Beardie is always sleepy and has trouble with back legs

Thank you very much! I'll get her tested as soon as possible, this will be her first fecal test. I used to give her a small soak everyday so that way she could go poop in the bath and not in her cage but she stopped going and now she goes in her cage every few days. I've tried getting her to go poop other ways but nothing works, how long should I wait before getting her tested after cutting off the bee pollen?
I would wait about a week after the last bee pollen. During that week, give her daily soaks for 15 minutes and softly massage tummy towards the vent. You’ll be able to tell if her tummy is full/empty. Just don’t push too hard! The water should not be hot! Just *barely* a touch warmer than your own skin. I normally fill it up to their shoulders but for you I would say it up to her back.. Some beardies like to swim and some drink by dipping their heads under water, which can be scary to see! But if you observe this head dipping behavior, disrupting their drinking can drown them so just watch closely until she’s done, or just start draining the water without touching her!

I believe at their age the should poop once a day or at least one time every other day. I’m not 100% positive about it, so I’ll try to remember to check my book and some other sites. There’s a lot of good care info on this site as well. It would be a great idea to look through it! But yes get that fecal done asap! My beardies both fall off their rock occasionally—because they’re clumsy, and the rock kinda sucks. I’m in the process of making them one that’s bigger and not as steep. But yes! Good luck to you and sweet Octavia!!!


Ps: there’s a lot of conflicting info on bearded dragons in general. The fact is, there needs to be more research done on them and their behaviors. You should weigh her, measure her from head to tail, and log that once a week. If she has coccidia, you’ll need to throw out most of the things she’s been around. You can use a 50/50 bleach water mix to disinfect the enclosure, but it HAS to get in every crack and crevice— for me it was more safe to just buy a new enclosure and return the old one.
 
Last edited:

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Bleach DOES NOT kill Coccidia. The only thing that is really effective is ammonia and high heat. Both have to be in contact for 10 minutes ish to kill it. Ammonia is toxic and has to be rinsed/aired out to zero fumes. A steam wand can be used but it is slow. It takes 200 plus degrees to kill it. If decor can be put in the oven or boiling water for 10 minutes or so it can be reused, if not i would do like Beardielover9000 said and toss it. (If your dragon test positive for it). The main thing to get Coccidia under control is to break its life cycle. What i mean by that is, Coccidia has to be pooped out and reingested as part of its life cycle. If you sanitize and keep it from being reingested than you cure the outbreak. The way it is spread is by your beardie dragging its tail or walking through the poop, it gets in its food or on surfaces it licks and is reingested. Once you have your habitat sanitized you can use f10, wipeout(has ammonia so air it out) or chlorhexidine (you can get it at tractor suppy in the horse section).
As for baths every day is to often. Also don't run the water deeper than they can keep their nose out of if they lay flat.
Beardies use the same muscle group to walk and to breathe, they can't do both at the same time. They can drown in a few seconds in water that is over their knees.
 

Moxxie1122

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Moxxie
I would wait about a week after the last bee pollen. During that week, give her daily soaks for 15 minutes and softly massage tummy towards the vent. You’ll be able to tell if her tummy is full/empty. Just don’t push too hard! The water should not be hot! Just *barely* a touch warmer than your own skin. I normally fill it up to their shoulders but for you I would say it up to her back.. Some beardies like to swim and some drink by dipping their heads under water, which can be scary to see! But if you observe this head dipping behavior, disrupting their drinking can drown them so just watch closely until she’s done, or just start draining the water without touching her!

I believe at their age the should poop once a day or at least one time every other day. I’m not 100% positive about it, so I’ll try to remember to check my book and some other sites. There’s a lot of good care info on this site as well. It would be a great idea to look through it! But yes get that fecal done asap! My beardies both fall off their rock occasionally—because they’re clumsy, and the rock kinda sucks. I’m in the process of making them one that’s bigger and not as steep. But yes! Good luck to you and sweet Octavia!!!


Ps: there’s a lot of conflicting info on bearded dragons in general. The fact is, there needs to be more research done on them and their behaviors. You should weigh her, measure her from head to tail, and log that once a week. If she has coccidia, you’ll need to throw out most of the things she’s been around. You can use a 50/50 bleach water mix to disinfect the enclosure, but it HAS to get in every crack and crevice— for me it was more safe to just buy a new enclosure and return the old one.
Thank you so much again, I gave her a little soak and she seems to be improving slightly. She ate today! And went poop. We got more climbing stuff for her so after her potential coccidia is treated we'll put them in so that hopefully helps her
 
Bleach DOES NOT kill Coccidia. The only thing that is really effective is ammonia and high heat. Both have to be in contact for 10 minutes ish to kill it. Ammonia is toxic and has to be rinsed/aired out to zero fumes. A steam wand can be used but it is slow. It takes 200 plus degrees to kill it. If decor can be put in the oven or boiling water for 10 minutes or so it can be reused, if not i would do like Beardielover9000 said and toss it. (If your dragon test positive for it). The main thing to get Coccidia under control is to break its life cycle. What i mean by that is, Coccidia has to be pooped out and reingested as part of its life cycle. If you sanitize and keep it from being reingested than you cure the outbreak. The way it is spread is by your beardie dragging its tail or walking through the poop, it gets in its food or on surfaces it licks and is reingested. Once you have your habitat sanitized you can use f10, wipeout(has ammonia so air it out) or chlorhexidine (you can get it at tractor suppy in the horse section).
As for baths every day is to often. Also don't run the water deeper than they can keep their nose out of if they lay flat.
Beardies use the same muscle group to walk and to breathe, they can't do both at the same time. They can drown in a few seconds in water that is over their knees.
Good points. My vet told me to use bleach, but I would also use veterinary disinfectant. Using boiling water is good but if it’s possible to put in dishwasher it’s ever better. As the steam gets in every crack sanitizing it 100%. Idk if the dishwasher soap pods is safe though so.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Bleach is good for alot of baddies, it's just not effective on Coccidia, I learned that lesson the hard way. After tons of research I finally got it under control. It takes a while to learn what works though because reptiles heal so slowly it's hard to see the effects of changes that you make are having.
 
Thank you so much again, I gave her a little soak and she seems to be improving slightly. She ate today! And went poop. We got more climbing stuff for her so after her potential coccidia is treated we'll put them in so that hopefully helps her
GREAT NEWS!!! I would take photos of her bowl movements and post them here whenever possible, so we get some more eyes on it!
Bleach is good for alot of baddies, it's just not effective on Coccidia, I learned that lesson the hard way. After tons of research I finally got it under control. It takes a while to learn what works though because reptiles heal so slowly it's hard to see the effects of changes that you make are having.
dang why my vet gotta do me like that :\
 

Moxxie1122

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Moxxie
I would wait about a week after the last bee pollen. During that week, give her daily soaks for 15 minutes and softly massage tummy towards the vent. You’ll be able to tell if her tummy is full/empty. Just don’t push too hard! The water should not be hot! Just *barely* a touch warmer than your own skin. I normally fill it up to their shoulders but for you I would say it up to her back.. Some beardies like to swim and some drink by dipping their heads under water, which can be scary to see! But if you observe this head dipping behavior, disrupting their drinking can drown them so just watch closely until she’s done, or just start draining the water without touching her!

I believe at their age the should poop once a day or at least one time every other day. I’m not 100% positive about it, so I’ll try to remember to check my book and some other sites. There’s a lot of good care info on this site as well. It would be a great idea to look through it! But yes get that fecal done asap! My beardies both fall off their rock occasionally—because they’re clumsy, and the rock kinda sucks. I’m in the process of making them one that’s bigger and not as steep. But yes! Good luck to you and sweet Octavia!!!


Ps: there’s a lot of conflicting info on bearded dragons in general. The fact is, there needs to be more research done on them and their behaviors. You should weigh her, measure her from head to tail, and log that once a week. If she has coccidia, you’ll need to throw out most of the things she’s been around. You can use a 50/50 bleach water mix to disinfect the enclosure, but it HAS to get in every crack and crevice— for me it was more safe to just buy a new enclosure and return the old one.
We finally got all the dragons tested just to be safe!

Dragons tested positive for coccidia and pinworms. Phoenix (9 1/2 month old) had the heaviest load of both and is exhibiting all the signs of pinworms. Octavia (9 month old) shows more signs of coccidia but also has pinworms. Moxxie (10 month old) showed very low count of both but it wasn’t the best sample and he does have a poor appetite.

My two questions are:

1. For treating the pinworms with febendazole, the recommended dosage is 25–100 mg/kg, PO, every 14 days for up to 4 treatments

50 mg/kg/day, PO, for 3–5 days. So is 50mg/kg ok for all three? We plan on weighing them tomorrow (Tuesday). The boys (moxxie and Phoenix) are good sized but Octavia is on the smaller side.

2. Syringes: We gave Phoenix some probiotic (benebac gel) and some pumpkin 2x, 3 days apart. He’s chomping the syringe so hard that he’s flattening the end and therefore destroying them. I’m afraid he’ll bite an end off. He’s very picky and will only eat his greens and before he started showing symptoms of pinworms, he would eat dubias. He won’t touch anything that isn’t green, not even fruit or berries and if we put anything on his greens (other than bee pollen which we stopped in order to get correct fecal results). Any suggestions of stronger syringes?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I hope your dragons are doing well. Panacur is very safe, as long as it's dosed properly.
I usually recommend one treatment every 7 days. You can space it out to every 2 weeks,
but it really doesn't make a lot of difference. It will build up in their system & stay effective.
Yes, 50mg/kg for most weights is good. Do you need help with dosing?
I am glad to hear you are using probiotics, that should help a lot.
Are you wanting a larger or stronger syringe? They are usually all about the same, in strength.

Tracie
 
We finally got all the dragons tested just to be safe!

Dragons tested positive for coccidia and pinworms. Phoenix (9 1/2 month old) had the heaviest load of both and is exhibiting all the signs of pinworms. Octavia (9 month old) shows more signs of coccidia but also has pinworms. Moxxie (10 month old) showed very low count of both but it wasn’t the best sample and he does have a poor appetite.

My two questions are:

1. For treating the pinworms with febendazole, the recommended dosage is 25–100 mg/kg, PO, every 14 days for up to 4 treatments

50 mg/kg/day, PO, for 3–5 days. So is 50mg/kg ok for all three? We plan on weighing them tomorrow (Tuesday). The boys (moxxie and Phoenix) are good sized but Octavia is on the smaller side.

2. Syringes: We gave Phoenix some probiotic (benebac gel) and some pumpkin 2x, 3 days apart. He’s chomping the syringe so hard that he’s flattening the end and therefore destroying them. I’m afraid he’ll bite an end off. He’s very picky and will only eat his greens and before he started showing symptoms of pinworms, he would eat dubias. He won’t touch anything that isn’t green, not even fruit or berries and if we put anything on his greens (other than bee pollen which we stopped in order to get correct fecal results). Any suggestions of stronger syringes?
The syringes I bought online from Walmart, using the Walmart app. Pics will be down below of the exact syringes.

***I try not to reuse them, and especially if the syringe has been exposed to coccidia.***

The come in bulk, but trust me, you’ll need them all! I ended up ordering them twice. For three dragons, you’ll probably need more.

You’ll have to throw out everything you have in their enclosures, if you want to be 100% safe. I ended up getting a whole new enclosure once their treatment was finished. I don’t know how exactly other people are sanitizing stuff, but as I said in an earlier reply, I used 50/50 bleach plus boiling water. You’ll have to do some independent research on it for sure, but I will as well and will report back with my findings:)

My vet gave me instructions to give 3cc of medicine for coccidia treatment. They were also very young at the time, maybe just 4 months. I’m not an exotic vet, so I’m not confident to give advice on prescription doses. If you have questions about the doses, call and ask your vet. Take notes! My vet even showed me how to give it to them. If you think your vet would be willing to show you so you know you’re doing it correct, with correct dose, I would definitely ask them to.

Food
I would have to blend up a slurry using sugar free, flavorless pedialyte along with their normal greens. There is a PLETHORA of YouTube videos with excellent advice on anything related to feeding during treatment. I remember one of my babies wouldn’t eat at all. Our vet gave us this to supplement along with the pedialyte mixed in.

This will be difficult. But I believe in you, and your beardies. They can definitely push through this. Just be sure to stay on top of things. I’ll be here for anything I can help with.

OH YEA and use paper towels as substrate. Best substrate during treatment. You’ll have to disinfect wherever they poop immediately after they poop.

Definitely keep your eyes on their weight. My vet gave us this as their food

The blacked out stuff is just some personal info:)
 

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Hello,

I hope your dragons are doing well. Panacur is very safe, as long as it's dosed properly.
I usually recommend one treatment every 7 days. You can space it out to every 2 weeks,
but it really doesn't make a lot of difference. It will build up in their system & stay effective.
Yes, 50mg/kg for most weights is good. Do you need help with dosing?
I am glad to hear you are using probiotics, that should help a lot.
Are you wanting a larger or stronger syringe? They are usually all about the same, in strength.

Tracie
Yes probiotics are key in the process. Especially after the treatment, since their entire digestive system gets nuked.
During treatment I don’t know but should be okay.
 
We finally got all the dragons tested just to be safe!

Dragons tested positive for coccidia and pinworms. Phoenix (9 1/2 month old) had the heaviest load of both and is exhibiting all the signs of pinworms. Octavia (9 month old) shows more signs of coccidia but also has pinworms. Moxxie (10 month old) showed very low count of both but it wasn’t the best sample and he does have a poor appetite.

My two questions are:

1. For treating the pinworms with febendazole, the recommended dosage is 25–100 mg/kg, PO, every 14 days for up to 4 treatments

50 mg/kg/day, PO, for 3–5 days. So is 50mg/kg ok for all three? We plan on weighing them tomorrow (Tuesday). The boys (moxxie and Phoenix) are good sized but Octavia is on the smaller side.

2. Syringes: We gave Phoenix some probiotic (benebac gel) and some pumpkin 2x, 3 days apart. He’s chomping the syringe so hard that he’s flattening the end and therefore destroying them. I’m afraid he’ll bite an end off. He’s very picky and will only eat his greens and before he started showing symptoms of pinworms, he would eat dubias. He won’t touch anything that isn’t green, not even fruit or berries and if we put anything on his greens (other than bee pollen which we stopped in order to get correct fecal results). Any suggestions of stronger syringes?
 
Also bee pollen technically SHOULD be able to give, but I would call and ask your vet. I don’t remember if I gave mine pollen or not during treatment.
***KEEP IN MIND THAT YOULL HAVE TO TAKE THEM BACK OFF FOR STOOL RE EVALUATION*** and that’s a week long process so, honesty, avoid pollen for now!


Also definitely check out those YouTube channels I mentioned. A great one is LizardGuru. She lost one of her dragons very young due to impaction so she swears against using mealworms.
 

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