little worm in crickets?

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HI everyone....well recently my beardie has stopped eating again and today I saw something that looked like a tiny tiny little worm in his cricket keeper and now I am worried that it was a pinworm from the crickets and now he has pinworms. Could it of been a baby cricket or something else? And if so, is there anything I can buy online to make him better? I have taken him to the vet over 5 times this month because he has been so sick lately, and I simply cannot afford to take him to the vet again so if there are any home remedies or anything I can buy online to help him if he has parasites or worms I would prefer to do that. I am extremely concerned about my beardie, he is my little baby, and I will be devastated if anything happens to him, so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know, I will really appreciate it!!! Thanks!!!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there....was this tiny worm dark or light ? There are tiny dark, hairy caterpillars that get shipped with crix sometimes, they are the larva of the dermestid beetle. If you Google it , you'll see so you can rule it out. Also Google pinworm pics. As for the 5 trips to the vet, what are your baby's symptoms ? How big is he ? Can you post a pic, also of the set up ? What type and brand of lights , also what substrate [ flooring ] do you have ? Was he eating well before, how long have you had him and how is he drinking ? If you have that info in another thread let me know.
 

BeardieMommy85

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Thanks so much for responding! My baby is 7 months old and he started getting sick back in September with parasites. He got on the medication Flagyl and it helped him right away. At that time the vet thought my beardie was stressed because I moved him into a bigger tank. Then he got parasites again and yet again got put on Flagyl which helped again. I went to petsmart and I should have known better but the lady there told me I could start feeding my beardie large crickets which weren't even full grown so I didn't think it would be a problem but he kept getting constipated so I switched back to the smaller crickets. Now, not only will my beardie not poop on his own anymore unless forced by going into a warm soak, but he stopped eating. I figured he stopped eating because he was constipated again but he went poop yesterday and still ate nothing today. His basking spot ranges from 95-100 degrees and I have a Repti Sun 10.0 tube. I have tile for the substrate. He is a bit smaller than I think he should be, but I did recently take him to the vet and she said he was fine. I am so overwhelmed by this and heartbroken to see him suffer like this. I can't get a fecal done because he hasn't pooped today and when he pooped yesterday it was in the bath and I didn't think you could get poop out from the water and taking it in. I just am having so many problems with the little guy and I wish I knew why. :(
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Is he acting + looking lethargic, laying around with no energy, or just not eating ? And can you estimate his size....longer than a pencil, if so by how much ? He may just have no appetite at the moment because of having been impacted. If you can, get him some Phoenix worms or waxworms, that might spark his interest. Then you can still try the crickets as well. He may get his appetite back soon, but one thing you want to be careful of is giving meds. for too many days/weeks. It can wipe out the good bacteria in his tummy and he may need a probiotic like Benebac, Acidophiliz+ or soy yogurt. Another trick that might get him to eat is to smash the cricket and then rub it lightly on his nose, that works very well for some beardies. Oh, and I meant to say in my first post that IF the little worm you saw was the Dermestid beetle larva, those are put in the cricket boxes because they eat the sheddings from the crickets, and they are harmless.
 

BeardieMommy85

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He is probably the size of a pencil right now or maybe a bit smaller. He is acting a little bit tired....He used to bask in his hammock a lot and now he just lays under it like he is trying to hide. And thank you for your reassurance on that little bug I saw in the cricket keeper..hopefully that's all it was! I just started giving him the Acidophiliz today in the afternoon so hopefully that will help. Thank you again so much for responding! In the meantime, should I give him baby food so he doesn't starve to death? I'll try buying some waxworms, but if that doesn't work, what do you think the next step should be? Thank you so much again for responding and helping me! I really appreciate it!! :)
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Yes, baby food is a good idea, try the stage 1 turkey, green bean or squash [ no sugar ]. Remember to try the smashed cricket as well. If the only ones you have are large, cut the head + legs off and just give the abdomen.
 
There is also a website that you can purchase fecale test do it yourself kits, and the medication the lady whom runs the site is names Cheryl she is a real nice cool lady , the website is www.beardeddragon.co, her e-mail is on there , shoot her a email or her number is also on the site :) I hope this helps
 
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