me here on the board.
Can you post a picture of the label of the Carnivore Care for me, I want to see the ingredients.
Thanks.
I hope he is feeling better soon.

Tracie
 

DobbysMomma

Member
Original Poster
rjaimz1—Thank you so much for your kind words. In regard to your question: we’re not quite sure how he acquired ADV. The vets guess is that he’s had it since I’ve had him, and he acquired it from the breeder. The vet said he’s seen such an increase in ADV recently, even in breeder collections :(

CooperDragon—Thank you so much! I think I’m going to cut back on the assist-feeding once I get a fecal sample to test.

Drache613—Thank you so much for your reply. I definitely want any/all recommendations on how to get Dobby through this. Thank you for all your tireless work on curing adeno. It’s such a horrible virus :( As far as UVB, he has a 2 month old ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 T5. He gets Herptivite Multivitamin 1x week, and ZooMed Calcium without D3 5x week.

Dobby in the bath a few days ago:
full


Dobby on his favorite branch today:

full


full


Here’s a picture of his set-up; it’s fairly basic due to the parasites and frequent cleanings. He’s on paper towels for now:

full



Carnivore Care:

full


full
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

It has been a long road, trying to get a treatment done that is effective.
Most of the breeders do not test & they will breed the positives without any thoughts of
repercussions at all. Unfortunately, they are the ones most responsible for the outbreaks
in the US.
I agree, sometimes, their natural appetites will begin to come back once you cut back on the
assisted feedings. The T5 Reptisun is terrific, so he should be getting adequate UVB lighting,
also. I am glad to see you are not using D3, that would be too much with the T5 light.
He looks good, overall & happy too. When are getting the fecal done?
Can you double check the Carnivore Care to be sure that there aren't any soy or corn by products
in it, because those are usually modified genetically which can be impossible for the body to
break down.


Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

DobbysMomma

Member
Original Poster
Tracie,

Thanks again for your reply!! It makes me so angry to know that breeders just breed and breed positives without considering the repercussions. I actually have the business card from the breeder I got Dobby from; my fiancé thinks I should reach out via email but I’m honestly too angry.

In terms of the Carnivore Care, it doesn’t look like it has any corn or soy in it. His official timeline for the follow-up fecal (2 weeks from parasite treatment) placed his next test on Thursday, but he hasn’t gone to the bathroom despite assist-feeding on the higher end of the amount spectrum, and baths/belly rubs. I’m worried he’ll end up going tomorrow when the clinic is closed for Memorial Day :(

He seems to bounce back and forth with his general behavior and activity levels. One day (like yesterday) he seems to be his active and happy self, and the next (like today) he only comes out of his hide for an hour or two in the morning and then he retreats back to his hide all day, and is only active when he tries to run away from mommy during assist-feeding/probiotic time.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

How is Dobby doing today?
Yes, unfortunately, the breeders are not all that concerned with spreading it. It is extremely
disappointing that they have that type of attitude towards trying to contain & stop it.
Keep us posted on how he is doing.

Tracie
 

DobbysMomma

Member
Original Poster
AHBD—I just looked back at the label, and it looks like he was dosed with ponazuril and not panacur (I must have gotten mixed up with my old beardie’s meds). So, it looks like he wasn’t treated for the pinworms at all, but was for coccidia? Thanks for mentioning this; it prompted me to look into it!!

Tracie—I dropped off a fecal yesterday and just got off the phone with my vet. Sample came back negative for coccidia (yay!!) and the original amoeba, but still high for pinworms. Going to get oral meds in a bit. Dobby’s been a bit sluggish since yesterday, and just wants to sleep in his hide. I’m going to hold off on the assist-feeding for a bit to see if his stress levels go down and his appetite returns naturally. Anything else I should be doing?
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Oh good, Ponazuril + toltrazuril are the same thing. Glad to hear that he's clear of coccidia ! :)
 
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