Falkor is starting to wobble

Hello,

That is good news Falkor is enjoying his new light now! I hope it helps him out.
Those distances sound fine, with the screen in between for now. You should start to see a
big difference soon I hope.
The tank looks nice & bright for him, also which he should love.
How is his appetite doing now?
Have fun rearranging his home. LOL

Tracie

Well he’s holding himself up more but still is having some coordination issues, but it’s also only been 2 days.

His appetite is waning a little due to his torso getting ready to shed but he seems more active and alert than he was before and he is able to use his back legs better. He has a bath and used my hand as an extra support for his front half and just closed his eyes... I’m sure the water felt good on his itchy skin. I will definitely keep you updated!!! Thank you for your help and for now, he seems happy with where everything is in his home so I’m going to leave it. The only problem is he’s getting to be too heavy for his tree branches so I won’t have a choice but to change it out for something sturdier ?

Hello,

That is great to hear he is gaining some strength. It does take some
time but hopefully it will be fast. Bless him.
Yeah, shedding really affects their appetites but he will come around.
It is a very good sign with him being more active & using his back legs
more, too.
He is getting too heavy for his little tree branches? LOL Of course, they
don't stay little for long, do they?

Tracie

They really don’t and it’s so sad. I dread the day when I’ll have to use 2 hands to hold him and he won’t be able to perch like he usually does!!!

He’s still wobbling but he seems a little more coordinated. He has a vet appointment on Friday and I’m going to get a fecal done just to rule out other things to be on the safe side.

Hello,

Great to hear Falkor is improving, albeit slowly that is ok! It does take
them awhile to recover.
Is he able to chase food very well or still working towards it?
It wont be too long before you will have to use both hands to hold him.
He is growing! What a sweetie.
Keep us posted on him & how his vet visit goes.

Tracie

He’s not really able to chase food the way he used to. He tries and trips over himself. Today he gave me a serious scare cause he fell off his branch and landed on his back!!! Thank goodness I was there to pick him up and check him over.

He doesn’t seem to have any feeling in his feet too. Is that from lack of uvb and mbd? I do think he’s getting better but every day I feel like I’m noticing other things. If this is how I am with my bearded dragon, I can’t imagine how I’ll be as a mom to a human child ?

I will let you know how his appointment goes on Friday. Hopefully the vet will have news for me and hopefully it’s good!

Hello,

Oh poor Falkor, I hope he didn't hurt himself!
How is he doing this evening? They can certainly stress us, & make us worry ourselves to
death for sure.
You can try pinching the bottom of his feet, gently, to see what type of reaction you may
get from him. Can he walk on them alright? I haven't seen numbness from complications
of metabolic bone disease.
Definitely let us know how the vet visit goes tomorrow.

Tracie

Falkor went to the vet this morning. She was concerned that it was at adnovirus or a spinal injury but he wasn’t showing 100% signs of either. He is on an anti-inflammatory and antibiotics. I do not remember the names of either at the moment but will check when I get home from work. He took his first dissed of both like a champ though so we’re going for the best. She also suggested that I raise the temp a little to help his immune system fight whatever is happening. She did a swab and collected a fecal sample but depending on what happens with hurricane Florence, the results might take a little longer to come back.

My poor little guy. Hopefully he can fight through this and win.

Falkor tested positive for an extremely high quantity of coccidia. He is going to get treated for that. The vet thinks it may be affecting his liver which in turn is affecting other things that alter his neurological system. Basically a domino effect. SIGH. He will be getting those meds as well. Poor guy is gonna be on a cocktail of medications.

Hello,

Well, very high levels of coccidia can definitely cause malabsorption issues which can cause
or lead to other health problems. It is possibly a reason he is having neurological trouble too
if he can't absorb his vitamins/minerals, etc. Too high of levels of worms or coccidia/other
parasites will rob them of nutrition & dehydrate them.
Try to find out the names of all of the medications given & prescribed for him.
How is he doing tonight?
Definitely keep his nighttime temperatures increased for help with his immune system. Also,
since he is going to be on several medications, I highly recommend giving him probiotics, too.

Tracie

He’s on metacam and baytril and will be on something with a p for the coccidia but I’m waiting for it to come in from Arizona (my vet doesn’t hold it on hand since beardies aren’t super popular here). What probiotic should I give him? His coccidia med should be here soon so hopefully we’ll see. When he’s on that treatment his tank is going to get a full disinfecting overhaul (new carpet and new climbing objects) just to make sure we start fresh and give him a good chance to really be clear from any further infections.

Hello,

The vet most likely prescribed Ponazuril for his coccidia, which is fine. It is a very good
anti-coccidial agent.
I would not leave him on the Metacam for long, as it can cause terrible side effects.
You can get some non dairy soy yogurt, or non dairy acidophiliz at the local health food
store, which will help him out while he is on the medication rounds.
How long is he supposed to be on these meds?
I hope he is doing better!

Tracie

Hi,

So, I stopped the other meds for now since hes currently on his anti-coccidia medication and took his first dose today like a little champ (its chicken flavored which makes me feel weird, but he seems to like it so who am i to complain). I ordered new carpet and a new basking perch but am holding out on buying any other climbing things until I feel confident he won't fall and hurt himself while my roommate or I am away at work.

My question is how to disinfect his tank. Since I bought him new objects for the interior, what can I do about the actual tank itself? We have a zoomed wipe out spray which is ammonia based. Will that work to kill the coccidia and anything else in there? I also thought about doing a white vinegar solution but I'm not sure if it is necessary if the other one will work just as well?

I will try to find him some probiotics in the mean time and I am going to call my vet to make sure stopping the other meds is a good idea. He seems to have more feeling in one of his feet, but the other ones not so much.

He did, however, proceed to eat 12 crickets this morning so at least I know his appetite hasn't diminished!!! He seems like a normal happy dragon... he just can't really move around that well.

p.s. i had asked her about stopping the other ones before and i think she said it was fine to once the ponazuril (or whatever it is lol) came in, but now i'm second guessing myself so i'll double check to be on the safe side. there were no instructions for how long to give him the other meds for (i think it was until they were gone). they were such little tiny containers so I can't imagine there's a lot in there.

Hello,

That's great he ate some crickets today. Hopefully the meds aren't bothering him too much.
Does he like the chicken flavor then? LOL A lot of the vets flavor the meds.
The ammonia based cleaners work well to kill coccidia. If you use an ammonia or bleach based
cleaner just be sure that you rinse it all out well before putting anything back into the tank.
You can use a steamer also. The vinegar cleaner is great also, plus, it isn't toxic, either.
I'm glad though that you took him off of the other meds, too much is hard on his system
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie