Miko

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Miko
Hi everyone! I’m hoping someone out there can help me. I got my little guy Miko almost 2 weeks ago from PetSmart (yeah…I know not the best) and I started noticing some weird symptoms after a couple of days. Miko was estimated to be between 3-6 months old (baby) and he weights 8 grams. He hasn’t eaten over a week and he isn’t even interested in food when I put it right up to his mouth. Even getting him to open his mouth is pretty hard. He’s also really lethargic and only wants to stay on his basking rock all day. I’ve noticed that he has some weird coughs/wheeze/hiccup/swallow (idk what to call it) which let me to believe it could be a respiratory issue. I took him to the vet 3 days ago and they found parasites in his fecal sample so I was given two medications to give him. They told me he should start feeling better and eating but he still hasn’t eaten. I am going to call the vet again tomorrow. However, he still has his weird clicking cough breathe and today I noticed that his belly feels like it’s all full of air. I voiced my concerns to the vet of a potential R.I but they said that parasites present similar symptoms to that and didn’t check him for an R.I. So I have 4 questions:
1. Do parasites actually cause a weird clicking exhale that happens every minute or so? This little guy is doing it constantly and I notice that it’s bothering him because it quite literally shakes him and wakes him up when he’s trying to sleep. Do parasites also cause his belly to feel like a bag of air?
2. I am currently using Reptisun UVB T5 HO 5.0 22” with hood. The UVB came with the hood when I bought it but I was wondering if it is sufficient enough or if I need to buy a UVB 10.0. I don’t want him to get MBD.
3. Miko hasn’t eaten for a week (besides when the vets syringe fed him) and poops every day consistently. His poop looks relatively normal too even for having parasites. How do beardies still poop if they don’t eat anything? I monitor his food intake pretty closely so I am 99% sure he isn’t eaten anything when I am not around.
4. Does the UVB need to be over his basking rock? It’s not directly over it right now, mostly covering the other half of his enclosure

I hope someone can help and I appreciate you reading my concerns. This is my first Beardie and I’m trying to do my best! Here are some more basic info on his enclosure:
Substrate: newspaper
Basking lamp: Zoo Med basking spot lamp 100 watts with dimmer
40 gallon terrarium
40% humidity (I’ve tried to get it lower with a rice sock, dehumidifier, and have slats in my enclosure (it’s made of a wood/plastic composite) but the lowest it gets is 37%)
Measure temp with infrared temp gun
Cool side temp is 75 F, basking rock is 107 F
 

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Miko

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Miko
Tracie advised the 10 inches if it's on a screen - and I would let Tracie advise on the injections- they should of done blood work for infection and x rays to look for infection as well - I would get the uvb in the tank myself especially if the holes are a fine mesh like a screen door then distance would be 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor - there should be no cover over the bulb it needs to be exposed
The total height of my enclosure (40 gallon) is 16 inch from floor to screen. I’ve been thinking about upgrading to 120 gallon because I know I will need to get something bigger when he’s bigger. I just took the measurements again though and I think the uvb is about 10 inch above basking rock resting on screen. For those of you with bigger enclosures, what do you use to set your tank on?
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
i got bare wood cabinets from home depot and painted them to match the room. enclosure sits on top. gives me plenty of storage, a place for the roach bin, and was a lot cheaper than any of the stands i looked at. pictures in my profile if you want to check it out.
 

Miko

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Miko
i got bare wood cabinets from home depot and painted them to match the room. enclosure sits on top. gives me plenty of storage, a place for the roach bin, and was a lot cheaper than any of the stands i looked at. pictures in my profile if you want to check it out.
Awesome, thanks!
 

Miko

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Miko
Also, I asked the vet about giving him probiotics (like soy yogurt) as I have read some threads about people giving their beardies probiotics with their antibiotics. She said that she’s never heard that and reptiles stomach bacteria could be different than human bacteria. What are y’all’s thoughts?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The total height of my enclosure (40 gallon) is 16 inch from floor to screen. I’ve been thinking about upgrading to 120 gallon because I know I will need to get something bigger when he’s bigger. I just took the measurements again though and I think the uvb is about 10 inch above basking rock resting on screen. For those of you with bigger enclosures, what do you use to set your tank on?
I bought a aquarium stand for Hiccup has cabinets paid too much for it - for Blaze I bought a used dresser from a second hand store and it has drawers that I use for the light bulbs and other stuff for them - paid $40 for that and its been great
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
I use a petstore stand on one, a slate top coffee table, for another(it's to short and makes it hard to get him out or to clean). And the last one i built a custom stand it is recessed at the top so the habitat can't move and finished with aged wood to look rustic.(ok so maybe I'm bragging just a little but it came out really well) :cool:
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Did they send you home with the injections to give? I normally don't like to automatically medicate
them either. Were they relatively sure he had the beginnings of a respiratory issue? I highly recommend
getting him started on a probiotic to help keep his tummy settled if he is going to be on medications.
The UVB distance should be fine. When are you planning on upgrading to the larger tank?
For now, his tank size is good, but he will definitely outgrow it soon.
How is he doing this evening?

Tracie
 

Miko

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Miko
Hello,

Did they send you home with the injections to give? I normally don't like to automatically medicate
them either. Were they relatively sure he had the beginnings of a respiratory issue? I highly recommend
getting him started on a probiotic to help keep his tummy settled if he is going to be on medications.
The UVB distance should be fine. When are you planning on upgrading to the larger tank?
For now, his tank size is good, but he will definitely outgrow it soon.
How is he doing this evening?

Tracie
He was a little sad after the vet but that was to be expected after being poked and prodded at…poor guy :( they sent me home with 6 needles to give him the Tazicef injections. They didn’t test him for an RI but I asked them if he ended up not actually having one, if there would be negative consequences or an adverse effect. They said that the medication was pretty safe and also wouldn’t react to the parasite oral medication that he is currently taking too. What probiotic should I get for him, how often should I give it to him, and how much? I’m not sure when I’m going to upgrade his tank. I kinda want to wait a while so he’s not stressed about a new environment on top of everything else he is currently going through
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Poor little Miko, it does look like an R.I. and he's not looking too well. Having the head back often means they have a bit of a hard time breathing. What meds. were given for the parasites ? That can sometimes make them feel sick as well. And you did such a beautiful job setting up the tank for him, I hope he pulls through. The injections may be hard on him so I really feel for Miko and you as the owner. He might be best off in a hospital [ smaller ] tank soo he can get proper uvb + heat while he's sick. Hold off on buying a larger tank in case he actually [ hopefully not ] does not make it. Not to say that will be the outcome but babies are fragile once they are sick. He may even have ADV, hopefully not though. Hang in there !
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Poor little Miko, it does look like an R.I. and he's not looking too well. Having the head back often means they have a bit of a hard time breathing. What meds. were given for the parasites ? That can sometimes make them feel sick as well. And you did such a beautiful job setting up the tank for him, I hope he pulls through. The injections may be hard on him so I really feel for Miko and you as the owner. He might be best off in a hospital [ smaller ] tank soo he can get proper uvb + heat while he's sick. Hold off on buying a larger tank in case he actually [ hopefully not ] does not make it. Not to say that will be the outcome but babies are fragile once they are sick. He may even have ADV, hopefully not though. Hang in there !
 

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Miko

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Miko
Poor little Miko, it does look like an R.I. and he's not looking too well. Having the head back often means they have a bit of a hard time breathing. What meds. were given for the parasites ? That can sometimes make them feel sick as well. And you did such a beautiful job setting up the tank for him, I hope he pulls through. The injections may be hard on him so I really feel for Miko and you as the owner. He might be best off in a hospital [ smaller ] tank soo he can get proper uvb + heat while he's sick. Hold off on buying a larger tank in case he actually [ hopefully not ] does not make it. Not to say that will be the outcome but babies are fragile once they are sick. He may even have ADV, hopefully not though. Hang in there !
The parasite medication they gave me was panacur and ponzauril. Just curious, why do you think there could be a possibility of ADV?
 

Miko

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Miko
New update on Miko: we just finished his last of 7 antibiotic shots this past Tuesday (10/11). His last vet visit showed no signs of coccidia or pinworm that was previously in his fecal sample, which is a good sign. The vet did see some Protozoa but said it should clear up with the remaining parasite meds (we have one more dose left). Miko still has no appetite and we have been syringe feeding him every day for the past 3 weeks, as recommended to us by the vet. He’s been pretty compliant with the syringe feeding except for the past 2 days. He refuses at all to open his mouth for me, locks his jaw, puffs up his belly, poops on me, and then tries to run away. I don’t want to force him to do something that will make him more stressed so I have backed off and haven’t syringe fed him for 2 days. I provide him fresh salad, dubia roaches, and water for him everyday too but he’s completely uninterested. Yesterday, however I caught him doing a little squeak gulp and then exhaling pretty loudly. Whenever he breathes, he usually takes such a deep breath that his whole body fills up and then he exhales with a little gulp that squeaks. He also sleeps with his head straight up at night and will often bask like that as well. I’ll attach a YouTube video with what I am describing. It sounds like to me that he still has his respiratory infection despite his antibiotic shots, and it’s getting worse. I would greatly appreciate your guys’ thoughts and advice on this as I’m sure that many of you have had years of experience with beardies.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
New update on Miko: we just finished his last of 7 antibiotic shots this past Tuesday (10/11). His last vet visit showed no signs of coccidia or pinworm that was previously in his fecal sample, which is a good sign. The vet did see some Protozoa but said it should clear up with the remaining parasite meds (we have one more dose left). Miko still has no appetite and we have been syringe feeding him every day for the past 3 weeks, as recommended to us by the vet. He’s been pretty compliant with the syringe feeding except for the past 2 days. He refuses at all to open his mouth for me, locks his jaw, puffs up his belly, poops on me, and then tries to run away. I don’t want to force him to do something that will make him more stressed so I have backed off and haven’t syringe fed him for 2 days. I provide him fresh salad, dubia roaches, and water for him everyday too but he’s completely uninterested. Yesterday, however I caught him doing a little squeak gulp and then exhaling pretty loudly. Whenever he breathes, he usually takes such a deep breath that his whole body fills up and then he exhales with a little gulp that squeaks. He also sleeps with his head straight up at night and will often bask like that as well. I’ll attach a YouTube video with what I am describing. It sounds like to me that he still has his respiratory infection despite his antibiotic shots, and it’s getting worse. I would greatly appreciate your guys’ thoughts and advice on this as I’m sure that many of you have had years of experience with beardies.
Did you get the 5.0 UVB changed out to the 10.0 bulb? I am going to flag your post to Tracie and to AHBD and I am unsure about the behavior in the video
@Drache613
@AHBD
 

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