4 month old beardie- gastrointestinal issues :(

[erinrose]

**UPDATE: just got home from the vets. She's a bit underweight and DOES have parasites. However, i got the meds and got some bene-bac plus from petco on my way home. Shes asleep in her cage right now. Im wondering if I should feed her baby food over the next few days before trying feeders again ?? What do you guys think ??

 

[AHBD]

Did the vet say what she has, and what meds. you will be giving her ? And you can feed her as usual, whatever she will eat. Hopefully she'll feel better after a deworming,.

 

[Russell84]

Which parasites does she have? I found that when my previous beardie had parasites, his appetite came back quite quickly as soon as the medicine started kicking in. If shes thin then it wouldn't do any harm to syringe feed her until she takes feeders again. Is bene-bac plus a probiotic? If so good idea!

 

[erinrose]

She has the common one, coccidia. She got her first dose tonight by the vet showing me and she gets it 1x a day. And yes its a probiotic, im just wondering when I should start it and hpw to incorporate it with the medicinal dosages ? I guess im just nervouse. Ive never done syringe feeding or anything and she is my first reptile so I feel a bit discouraged as an owner that she's sick

 

[Russell84]

Ahhh! Dam Coccidia, its a pain in the bum! I've heard that most beardies have low levels of coccidia in their system, but provided their immune system is ok its not a problem, they just live with it. When they are stressed or their immune system is weakened for what ever reason, the coccidia levels increase and cause problems. Fortunately its treatable!

Also its a good idea to sterilise your vivarium and all the contents, and keep her on kitchen roll until shes been given the all clear. This way you reduce the likely hood of re-infection because the parasites can linger on where ever her vent has touched! Kitchen roll is more hygenic and can be frequently replaced.
My first beardie had chronic coccidia so I know about all this (in his case though he had a far far more serious problem which was lowering his immunity!)

Hope the syringe feeding goes well and she perks up soon!

 

[erinrose]

What should I use to sterilize it?? I know bleach wont work and I only have so much money. I normally keep her on newspaper so i'll replace that and look into sterilizing it i just need to know what to use. And look into getting a job to pay for all this stuff

 

[AHBD]

Don't get too nervous about it....just change the newspaper every day and keep her stuff spot cleaned. You might get a bottle of red wine vinegar, it's pretty cheap, and and wash her stuff in a mixture of about 1/10 with water. It's 100 times stronger than bleach and kills almost everything. Lots of beardies get over coccidia just fine, keep her hydrated and if she doesn't eat her insects right away, keep trying the baby food.

 

[erinrose]

Ah okay, how long should i soak her things ?? Also ive heard i can bake them?? But her basking branch isn't real wood so i dunno what to do, might just get a new obe and bake the rocks and wood log hide she has in the oven. But thank you sooo much you've been of so much help

 

[Esther19]

Thanks for the report. Please do not feel badly about the coccidia. She had them when you got her. It is not anything you did. Newspaper is great for the cage. And kitchen roll = paper towels.

 

[Russell84]

I've not heard of people using vinegar to sterilise vivariums, but I can imagine it would be strong! I believe Bleach is generally very strong, but some forms of coccidia I've heard are resistant even in concentrated bleach.

I use a disinfectant that my vet recommends called F10. You can buy it online, but its fairly expensive http://www.amazon.co.uk/F10-Ready-Disinfectant-Refill-litre/dp/B006YBFJUU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1357211379&sr=8-2
I think it is a UK product though, are you in the UK? If not, maybe there is a similar brand in your country?

Oh yes kitchen roll = paper towel, haha. Newspaper is fine too.

 

[erinrose]

No, I live in California ~ and yeah, i dont feel as bad. I'll try live food/veggies but if not I'll try the turkey and winter squash baby food. Ahhh ive seen some products online too! I'll see if I can't get them on order today or so. Her basking branch really needs to be scrubbed down :T

 

[Russell84]

I hope she is doing well and responding to the medicine.