Coccidia and pinworms....

[Roccosmama]

We took Skooter and Rocco to the vet today to have checkups. Rocco had a fecal done by a different vet a long time ago and supposedly was fantastic. The vet said they both looked great and our set up for their cages were perfect and when we left she said she would get back to me with the results from the fecal. They both have coccidia and little Skooter has pinworms. She thinks they both contracted these from the petstore. Not sure how Rocco got coccidia if his fecal was fine when we got him a year ago. But anyway, she told us up front she was a general practioner and not a reptile expert. I am having major difficulties finding a reptile expert thats even remotely close to us. So she was consulting with an expert that she uses frequently to find out exactly how to treat my babies. Im sure many of you have had experience with this so if you dont mind I would love to hear about your experiences and any suggestions you have i would grealty appreciate. Oh, Rocco and Skooter have never been introduced so im quite sure Rocco did not get coccidia from her. I have Skooter on reptile carpet right now because she is so small but I think im going to change her to paper towels until we get rid of these parasites so I can change them daily. Thanks everyone for your help and advice if you have any!
Jenn, Rocco, and Skooter

 

[relab]

I say this straight away.. I'm a newb with my dragon.. I've only had Domino for about 3 weeks, but have just gone through an ordeal with my vet's office and Coccidilla(sp?)...

I'm in a similar situation.. I can't seem to find a vet that's knowledgeable in the proper care of Dragon. I had a bunch of fecals done, and every time they would come back as a pseudo-parasite possibly coccidilla. Check out my thread in the health section titled Pseudo-Parasites http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=123887 it basically chronicles everything I went through with my vet. Then on the 3rd fecal(all done in the same week) they told me my guy has nematodes. They wanted to put him on medicine, but b/c I didn't bring him with me they couldn't determine the proper dosage. I was skeptical of this vet since they first told me they deal with Dragons, then after the 2nd fecal they told me they don't have much experience with dragons.

Anyway.. after having gone through all this.. my best advice would be to:

1. Order your crickets from a reputable farm. Ghann's is a great place( I ordered from them after several ppl on this message board recommended them to me) http://www.ghann.com/
I found out that many pet store feeders are loaded with parasites, due to unsanitary conditions etc..

2. (This was also recommended to me) Contact your state veterinary parasitology lab. They most likely will do a fecal for you at a reasonable cost(plus shipping costs of course) This can also be done
through your vet, and many state labs(from what I've read) encourage submissions through vet clinics.

3. Also you can check http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ to see if there are any clinics within a reasonable driving distance

4. If you are on the East Coast you may want to contact Nicole ( I don't know her personally, but she has offered to do fecals for $5 I think, plus your shipping costs(of course)
Here's the link to her thread: Fecal Testing - Anyone Interested? *Ready To Take Fecals* http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=123830

5. If you decide to stick with your vet, and they put your dragon on meds, then I would suggest contacting Tracie(Drache613) to purchase Acodophillz+ it will help to replace the good bacteria in
your dragons belly to help him with digestion etc.. especially since the meds they will most likely use are indiscriminate and kill both good & bad bacteria

I didn't end-up using any meds on my guy. He had a massive shed, and his appetite came back, and I was told just to monitor his eating, and poo'ing. As long as he has a healthy appetite, and his poo isn't runny or abnormal, then he should be able to fight it off on his own. I did order the Acidophillz+ though, as it's not a bad thing to have around, and to give your dragon periodically, even if he is healthy.

Like I said before.. I'm a newb with my dragon, and still have my training wheels on, but I feel for you, especially since I just went through a similar situation earlier this week. I'm sure someone with better info will post to you soon.. Hope your guys are feeling better soon!!! Let us know how you make out, and upadate us on how they are doing.

-erik