Pinworms and Coccidia- Advice for a newbie please?

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Hello- I just joined recently, and yesterday found out my beardie has pinworms and coccidia :(

before I talk about the parasites, here's his basic background, setup and diet, which I assume you will want, if you have answers to my questions about this (but if you dont, scroll to the bottom for just questions) :

Background: His name is flapjack-Juvenile bearded dragon, around 6 months old, around 64 grams (as of 6 days ago, before he pooped). Purchased in Oct from pet store.

Setup: 120 gallon Zen Habitats Terrarium, PVC textured Zen Habitats mat, stacked rocks, cloth hammock, grapevine wood and half logs, small water dish, and most importantly a basking and uvb bulb.

Diet (from Oct to now): crickets to start out with, but recently its been all dubia roaches, want to mix that up- hes also had hornworms, waxworms, superworms, phoenix worms. i try to give him veggies and he has little to no interest- i still provide them. he also has plenty of calcium with d3.


So, onto the important part:

I wanted to start a bioactive setup for him and i contacted a local expert about it. she said to see if he has parasites before i do that, because parasites are basically impossible to get out of enclosures like that.

I took him in for a checkup at the vet.
Everything was good externally- the vet said that he looked healthy, had bright eyes and such... he would NOT produce a fecal at the vet, so I had to bring one in a few days later.
His appointment was on Jan 11th, and the fecal I brought in yesterday, the 15th.
I got a call last night saying he had coccidia and pinworms.
he was prescribed three doses of (ponazuril? does that sound right?)- one for today ( the 16th) one 24 hours later, and one a week later.

He got his first dosage today by mouth. I also gave him some acidophilus i picked up at the store in plain apple sauce. The pills are 5mg each, so the first time I gave it to him i used the whole pill in 1/4 cup of applesauce and gave him a very small syringe of it, NOT nearly enough to do anything- later i realized it was probably completely ineffective, so i later gave him about 1/3 of the pill in a teaspoon and he probably had about 3/4 of that. I may have over done it on the acidophilus, (although you cant overdose on good bacteria).

For cleaning, I took his water bowl, fake plants, and even tongs and tweezers I have around him, and some other stuff, and I have it all soaking in the sink with a bleach and water mixture. tomorrow I am going to take everything out and rinse it thoroughly with hot water. I ordered a ten gallon for him to be in while I deep clean the 120- i"ll be keeping the 10 gallon as sterile as possible for him. Currently he just has his hammock, a hide, a stick and water until the 10 gallon arrives.

As far as other pets- I have a ball python in the same room and I will be taking him in for a fecal as well.

Today: He didnt eat today which is VERY abnormal for him. Absolute no interest in his favorite: dubia. Very worrysome...

Questions:

When giving him acidophilus, should I do it at night time and keep him at warmer-than-usual night temps?

For a juvenile dragon that weighs around 64 grams, how many mg of acidophilis in how much apple sauce?

How long should I continue to give him the acidophilus after the antibiotic is done?

How long before he stops eating should I begin to "force" feed?

Does anybody have a good "recipe" for a paste,mash,slurry, whatever you call it for a bearded dragon fighting parasites and not eating?

Should I be worried? Please help me be less stressed!!! :oops:


Thank you for your time!
 

MiniPancake

Member
Original Poster
MiniPancake":43z1bp0a said:
Hello- I just joined recently, and yesterday found out my beardie has pinworms and coccidia :(

before I talk about the parasites, here's his basic background, setup and diet, which I assume you will want, if you have answers to my questions about this (but if you dont, scroll to the bottom for just questions) :

Background: His name is flapjack-Juvenile bearded dragon, around 6 months old, around 64 grams (as of 6 days ago, before he pooped). Purchased in Oct from pet store.

Setup: 120 gallon Zen Habitats Terrarium, PVC textured Zen Habitats mat, stacked rocks, cloth hammock, grapevine wood and half logs, small water dish, and most importantly a basking and uvb bulb.

Diet (from Oct to now): crickets to start out with, but recently its been all dubia roaches, want to mix that up- hes also had hornworms, waxworms, superworms, phoenix worms. i try to give him veggies and he has little to no interest- i still provide them. he also has plenty of calcium with d3.


So, onto the important part:

I wanted to start a bioactive setup for him and i contacted a local expert about it. she said to see if he has parasites before i do that, because parasites are basically impossible to get out of enclosures like that.

I took him in for a checkup at the vet.
Everything was good externally- the vet said that he looked healthy, had bright eyes and such... he would NOT produce a fecal at the vet, so I had to bring one in a few days later.
His appointment was on Jan 11th, and the fecal I brought in yesterday, the 15th.
I got a call last night saying he had coccidia and pinworms.
he was prescribed three doses of (ponazuril? does that sound right?)- one for today ( the 16th) one 24 hours later, and one a week later.

He got his first dosage today by mouth. I also gave him some acidophilus i picked up at the store in plain apple sauce. The pills are 5mg each, so the first time I gave it to him i used the whole pill in 1/4 cup of applesauce and gave him a very small syringe of it, NOT nearly enough to do anything- later i realized it was probably completely ineffective, so i later gave him about 1/3 of the pill in a teaspoon and he probably had about 3/4 of that. I may have over done it on the acidophilus, (although you cant overdose on good bacteria).

For cleaning, I took his water bowl, fake plants, and even tongs and tweezers I have around him, and some other stuff, and I have it all soaking in the sink with a bleach and water mixture. tomorrow I am going to take everything out and rinse it thoroughly with hot water. I ordered a ten gallon for him to be in while I deep clean the 120- i"ll be keeping the 10 gallon as sterile as possible for him. Currently he just has his hammock, a hide, a stick and water until the 10 gallon arrives.

As far as other pets- I have a ball python in the same room and I will be taking him in for a fecal as well.

Today: He didnt eat today which is VERY abnormal for him. Absolute no interest in his favorite: dubia. Very worrysome...

Questions:

When giving him acidophilus, should I do it at night time and keep him at warmer-than-usual night temps?

For a juvenile dragon that weighs around 64 grams, how many mg of acidophilis in how much apple sauce?

How long should I continue to give him the acidophilus after the antibiotic is done?

How long before he stops eating should I begin to "force" feed?

Does anybody have a good "recipe" for a paste,mash,slurry, whatever you call it for a bearded dragon fighting parasites and not eating?

Should I be worried? Please help me be less stressed!!! :oops:


Thank you for your time!
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
These are somewhat common and the Ponazuril should be pretty effective against them. You’re taking the correct steps, but instead of bleach use ammonia and water to kill coccidia. That and/or a steam cleaner because high heat should take care of them too.

I would offer acidophilus at meal time bit I don’t know the exact dosage. Probably not much. Do keep offering the applesauce if he likes it. Also offer drops of water for him to lick up if he wants. The extra hydration may be helpful. Don’t worry too much about force feeding at this point. Give him time to get over the meds and keep close eye on his weight. If his weight starts dropping significangly percentage wise then try some baby food (green bean, sweet potato, and squash have worked well for me in the past). Keep up with the acidophilus for maybe a week or two after the meds are done and have a recheck fecal test done at your bets recommendation, usually a couple of weeks after the meds are done.
 

MiniPancake

Member
Original Poster
Thank you so much! He ate some roaches this morning so i am very happy about that. I'll keep up on the acidophilus and monitor his weight if he stops eating again.
 

DorgEndo

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Devlyn
You can get probiotics made for small animals. Example is Bene-bac for Avians and Reptiles, it has acidophilus. It is powdered so easy to mix into any slurry. I've dusted bugs in the Bene-bac which worked well enough and sprinkled onto vegetables. Daily dose max is 1/4 of a level teaspoon of powder for animals between 30 grams to 250 grams. 1/4 teaspoon is approximately 1cc, the powder comes with a 1cc measuring spoon. Other animal sizes are on the packaging.

I would be worried about a Beardie being able to break down a tablet. Bene-bac also sells premeasured gel syringes if your beardie will drink from the end of a syringe. You would have to ask your vet about what happens with the tablet, I really do not think you should give human medicine to any animal without the vet's guidance

When I helped my girl with her pinworms I did as clean a set up as I could. Paper towels for the floor changed daily. F-9 cleaner, I bought it at pet store, scrub the floors and walls every day. Twice a week I sterilized all wood in the oven. 250°F for an hour, turned off oven then left inside for another hour. Then cooked for 4 hours at room temp. It was a lot of work but not really. I decided to not get a 2nd temp enclosure, you do you. This cleaning effort went on about a month, my girl needed two separate treatments for pinworms back to back because of how high her infection was when I got her.
 

DorgEndo

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Devlyn
As far eating versus force feeding. You should ask your vet. My vet advised watching weight loss. A digital kitchen scale that measures in grams is useful for keeping track. Not eating might not have any measurable effect on her weight. My girl getting treated for pinworms was terrible at eating. Her weight held and also she did lose some weight. It was never enough weight to justify force feeding, not even close. Getting numbers from weight will help you and your vet decide if there is concern from the amount she eats or is not eating
 
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