Hey beardie friends, thanks for taking the time to read through this. Scooter is about a year and a half. I rescued him off Craigslist back in February, and he has sprouted like a bean - grew a bunch. For the past several weeks, his poops have been RANK. Like, smelling up the whole house almost! Poop was also very runny. However, he seemed to be completely fine, appetite and sleeping just fine. About two weeks ago, he just wanted to be in his little cave without the lights on for two days. The first day, I thought hey maybe he wants a "down day". After he stayed in his cave all day again for a second day, I took him to the vet immediately.
Physical exam went great, vet & techs commented a few times on how healthy he seemed. I urged them to check the stool & brought a sample in. Sure enough, he had a TON of coccidia. I was given gutomine to give to him daily as well as ponazuril to give (two doses, wait two weeks, two more doses). He did fine for a day or two after that, but quickly started hiding in his cave again. He would be up for about half a day, and then poop out completely at around 11am-12noon and hide/ sleep for the rest of the day. Not sleeping, but laying there with his eyes closed.
I called the vet back and told him about the behavior, and they told me to bring him back in. They re-checked fecal, and the coccidia is completely gone (yay, but still finishing his doses) and nothing else is showing up. I talked with the vet a bit and we agreed that he just really doesn't feel good - perhaps tired from all the straining from the poop, perhaps dehydrated from the parasites, etc. They were able to give him some fluids and Vitamin D I believe? They said he may be lethargic but that he would start to come around. This was last Thursday. Since coming home, he was fine for about 2-3 days and then after... he just started "giving up'' at about half the day and going to bed, hiding in his cave and scratching etc. until I turned his lights off.
This morning is the third day in a row of him hiding. However, today, instead of waiting until about mid day, he isn't even wanting to be in the lights or anything. He is in a big blankie on my bed just enjoying the dark and chill. He is still active and has an appetite, I was able to feed him a bunch of crickets yesterday, even had some kale and other veg. I have made sure that his bulbs aren't burnt out or potentially too hot/ have ruled out lighting.
I think I am going to call the vet again when they open this morning but I'm not sure what else they can do. Should I ask for a blood test? Should I try and hydrate him with water via dropper? Baths? He has been a champ through ALL of this, takes his meds and is a very good boy. How can I help him feel better? Any suggestions are WELCOME.
tldr; Beardie in recovery from parasite, but sleeping lots. Been to vet twice.
Thanks for everything!
Physical exam went great, vet & techs commented a few times on how healthy he seemed. I urged them to check the stool & brought a sample in. Sure enough, he had a TON of coccidia. I was given gutomine to give to him daily as well as ponazuril to give (two doses, wait two weeks, two more doses). He did fine for a day or two after that, but quickly started hiding in his cave again. He would be up for about half a day, and then poop out completely at around 11am-12noon and hide/ sleep for the rest of the day. Not sleeping, but laying there with his eyes closed.
I called the vet back and told him about the behavior, and they told me to bring him back in. They re-checked fecal, and the coccidia is completely gone (yay, but still finishing his doses) and nothing else is showing up. I talked with the vet a bit and we agreed that he just really doesn't feel good - perhaps tired from all the straining from the poop, perhaps dehydrated from the parasites, etc. They were able to give him some fluids and Vitamin D I believe? They said he may be lethargic but that he would start to come around. This was last Thursday. Since coming home, he was fine for about 2-3 days and then after... he just started "giving up'' at about half the day and going to bed, hiding in his cave and scratching etc. until I turned his lights off.
This morning is the third day in a row of him hiding. However, today, instead of waiting until about mid day, he isn't even wanting to be in the lights or anything. He is in a big blankie on my bed just enjoying the dark and chill. He is still active and has an appetite, I was able to feed him a bunch of crickets yesterday, even had some kale and other veg. I have made sure that his bulbs aren't burnt out or potentially too hot/ have ruled out lighting.
I think I am going to call the vet again when they open this morning but I'm not sure what else they can do. Should I ask for a blood test? Should I try and hydrate him with water via dropper? Baths? He has been a champ through ALL of this, takes his meds and is a very good boy. How can I help him feel better? Any suggestions are WELCOME.
tldr; Beardie in recovery from parasite, but sleeping lots. Been to vet twice.
Thanks for everything!