Beardie has diarrhea..possible parasites?

[katelynnj072011]

Hello For the past couple days, Phoenix has had diarrhea . After doing some research, I am thinking he may have parasites or pinworms . His poop is still brown but it has no form to it at all. It has improved a bit since Wednesday, but its still pretty bad. I really couldn't tell you if an odor is present, as he does his business while I am away at work and when I come home its usually dried up by then. Anyways, I am giving him until today to feel better. If not he will be getting a fecal done this weekend. I am hesitant about taking him with me to the vet as its about 40 degrees here now and I just got him a month ago, I really don't want to stress him out. I'm scared as he's still a baby, about 3-4 months old & I don't want him to get sick and die. & I fear I may have problems administering his medication as its oral meds and he's so little I really can't pry his mouth open or anything. So to prepare myself...how would I administer oral meds to a baby beardie? & what typically causes parasites?

He has a 100 watt light bulb ( with cold weather coming we will be upgrading to a 150 watt),& has a florescent reptisun 5.0 bulb (need 10.0 but they've been out the past few weeks ) all the way across his cage. Temps range between 95-105. He eats BSFL & crickets ( wondering if that's how he contracted the parasites? if so would I have to throw out my crickets? I've never had issues with them before? I've always used this company and never had issues.) & His veggie diet consist of collard greens, mustard greens and butternut squash daily (he's just started eating this diet about a week ago, I don't feel the diarrhea is related to the veggies as it is brown and not orange/green)

He still eats like a champ, and has not lost any weight, colors are still bright and he's very active/alert. He also just completed a full body shed as of yesterday.

any help, tips or experience would be greatly appreciated, I'm really at a loss right now as to how to help treat him, how he got them & such

 

[CooperDragon]

Sometimes they just get upset stomachs for a bit. A fecal test certainly won't hurt if you're concerned. Just bring him in a carrier of some sort (I like to use a duffel bag with a fleece blanket in the bottom) and keep a hand warmer available to put under the blanket if needed. He will be fine at normal car temps and going outside briefly. I've done that many many times with my dragons over the years. Oral meds can take a lot of patience. Sometimes the vet will give you liquid flavoring to add to the medication that makes it more palatable to them so you can ask for that. otherwise you can mix it with a little bit of sweet potato or squash baby food which they tend to like. Hopefully the test comes back without need for that but parasite treatment is usually pretty quick and effective.

For proper digestion it really is quite important to have a good temperature range in the enclosure. A higher wattage bulb controlled by a dimming thermostat would be great but you could also use an adjustable lamp stand or a manual lamp dimmer to control the output. Shoot for 100-110 in the basking area and a gradient down to 75-80 or so on the cool side.

Having a good UVB light is essential for their wellbeing. The 5.0 is designed for shade critters and really isn't sufficient for bearded dragons. You may be best off ordering a good one online. I use this one and it's fantastic. http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ it puts out optimal UVB levels at around 12'' above the basking area.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

When do you plan on taking him in to see the vet? The road trips are usually just fine for them most of the time.
You could start using probiotics like non dairy soy yogurt, or non dairy acidophiliz to help settle his tummy down.
Be sure to help out his immune system by keeping his tank at or around 80 overnight, too. Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[katelynnj072011]

He's doing much better has poop is back to normal, so I agree I believe he just had an upset stomach...probably from the change of veggies. We upgraded his Viv , got him a 18 in reptisun 10.0 T8 & an additional basking light to raise his temps up a bit since the weathers getting colder. He seems like his happy self again we are still planning on getting a fecal done within the next couple weeks just to check in on things, we've officially had him for a month and I heard its recommended to do so with newbies. Thanks for checking in everyone!

 

[katelynnj072011]

[ximg]89084 1857697494[/ximg] here he is not sure why its sideways :\

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He looks to be enjoying his new UVB light! I am glad you were able to get that for him.
So he is doing better now?
A fecal would be a good idea but maybe just getting rehomed has affected him. They do go through relocation stress which can cause their levels to increase. It sounds like he is settling in well right now.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm also glad to hear he's feeling better and enjoying his new lighting =).