Coccidia and Pinworms in Fecal Sample

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The vet just called to say that my bearded dragon's fecal came back with coccidia and pinworms. My husband is running to the vet to get the medicaiton. I read the care sheet on this problem. My main questions are: do I have to clean his cage really well and how many times until this is cleared up and also do I really need to give him the acidophilz. The vet said there was no need. Thanks again.

Jennifer
 

Menolly

Juvie Member
You want to disinfect the cage really well and anything else in there. Like the basking log or any rocks. You can bake the logs for about a half an hour at 250 degrees to get rid of any bacteria. You really want to disinfect any time he goes to the bathroom. So I would suggest trying to just him to go to the bathroom by using a bath. Then you can just flush it away and just disinfect the tub. The extra baths would be good to help keep your beardie hydrated while on the meds.
Mel
 

momtothreeboys

Member
Original Poster
What is the best stuff to use to disinfect the cage? Do I have to use bleach? Can I just use antibacterial soap? I also was going to change out the rabbit pellets. Can I just buy regular shelf liner for the bottom of the cage?
Thanks!

Jennifer
 

Menolly

Juvie Member
hey,
I got this off of a different thread about disinfecting.
ammonia from what i researched way back when Tiny had coccidia was the only thing other than steam that would kill it. The vet also said this. I use lysol kitchen cleaner which has some ammonia and then i use the steamer to rinse down or really hot water when i didnt have the steamer..
ammonia is toxic to inhale so be careful using it if you are doing an ammonia water mix. and also make sure you rince the cage very well.

Here is the thread I got it from. http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=42536&view=previous.
It might be a good idea to PM Drache613 or Vickson420 just to double check.

Here is a good article on the website that might help you out some http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/parasitecare/.

momtothreeboys":b20f2 said:
What is the best stuff to use to disinfect the cage? Do I have to use bleach? Can I just use antibacterial soap? I also was going to change out the rabbit pellets. Can I just buy regular shelf liner for the bottom of the cage?
Thanks!
Are you using rabbit pellets as substrate for your cage? But an answer to your question, you can simply using paper towels to line the bottom of the cage. It's simple and cheap.
Mel
 

KairaandTaz08

Juvie Member
May I ask what his coccidia "count" was? I'd be very careful when treating them for coccidia...the medicine (I'm assuming it's Albon) is very harsh on their systems and can cause other health problems down the road. Sorry, I haven't been on the site in awhile so I'm a little "out of touch" :? ...how old is he and how long have you had him? Beardies get stressed when moved (aka relocation stress) and even something like a shed can cause a rise in their coccidia counts (Taz went through this a lot with constant growth spurts, but his count always went back down).
I just wanted to share my opinion/experiences first...a low count isn't really "abnormal" (IMO).
Kaira and Taz both struggled with coccidia for quite awhile, however we quickly stopped using the "harsh" chemicals most vets recommend and took A LOT of time in making sure they had a "hospital" tank during their "battle". After 3 or 4 nights of bleaching their tanks and keeping them in spare tanks at night to let the fumes out, we switched to nolvasan, a very safe cleaner. It doesn't kill coccidia, though. Extreme heat and harsh chemicals do. A steam cleaner is what I would suggest, personally. We used (still do) paper towels as a substrate, with non-adhesive shelf liner as a "back-up" underneath the paper towels. Cleaning up poo immediately (or as soon as possible) after we saw it, not using any "furniture" that was porous, and probiotics (along with Albon, which I greatly regret using) eventually lowered their counts to almost none (I don't recommend doing this now...like I said, I now believe a low count is normal, as long as he is not showing any serious symptoms).
Personally, I will not ever treat my two for coccidia again. Albon and the other antibiotics used to treat coccidia are too harsh and beardies can naturally lower the coccidia count in their systems. I suggest paper towels as a substrate, a steam cleaner (if the temps are high enough it will kill coccidia) or nolvasan, a strict cleaning schedule, non-porous furniture, and probiotics.
I would, personally, treat the pinworms, though. They are not (as far as I know) found "naturally" in beardies' systems and he probably got them from a feeder (crickets are the most likely "carrier" of parasites). Also, from what I have read, been advised, etc., the medication to treat pinworms is *fairly* safe (Panacur, I believe?).
Be very careful of the dosage(s)...I had to check several times with others on the dosages of medications and my vet did "mess up" one, due to a mistake when weighing Kaira. It happens, but it could have caused her a lot of other problems.
Sorry for the long post...I just saw your post and wanted to share our bad experiences with treating coccidia so no one else or no other beardie has to deal with the possible long term effects. For Kaira (whom I believe already had a weak immune system to begin with), especially, it has really affected her G.I. tract...Taz as a few problems, but Kaira is the one who has suffered the most consequences from the Albon.
Best of luck and I hope he gets to feeling better quickly :D ,
Abi
 

momtothreeboys

Member
Original Poster
Thank you for your post. I called the vet and they said that the range is 1+ to 4+ and he has 4+ for both coccidia and pinworms. We gave him a dose of Albon last night and a dose of strongid. I am just so worried now and don't really know how to proceed with treatment. I am also worried that I won't be able to clean his cage enough so that these parasites disappear.

From what I have read I am going to proceed this way. Please let me know what you all think.

I am going to continue the Albon for three more days. The vet recommended 0.2 ml for 4 days. I will then give him a Probiotic- acidophiloz (sp?) from reptilesupply.com. I will give him the strongid (0.03ml) once yesterday and repeat once again in two weeks for the pinworms. To clean his cage I will toss out all the rabbit pellet substrate and replace with paper towels. But first I will disinfect his tank with a one part bleach to 30 part water solution along with some antibacterial soap. I will let his cage and rocks soak for 20 minutes and then rinse.

I am concerned that the crickets he hasn't eaten I have put back in his tank which I just read I shouldn't do and also that crickets themselves carry parasites. I am sorry this post is so long. We have only had our bearded dragon for 1 1/2 weeks and I had no idea that he would get sick so soon and I would have to do this without knowing much about bearded dragons.

I really appreciate the help everyone has given me so far.

Jennifer
 

momtothreeboys

Member
Original Poster
Hi,

Thanks for asking! He finished the albon for the coccidia. I disinfected his tank with novalstan (sp?) from the vet. I still need to disinfect his tank again and also give him one more dose in a week for the pinworms. Overall, he seems okay but he didn't seem sick to start with. However, he is always doing this thing where he goes to the cool side of his tank..sleeps for a few days....I wake him up to bathe him...he's awake for a day and then goes back to the cool side where he sleeps for a few more days....Is this normal? Is he trying to brumate and I keep waking him? He also looks like he is shedding. The tip of his nose and now his mouth seems shiny white.....I don't know...I am new to bearded dragons...but we really love him ....I think we are doing what we are supposed to. The help on this site has been so great. I have learned so much and he seems like he is doing well. Any other advice would be great.

Thanks!

Jennifer
 

KairaandTaz08

Juvie Member
Jennifer,
I apologize for not responding back after I posted...life is crazy here :? .
I'm not sure why he is going to the cool side like that...my two haven't brumated yet so I'm not experienced with that. How old is he, though?
Can you post a picture of him and his nose? That would help us tell you if he is about to shed...which maybe the reason for his coccidia count being so high. It does sound like he's about to shed, though from your description.
I'm happy to hear he is feeling better! :D
Abi
 

momtothreeboys

Member
Original Poster
Ok here are a few pictures so you can tell me if you think he is shedding. Thanks so much for any feedback. I was told he was between 1 and 2 years. We just got him about 3 weeks ago. He weighs 11 ounces.

Thanks again,

Jennifer

130_3048.jpg


130_3053.jpg
 

KairaandTaz08

Juvie Member
Jennifer,
Yup, looks like a shed.
His beard, though, is it always black? Black bearding can be a sign of discomfort or pain. Males do it for "odd" reasons, females do too, I've just never seen Kaira do it (Taz does it if we don't notice right away that he doesn't have any more veggies :roll: and when he wants attention), but it concerns me a bit considering everything else he's going through. He maybe a bit dehydrated, also...I can't tell from the pics for sure. That's probably from the Albon. Will he drink any water out of a dropper or anything like that? With Kaira, we had to get Gatorade (grape flavored lol) when she got really dehydrated. Pedialyte (sp?) is probably a little better for them, but it's a bit expensive and once opened you have to use it within 48hours. Another way to help hydrate them is with baths...which he's getting...how often do you give him baths though? Considering that he's shedding and looks a bit dehydrated (IMO, I can't tell for sure from the pics, but his eyes look a bit sunken in), I'd increase the amount of baths you're giving him right now, especially with the meds. We give both of ours baths everyday (personal perference). I can't tell the water depth in the pic, but it looks a little low. Dragons "absorb" (can't think of a better term) water through their vents...usually just below the shoulders is good. You don't want it too deep, but too shallow won't help as much with hydration.
I'd have to find a conversion calculator to figure out his weight in grams (that's what I'm familiar with when it comes to beardies lol)...do you happen to know what 11 ounces would be in grams? He doesn't look underweight, nice fat pads on his head and tail. Looks like he has some German Giant in him from the shape of his head (Taz has GG in him and has a lot of the same characterisitcs of your guy :D ). Do you know about how long he is? I ask because that could determine if there were any growth "issues", but I honestly, don't see any that jump out in the pics, so I think you're good there. At his age he's pretty much done growing.
The two main things that I notice just from the pics are the black bearding and the sunken in eyes. I'd start trying to get him hydrated and then try to figure out why he's black bearding. Did the camera "tick him off" at all? Or is he black bearding a lot? Part of it could be his age and if he is half brumating, but I think that needs to be addressed, too.
If you know about how long he is and could convert the ounces to grams, that'd be helpful, but I don't think there's a problem there...I'm not an expert though and could be missing something.
I'll respond to your PM in a few minutes.
He doesn't look bad, though. And he is definitely about to shed. :wink:
Abi
 
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