A whole bunch of problems...

[Trogdor_1]

My baby boa, Lola, passed away a little over a month ago from mites. And as careful as my fiance and I were about spreading them, somehow just one dragon picked them up (and of course it had to be a juvi ). I have been treating him with a mite spray (JurassiMite), but after every treatment, he acts like he is not feeling well.
He went off of his food when he got infested and we started mite treatment. I have been hand feeding him (mixtures of carnivore care, chicken and squash baby foods, and calcium powder.). He gets down about 3cc every day. I also soak him everyday for about 20 minutes with pedialyte and water. It seems to be helping him regain his strength, but now he is developing muscle tremors. Whenever I take him out, his little legs begin to shake. I believe it is a lack of calcium that is causing this but could the mites also cause tremors? At this point, his infestation is low (he has maybe 30 mites on his whole body and I don't see any left moving in the cage), so I try not to overwhelm him with the mite treatment since it seems to make him worse. I have heard of using Ivermectin topically as a treatment for mites (super diluted, of course). Has anyone else heard of this or used it? I know it is very effective in killing mites on dogs, but reptiles are so much more sensitive that I worry about possible poisoning.
I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow. I am planning on getting either calcium injections or liquid calcium. Are there any warnings to liquid calcium use? Is injectable better? I have no issues with giving injections to him myself, so if it is the better route - I will definitely take it. In the mean time, is there anything I can do to help him feel better that I haven't thought of? He has a reptisun 10.0 tube light (which is going on 6 months old, so I know it needs to be replaced). He has a bright white basking bulb and temps around 100*F. He is on paper towels and, at the moment, has limited cage furniture because we disinfect everything so often.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer. Frosty is my special little guy - a truly beautiful boy - and I hate to see him suffer.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What type of substrate are you using?
Have you bathed Frosty daily? The mite sprays are not all that effective. The best way to get rid of mites is to totally take absolutely everything out of the tank, & disinfect it. All of the pieces of wood need to be soaked in hot water, then baked in the oven at around 250 or so for at least 30 mintutes. That will kill any mites on the wood. If you are using any loose substrate, it will all need to be thrown out & for now, just use paper towels or non adhesive shelf liner or tiles.
When you bathe him, try using a diluted betadine bath, & use a soft toothbrush to gently remove the mites. By soaking him most of the mites should crawl up towards the head & eye area where they can easily be removed then.
I do not, however, recommend using Ivermectin spray. Even diluted, it is not all that effective but, it still penetrates the skin & can become toxic to reptiles. Ivermectin is not recommended for use in reptiles. So I don't recommend the spray or the cream, it just is not safe.
As for liquid calcium or calcium injections, that is up to the vet. I don't recommend calcium injections without a proper blood test being done because calcium injections are very strong so they should only be given in severe cases of hypocalcemia or dystocia. If the calcium injections are not needed, it can give too much influx of calcium & cause shock. That is extreme cases of course. The liquid calcium is strong & should be dosed or they can get too much which throws off the calcium to phosphorus ratio & can mess up absorption rates of other nutrients too. If he has metabolic bone disease, a calcium injection will initially boost his levels, while the liquid calcium will help balance it out & maintain the levels afterwards. Too much calcium, powdered or liquid, can cause calcification of organs & bony protrusions on the ribs or cervical columns, etc. These are extreme cases, but, do happen. Care in supplementation is crucial.
The liquid calcium can be prescribed through your vet, or you can purchase a few different types online. If you are interested in liquid calcium, let me know, if you don't get any from your vet. I have a small online store & supply liquid calcium that is helpful & I do dose it for you as well. What type of calcium do you currently use?
The Reptisun 10 tube bulb at 6 months should be replaced so that will help too. One thing that could be causing some health problems though is if he is that infested with mites, it is most likely causing anemia. So, the mites do need to be taken care of quickly before he begins to have some serious nutritional problems.

Let us know how things go at the vets.

Tracie

 

[Trogdor_1]

Thanks for the response.
I currently have Frosty on paper towels. I soak him every day, but the mites do not move when I do. They are clamped in between his scales. Is it possible that they are dead yet still attached? When my baby boa had mites, we switched her to paper towels. I would use the spray and then see the dead mites everywhere. In Frosty's tank, I see no mites except the ones which are attached to him. They are red ones - which I've heard are very hard to kill. A vet (not an exotic specialist) recommended using Ivermectin or Ivomec diluted in water. He said we could apply it to his skin. But poisoning is just too much of a concern for me.
I will see what the vet has to say about calcium. Thanks for the heads up on blood work though. I will ask for it if she wants to do the injections. Currently I am using RepCal with D3, but I am not sure if I am mixing enough into his food. I guess the vet will help me out with dosages and such.
And I do believe that anemia is a huge issue that he is dealing with. I'm sure it doesn't help him at all that the mites are still alive. But I don't know what else I can do to get rid of them. The spray appeared to help kill them off when the infestation was large, but now it doesn't seem to have much effect. Plus, I feel like it is making Frosty worse. He seemed to be perking up a bit over the past few days but then the tremors began. I've been holding off on spraying him because of it. I don't want to make him worse. And the mite population does not seem to be changing. I will try a soft toothbrush this evening and see if I can get some of the mites off. Hopefully that will help.
I guess we will have to see what the vet says. She is very good with exotics and I trust her with my reptiles 100%. She is ONLY vet I've seen who actually asks to see your UVB bulb so that she can measure the output when you bring in a reptile. She is very thorough and seems to really understand the needs of beardies, so we are in good hands... I just hope it is enough to turn my little man around.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Good luck. I hope the vet visit goes well. That is excellent the vet measures your UVB also, that is practically unheard of.
Did the toothbrush help remove any of the mites? Let me know how things go, & what the vet says about the calcium levels, too.
Poor guy, he has got to be tired of having the mites, that is for sure.
I agree, I just don't like the negative effects that the Ivermectin could have on him.

Tracie

 

[Trogdor_1]

Well the vet visit got postponed until today... but we finally got it done.
The vet did a calcium level check for Frosty. She said that his levels are very low. She prescribed the liquid calcium for him. She also sent home a dewormer for him - Ponazuril - which she says works much better then Albon. So he will be started on that today as well his calcium.
She said that hand feeding is definitely the right way to go, but to try to get him to take 3cc twice a day. He certainly looks thin and the doctor considers him to be critical. But she said everything else about his husbandry is very good and that we are doing everything right for him.
I didn't have a chance to try the toothbrush on him yet, but I will with his bath today. The doctor said plain water is fine for his baths (rather than with pedialyte) because medically they don't know how much of the electrolytes are actually being absorbed. And she also dosed out the Ivermectin to use as a spray once a week for four weeks. The dosage is .5mL of 1% diluted into one quart of water. She agreed with my concerns about injectable Ivermectin due to his declining health. I figure that if the mites get worse (which they're not - they're actually going away) then we would consider the shot. But she assured me that the topical dose is very, very low and should pose no further risk to Frosty's health. So I guess we will see how it goes...
She wants us back in two weeks just to see how he is doing and if the meds and hand feedings are helping at all. She said we should see true improvement within four weeks. If he is still not eating on his own by then, we will do a complete work up of his blood and go from there. But for now we are all optimistic about his future so hopefully things progress well and stay on track.