Coccidia & pinworms I'm torn

Schnitzle has coccidia and pinworms, and im torn about treatment. Her fecal came back + 4 coccidia +3Pinworms. The vet i have been using is not a practicing reptile vet, but did lots of time in florida working with reptiles during college. she said she thought those levels of coccidia and Pinworms were ok, not high, and unless she is showing symptoms, we should forgo treatment. I said ok and went on with life. Decided to try reptaid, and after 2 rounds of ten day doses, fecals came back the same. So I stopped using it. Now schnitzle is pretty active,but she is hardly eating. Her poop smells extremely foul, so i called the vet, and she said that we could treat her if i wanted to. I brought her in today and she gave me albon. Now schnitzle is 215g and she has me giving her .02ml a day for 6 days on, six days off, and then six days on again. Does this dose sound right? Also, I asked about using a probiotic, and she said just use the albon. Didnt sound right to me.

So to sum up my questions are:

1. Should i treat
2. If i should treat, are doses correct
3. Should i be using a probiotic? And if yes is soy yogurt ok to use? and how much?

Thanks for any help in advance

Hello,

Well, those are borderline counts to treat, but since the stools are smelly then I would opt to treat. However, using Albon it is recommended to use a probiotic yes. Has her eating been affected yet?
Do you happen to know the concentration of the Albon? That dose actually may not be quite enough, but it depends on the concentration of it. It should say the mg/ml or percentage on the label. Thanks. I will doublecheck it for you.
The duration of treatment, is probably fine.

Tracie

Gave her first dose at 1pm so no effects yet. Unfortunately there is no concentration on the label. I can call on monday and find out though. Is the soy yogurt ok for a probiotic? should i give it every day, and if so, how much?

Also, if she doesnt poop in her tank do i need to be as thorough at cleaning it daily as i am? Sorry for so many questions. figure i'd getem all in while i was thinking of them.

Hello,

Oh sorry. Yes, non dairy yogurt, more specifically soy yogurt is fine as a probiotic. Just make sure it is non dairy, ok?
Great, let me know the concentration just to make sure she is not getting too much or is getting what she needs.
Well, that is a good question. Since she poops out of her tank, the cleaning wont be as important, no. That helps you out tremendously then with hygiene.
How is she doing today?

Tracie

This morning she ate 4 hornworms, and 4 waxies. then had meds. seems ok. alert active. gonna give bath in an hour. She hates them, but thats where she poops. Will give another one tonight. Alls well so far.

I was wondering, do they give albon to dogs and cats? if so it's probably the concentration she gave me. I've read other post, and her dose seems so small compared to other peoples. Just curious.

Hello,

How are things going today? Yes, the dosage looks really small to me, also, for the weight. The concentration is most likely 5%. However, if you could doublecheck for me, that would be great. It could be stronger though, which is possible. In that case, the dosage would probably be fine where it is. If it is the 5% it isn't quite enough. If it is way more concentrated than that we will recalculate it.
Great that she ate some worms today. Keep her well hydrated also. I hope she is feeling better soon. Keep me posted & let me know the concentration if you can find it out for me. Thanks.

Tracie

Called the vets office this morning and found out she is on vacation this week. The other vet has surgery all day. The tech tried to help, all he could come up with was that she perscribed 25mg albon once a day. Dont know if that helps.

She only ate one med sized horn worm this moning, but weighed her and she is up to 222g. Go figure.

I gave her 1/2 tsp of yogurt yesterday. Hope thats enough.

But all in all she seems to be responding well. Been basking, running around.... Just seems to go to bed about an hour earlier. Dont think thats a problem. But i will keep a close eye on her.

Now at lunch she at 2 butters and half her salad. Also had 1/2 hour bath and pooped. Plus another 1/2 tsp of yogurt.

Hello,

Well, at least she knew the 25mg/kg. It still looks like the dosage is too small. I suppose though it is better than overdosing her with it. It would be nice if they knew the concentration of it though. Thanks for trying though.
That is fine on the soy yogurt, did she like it? You can give it to her daily, for a couple of weeks to help her out with her appetite right now.
Good that she is active & basking even if she is not eating a whole lot. She actually gained some weight huh?
No going to bed a little earlier is normal for this time of year for the most part. Just keep an eye on her.


Tracie

Thanks, I appreciate the help!

Hello,

You are welcome, let me know how things are going!


Tracie

Well yesterday appetite was poor, two smaller(2") horn worms, and a little salad. Still 222g as of this morning. Only 1 hornworm this morning.
On a side note, I got my mega ray, and set it up in the viv. She doesnt seem like a fan of it though. before with my regular bulb and the reptisun 10 she would bask. Now she doesnt go near that side of the viv. Thinkin I'll take it out for a few weeks till the meds are over.

Got another question. Will albon rid her of pin worms or do i have to put her on panacur. Think thats the medicine i see perscribed to people on this site. Does that med affect her like the albon?

Thanks
Mike

After i typed this, she sat under the mvb for an hour, ate 2 more hornworms, then had a bath for a half hour. Now is basking again. so hopefully is coming around to the mvb

Hello Mike,

Well, hopefully she will decide that she likes the Megaray. They are so much stronger than the other lights that sometimes it takes them a bit to get used to them if they are used to the weaker bulbs.
You will need Panacur for pinworms, the Albon wont do anything for the pinworms.
Great she ate some worms today also.
No, the Panacur doesn't affect the appetite in the same way the Albon does. It is not nearly as harsh as the Albon is.
Once you get the coccidia levels down, the pinworms levels should come down, also.

Tracie

Mike
I wish you had told me that you tried the Reptaid for 2 10 day treatments and the parasite levels were still up. I would have encouraged you to continue with the Reptaid as it will work if given long enough. The coccidia are especially tough to kill, for any medecine or herb. And we have had chameleons who did not respond to Albon or TMS after literally months of treatment. Instead of killing the parasites, it just weakens the immune system of the animal and they lose their appetite. Then they are subject to infections and whatever. The longer they stay on albon the worse they get. And when you are done with the albon and think that the coccidia is all gone, then you will have to treat with panacur for the pinworms. In the mean time, the pinworm numbers may go way up because the immune system is repressed by the albon.
Reptaid does not repress the immune system. It boosts it. So while you are treating for coccidia and pinworms the animal is feeling better, eating better and etc. So you can just keep treating with the Reptaid for as long as it takes to whip the parasites without the definite harmful effects of the standard drugs. You should definitely be using a probiotic since you have had him on Albon. And continue with it long after the Albon is done.
Of course you've already made up your mind, but I would ask you to reconsider your course of treatment. For your dragon's sake

Eliott, thanks for the concern, but it just wasnt working for me. Like I said, she had 2 ten day doses with no improvement. The reason I decided to treat was A) the foul smell from her BM B) The lack of appetite. I know it is supposed to help thier appetite, but just didnt work for me. Tomorow, we go to the vet, have a facel done, and start the second round of albon. She has responded very well considering. She is up to 250 grams this morning, and eating like a champ(Damn hornworms. expensive!). Also stools arent as foul. Dont get me wrong, they dont smell good, just dont make the tiles fall off the wall next to the sink. Never thought I'd be talking about stools after my kids got bigger! lol

Tracie,
I started the second round of albon today at the .02 dose. Am leaving in an hour to go back to the vet. She wanted to do a fecal and just give her a once over. Said wouldnt be charged! I think she just misses working with reptiles, and likes having schnitzle around. Any ways I'll get the concentration from her on the albon, so if your around, I'd appreciate you double checking the dosage.

Also did you see my previous post? shes up to 250g. Makes me happy, thats shes (I think, but starting to wonder) doing so well.