Charlie hasn't pooped for 1 week exam normal

[DaisyDragon123]

I'm sorry that Charlie tested positive for salmonella and s. fonticola. Did the vet say how high the levels were and what antibiotic he recommends? I would call him up and ask him to explain the s. fonticola. I can't find much on it. I missed one of your earlier questions about Daisy's atadenovirus test. The test was through a swab of her vent (can't remember the correct spelling. ..cholocal swab) and she is positive. Little Dragon is also positive for adeno. If Charlie is going to go on antibiotics I would start him on some probiotics. Some questions that you may want to ask the vet are: Is the level of salmonella so high that it warrants treatment, since most reptiles carry salmonella anyway. How is the s. fonticola affecting Charlie? What would happen if Charlie did not undergo antibiotics? Could his immune system kick it on its own? What cleaning procedures should be followed? Any special instructions regarding cleaning such as preferred method or product for disinfecting? Please keep us informed.

 

[BeardyMama77]

I tried uploading his results from the culture, but when I tap on image, it only brings up the two images that I uploaded. It doesn't give me the option to upload more.im not sure where to get probiotics for him.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

You can't upload there as far as I know, just post pictures. You upload pictures to this url https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/#new
Honestly, it should be set so that you can upload images through the XIMG button, or something like it. Will have to ask about it later, I suppose.

 

[BeardyMama77]

Thank you RampagingRaptor, I found the link in control panel. Daisy, here are Charlie's results from his culture test.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

No problem!

 

[Rankins]

I'm research in S. fonticola right now. It may take a bit to interpret the info. Most of it is written by microbiologists and saddly I can't find an easier to understand website. I'm understanding about 70% of it which is even suprizing me. I haven't had a microbiology lesson in close to 30 years. But I want to make sure I can give you valid info before I post. I haven't forgotten about you, so I'll keep researching until I figure it out.
I want to thank you for bringing this issue to the list. I like to understand things I don't have much experience in. In this case I had zero experience

 

[BeardyMama77]

Hello Rankins, thank you for helping research the serratia fonticola. I am absolutely clueless to what type of organism it is, or what it does. The vet did prescribe Charlie some meds

 

[Rampagingraptor]

I would suggest censoring most of that stuff on there. This is a public forum.

 

[Rankins]

Serratia fonticola is a gram negative anaerobic bacteria. It has been found in water, soil, plants, animal GI tracts AND insects. The last two apply to your dragons issues. Infected insects are the likely source of your dragons infection. The first human infection from S. fonticola was discovered in 1989. (Which is probably the reason Im not familar with it. It wasnt s common infection in humans and I got out of nursing school in 1992) The patient had been in a car wreck and ended up with a nasty leg infection from the bacteria. It is now considered a significant human pathogen that has cause a variety of infections. Apparently it can infect the lungs, GI tract, skin, urinary tract, blood, and joints. There are reports of it also causing meningitis...(please, please don't get overly concerned over this stuff. Its not my intention to worry you)
It should be treated with (big words coming up) antipseudamonals and aminoglycosides such as:
Amikasin, levoquin, invanez, amaquin, azactam, merrem IV, primaxim or cipro. Best response was found by using two of these together.
It can be a pretty difficult infection to treat...however it is treatable.
After reading through about 30 web pages of information I could not find a single complication that it causes in the GI tract. Its a bit frustrating that the information I was reading is extremely scientific and detailed except for the complications the infection causes, which would help you better understand what problems to expect from the infection and the probable outcomes.
For now I'll leave you with the provided information and I will try to see what more I can find out as time allows. However, please understand that I'm not a vet (but that's what I was going to college for, until funds ran out) or a doctor, so do not get overly worried about this info. You will need to have your vet go over treatments and what outcomes to expect.
But as stated I will do my best to provide you with more info, it will help you remember some of the things to talk to your vet about.

 

[Rankins]

Good deal!! Cipro is one of the medications that should help!!
However, two medications at the same time is the best course of treatment according to the info I found.

 

[AHBD]

Rankin's, I found that too but can't find any info on reptiles or it's affect. It sounds scary BUT reptiles can and do harbor a variety of bacteria in their gut that do not affect them. Just like humans have a variety of good + bad bacteria that does not bother us unless our immune system goes down during a serious injury. Animals are all different....so like Daisy said, ask your vet if + why this bacteria is harmful. Some things that might harm US do not harm them. For instance a vulture can eat an animal that has died of pretty much any disease and remain completely unaffected. So what is harmful + even deadly to us is not to many animals.

 

[BeardyMama77]

Very good point AHBD. I'm going to call him today, and ask some specific questions.

 

[AHBD]

Yes, it's important to ask questions. At my own Dr. visits I actually write down the questions that I think of beforehand so I don't forget . And the idea is to understand as much as you can and to see how much the vet himself knows about this subject. Be friendly + conversational , not confrontational. Hopefully everything will be fine and this will be easily treatable or even a non issue. How is your dragon doing now by the way ?

 

[BeardyMama77]

I am definitely calling today with my list of questions. Charlie Boo is doing ok. He didn't have much of an appetite yesterday, probably due to having the enema done. He did eat 3 waxworms and 3 Phoenix worms and some greens. I'm waiting for the sun to come out, so I can take him outside in his carrier to get some sun.

 

[AHBD]

Hopefully he'll keep his appetite up, and I still think it's best to wait for the poo to come along on it's own rather than going with an enema since plenty of beardies [ mine included ] will not poo for a week or more at times. Be sure to keep him well hydrated + offer his fave foods. I'm sure you're doing you best.