AFTER SHED AND PINWORMS, LETHARGIC! GOING DOWNHILL FAST!!

[diam0ndeyez]

My beardie Mojo (7 inches) finished his 3 pinworm treatments about a month ago. He was doing GREAT! Appetite when drastically up, ate up all his meal worms and occasional crickets. Anyway, he had tons of energy, loves to snuggle, take baths, and even eat his veggies. He started to lose his appetite 2 days before his shed and at firstI chalked it up to the shedding. Well after the shed he only had a mealworm or two (that same day) and then went to bed. The next morning (yesterday) he ate 1 mealworm in the AM and no more after that, not veggies either. Today he didn't eat anything. I managed to get him to drink a couple sips of purified water and that's it. He also slept all today and wasn't interested in anything. One day he was fine and then the next he was horrible. I gave him a 30 min bath tonight and he seemed to feel a little bit better. I do not think it is brumnation because I don't think he would go into it mid January. Any suggestions would really help. I am also taking him to the doctors tomorrow. Anything to get him to poop will really help so I can get a fecal out of him. I'm sick with worry.

*-Mojo-*
UV Reptisun Tube Light
10 gal tank
Basking Bulb to reach 100-110 degrees
80% protein 20% veggies
Warm side & Cool side in ventilated enclosure
Misted with water 3 times a day
Humidity set to 35-40 degrees

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You are right, a 7 inch dragon wont brumate. Though during the winter, they may slow down some but definitely wont brumate.
Are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure the basking temperatures?
What type of substrate is he on?
He could be impacted or having digestive issues due to the mealworms. They are harder to digest. How many has he had?
You can get some sugar free applesauce along with some canned pumpkin with a drop or two of olive or mineral oil to help move things through. Use either a plastic syringe or dropper to drop onto the end of his nose.
You can keep him around 80 overnight to help boost his immune system.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[diam0ndeyez]

I have noticed that he slowed down a little bit but he never went into full brumation. She is on paper towels that are only change 2 times a week (unless she poops on them- she usually does it on her rock) when I am not treating for pinworms. When she had pinworms I cleaned daily, even though it was exhausting. I used Zoomed Wipe Out. I use a temp gun. Also have a hygrometer. They say not to mist the tank but the humidity has been down at around 16 degrees so I have been doing it because it's incredibly dry. The temps are around 100-110. I had to increase the wattage another level because the old bulb started dropping to around 90-95 degrees. Neither bulbs had reached 6 months. She pooped 2 times yesterday and 1 times this morning. I also gave her a long bath and rubbed her belly. There were no hard lumps and she wouldn't poop in the bath but it did perk her up a bit which means she might be dehydrated. I'm going to stop feeding her mealworms though. It's funny even the private pet stores said mealworms are Great! Which is total crap. I knew I shouldn't be feeding them to her but she loved them so much and the store raved about how great they were and that they wouldn't do any damaged. I fed her a whole pack of 50 over the course of 2-3 weeks? She has been reluctant to eat them this past week but she doesn't like the crickets anymore. She is under a purple night bulb right now, it's at about 75 degrees. I didn't know that it boosts their immune system. That's great! I hope she doesn't have pinworms again. It's was terrible cleaning the tank all the time and I couldn't bear to take her log away she loves it so much so I cooked it in the oven every night. Anyway thank you so much for your response. What about chicken baby food and pedialyte? I will try the applesauce/oil combo to see if it helps.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, you can definitely use chicken baby food & pedialyte to help out. The applesauce, pumpkin & oil is usually helpful along with a nice daily bath.
So he wont really eat any mealies now or crickets either?
His system may be messed up a little bit from the mealies. They are ok as an occasional treat but not as a staple. Phoenix worms are usually good & well tolerated.
At least he has gone to the bathroom so hopefully he isn't too impacted.
Yes, some extra heating at night helps their system out. Be sure his head is covered so the purple light wont disturb his sleep.
I hope that he doesn't have pinworms again, either.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[diam0ndeyez]

Thank you for all your advice. Well I took her to the vets and she has coccidia. I read that they Always have coccidia, just low levels of it in their intestines. It just worries me how her levels were fine a couple of months ago and then the shedding drastically increased her levels. I assume that is why because she was fine before and then she was very bad. Anyway after 5 days of treatment she finally ate! I am worried about her antibiotic so I will order some probiotics. My vet didn't recommend but my regular vet wasn't available so I'm glad I did my research. She ate 5 mealies today and I'm looking for something else to feed her that will be tasty but with more nutrition but doesn't move as fast as crickets. She has trouble catching these things, they are really fast since I switched to the private pet store. I have come to the conclusion that she isn't getting the proper neutron she needs if shedding affected her so drastically. So I will definitely be switching her to something better than meal worms. If you have any ideas I would greatly appreciate it! She is on a neutron formula and she laps up both the medicine and formula so she knows it makes her feel better which I'm very happy about.

 

[diam0ndeyez]

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great you got her some treatment for coccidia. Sometimes extra stress from shedding is just enough to elevate the levels to cause lethargic behavior & or loss of appetite. Which medication was given?
Definitely, mealies are not the most recommended, only as a treat. You can try small crickets, roaches (dubias), phoenix worms or butterworms for variety.
She finally ate also? I am glad she is starting to feel better now.

Tracie

 

[diam0ndeyez]

She is on SMZ TMP (sulpha trim) for coccidian and Emeraid for food. She just got over pinworms so I freaked out a little because this hit her worse than the worms and it happened so suddenly. She is 7 1/2 inches long and I can't tell her age because we got her late October so I am leaning towards 3 1/2 - 4 months old. I guess she is running behind I guess from all of her parasites. It's been difficult because I have had to clean the tank every day for months and it's really exhausting. I guess it affected her because she is so young. I need to order her some probiotics. Are phoenix or butterworms ok for her age?? I might switch back to pinheads they seem easier for her to catch. I do hate crickets though! They creep me out. LOL. Thanks again.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The SMZ TMP is frequently used for coccidia. How is she doing on it?
I am sorry it hit her so fast, that is too bad. I hope she is feeling better soon! It has likely slown her growth rate down some but she should be able to catch up though.
The Emeraid is pretty good but I haven't ever used it.
The phoenix worms & butterworms both are fine for her. She should really like either one of them.
Getting some probiotics for her would help her out also.
Those pinheads are very small, at her size you could do the 1/8th or the 1/4th possibly.
Cleaning is a lot of work, I agree! Are you using paper towels or cardboard to help minimize the cleaning.

Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[diam0ndeyez]

She is doing ok, you can tell the meds stress her out a bit. She loves the emeraid though, eats it right up! I just got acidophilus so I'm trying to figure out when to give it her. If we do it after she is done the meds or during. I will attempt to find some different kinds of worms for her. There aren't many stores around here that sell anything more than crickets. :/
I am using paper towels and Zoo Meds WIPE OUT 1 to clean. It is ammonium based and I heard that that is the best to kill coccidia.