Baby beardie has coccidia parasite!!!!!

[SarahNancy13]

Hi! I'm new to the site as a poster but have been stalking it ever since I got my little guy Ember (3 months old) in the beginning of July. I took him to an exotics vet and she prescribed 0.2mL of a SulfaTrimeth for 10 days. I put his first dose on a bit of strawberry and he gobbled it right up. I'm planning on putting his next few doses on a bit of veggies (luckily he is very good at eating his veggies this young!). I spent all day today steam cleaning his enclosure (ZenHabitats 4'x2'x2') and all his accessories and let them dry in the sun. I've spoiled the little guy so he had A LOT of accessories (see my profile for pictures). For reference, Ember is 10.5 inches long and 60g.

Anyway, he's eating well so far. He LOVES his dubias and for his 3rd/dinner feeding I put them and him in a 20 gallon and he chased them around and caught 30 in like 5 minutes! So he's active and eating well. He pooped normally but of course it was smelly and a bit runny due to the parasite. BUT I just would really love some more guidance on how I can help my beardie kick these parasites and a daily cleaning regime to help minimize reinfection! Literally any information about the parasite, treatment or cleaning would be MUCH APPRECIATED

THANK YOU SO MUCH

 

[KarrieRee]

Hi! I'm new to the site as a poster but have been stalking it ever since I got my little guy Ember (3 months old) in the beginning of July. I took him to an exotics vet and she prescribed 0.2mL of a SulfaTrimeth for 10 days. I put his first dose on a bit of strawberry and he gobbled it right up. I'm planning on putting his next few doses on a bit of veggies (luckily he is very good at eating his veggies this young!). I spent all day today steam cleaning his enclosure (ZenHabitats 4'x2'x2') and all his accessories and let them dry in the sun. I've spoiled the little guy so he had A LOT of accessories (see my profile for pictures). For reference, Ember is 10.5 inches long and 60g.

Anyway, he's eating well so far. He LOVES his dubias and for his 3rd/dinner feeding I put them and him in a 20 gallon and he chased them around and caught 30 in like 5 minutes! So he's active and eating well. He pooped normally but of course it was smelly and a bit runny due to the parasite. BUT I just would really love some more guidance on how I can help my beardie kick these parasites and a daily cleaning regime to help minimize reinfection! Literally any information about the parasite, treatment or cleaning would be MUCH APPRECIATED

THANK YOU SO MUCH

Please get some F10 for sanitizing - it will be easier you can find it on eBay or Amazon- I would take out most of the decor except a good basking piece and the hide - good uvb properly placed and distanced and good surface basking temps will help keep the parasites down -

 

[SarahNancy13]

Thank you so much! I ordered it but read that it's not effective against coccidia so I wasn't sure

I have the reptisun 10 long bulb and basking temps are 100-107 range during the day. I give him a bath everyday and gave him the second dose today which he wasn't fond of lol.

How often/how long should I do this deep cleaning? Just until the end of treatment (10 days)?

 

[KarrieRee]

Thank you so much! I ordered it but read that it's not effective against coccidia so I wasn't sure

I have the reptisun 10 long bulb and basking temps are 100-107 range during the day. I give him a bath everyday and gave him the second dose today which he wasn't fond of lol.

How often/how long should I do this deep cleaning? Just until the end of treatment (10 days)?

Is there another fecal they want when done w/ meds? Where is the uvb?

 

[SarahNancy13]

Yes, they said that after the 10 days of treatment to come back for another fecal. The UVB is fastened to the mesh top inside the tank, I put it next to his basking bulbs and when he sits on his basking area (which he's been doing a lot since the first dose yesterday) it's diagonal from him probably 6-8 inches away. Is this too close? I'm afraid it's going to hurt his eyes since when he's basking he's facing in the direction of the UVB.

 

[KarrieRee]

Yes, they said that after the 10 days of treatment to come back for another fecal. The UVB is fastened to the mesh top inside the tank, I put it next to his basking bulbs and when he sits on his basking area (which he's been doing a lot since the first dose yesterday) it's diagonal from him probably 6-8 inches away. Is this too close? I'm afraid it's going to hurt his eyes since when he's basking he's facing in the direction of the UVB.

Is it the T 5 or T 8 ? Its not going to hurt his eyes directly above - the only issue is it too close that is why I am asking about the bulb? The two bulbs have certain distance they need to be because of the strength of the bulb

 

[SarahNancy13]

Gotcha, it's the T5 HO, what distance is that? Thank you!

 

[KarrieRee]

Gotcha, it's the T5 HO, what distance is that? Thank you!

Inside 12-15 inches

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your dragon doing tonight?
Your tube is the Reptisun 10 T5 tube?
Is he still on the medication right now? That often causes a lot of tummy issues. Is he digesting
his food pretty well?
The T5 should be at a 10 or so inch distance from him. If it is on top of the mesh/screen top then
a 6-8 inch distance is probably fine since that filters some of the UVB. If you have the basking light
mounted alongside the tube UVB then it shouldn't hurt his eyes.
You can use a water & vinegar solution for cleaning also. That helps with disinfecting the tank.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[SarahNancy13]

Hi guys, Ember's been doing okay I think. Gave him his 4th dose of antibiotics (I had to kinda force feed him by putting it in the side of his mouth and waiting until he opened because I don't think it tastes good to him ). He's on the medication for 6 more days 0.2mL each dose and the vet marked it on the syringe.

He's eating very well, still eating all his veggies and around 25-30 bugs 3x a day (crickets, dubias, BSFL). He even chases after them in his feeding tank so I'm glad his energy still seems to be up. Still giving calcium w/o D3 2x a week, calcium with D3 2x a week and the Herptavite multivitamin 2x a week (all on different days). He's going to the bathroom normally (1-2x a day) and I'm cleaning it right away with a steam cleaner and disinfectant then a new paper towel. It might just be wishful thinking but I think today his dropping was less stinky then usual and looked pretty solid so hopefully the parasites are going away!

Poor guy is also starting to shed his head so I'm making sure to spray him and offer water frequently because I know the antibiotics is dehydrating. He still only really drinks water from little droplets off my fingers but he will sit there and lap it up maybe 1x a day for 3-5 minutes at a time.

The Reptisun is a T5 tube, I attached a picture of how far it is inside his viv. The basking light is right above where he is on the rock.

Please let me know of anything else I can do to help him get better! He got a little startled today because I opened one of the doors to his enclosure pretty fast and his little feet were in the track, he jumped back but is walking normally so I don't think I caught his toes, maybe just startled him a little. His feet look okay (also attached a picture).

Thank you so much! I'm such an anxiety person in general so I get worried at every little thing (my mom calls it new mom syndrome ) as he's my first beardie.