My bearded dragon, Echo, who is roughly a year old now has been diagnosed with a high coccidia count and is going to the veterinarian today to get a prescription. I called them earlier and what they told me is that they intend to put her on TMZ/Flagyl. I've read from a few websites that this shocks their system and needs to be supplemented with products such as soy yogurt and Acidophiliz+. Another website I read suggested that this particular medication is an appetite stimulant-- which leaves me rather confused on what to believe. This is my first bearded dragon-- the first time ever dealing with parasites-- and I have no idea how to go about disinfecting her tank.
I read that a 10% ammonia solution will kill coccidia. Should I use this instead of bleach? I intend to throw out the wood in there as I didn't intend to keep it in the first place. She also has a rope hammock. Will soaking this in ammonia be able to clean all the porous areas?
This whole situation feels extremely overwhelming. I've done everything possible to take care of her. From rotating a variety of staple greens and other foods every week, to mounting her Repti-sun 10.0 inside the tank with her. I even tiled the entire enclosure which I'll now have to rip up and disinfect underneath. Crickets were getting beneath one of the corners anyway, but still. I did rearrange her viv a few times, so perhaps the consistent change may have stressed her out. Again, this is my first reptile and it was a lot of learning along the way. I raised her from a baby and had no idea how big a part stress can be for them. She was very intent on biting when she was young but grew out of it. The only thing I can think of that would have bloomed her coccidia counts is a few months back when she somehow broke one of her teeth. It grew back but she had a pitch black beard for an entire day afterwards. I've never seen her do that since.
She has a voracious appetite for both her greens and her crickets, is always bright eyed and alert and basks frequently. I used a cheap probe to test her temperature and her basking bulb is right at 100 degrees and her cool side at 85. The thing that scares me the most is the horror stories about these types of medications; how they completely destroy their appetite. I understand using Acidophiliz+ can help with that by providing good gut flora after the meds wipe it all out, but I have two major concerns:
She does not often lick anything from my fingers, not even water. I have to bathe her to hydrate her, but she usually gets most of her water content from her greens. I'm worried that if I try to get her soy yogurt and put it on her snout, she won't even try to eat that. And on top of this, reducing her tank to disposable cardboard and paper towels for cleanliness purposes may stress her out even more. I have researched this obsessively since she was diagnosed and would be extremely appreciative of anyone who could provide any help or advice. Thank you.
I would also like to know how exactly I would administer the soy yogurt. Do I just put it on her snout and let her lap it up?
I read that a 10% ammonia solution will kill coccidia. Should I use this instead of bleach? I intend to throw out the wood in there as I didn't intend to keep it in the first place. She also has a rope hammock. Will soaking this in ammonia be able to clean all the porous areas?
This whole situation feels extremely overwhelming. I've done everything possible to take care of her. From rotating a variety of staple greens and other foods every week, to mounting her Repti-sun 10.0 inside the tank with her. I even tiled the entire enclosure which I'll now have to rip up and disinfect underneath. Crickets were getting beneath one of the corners anyway, but still. I did rearrange her viv a few times, so perhaps the consistent change may have stressed her out. Again, this is my first reptile and it was a lot of learning along the way. I raised her from a baby and had no idea how big a part stress can be for them. She was very intent on biting when she was young but grew out of it. The only thing I can think of that would have bloomed her coccidia counts is a few months back when she somehow broke one of her teeth. It grew back but she had a pitch black beard for an entire day afterwards. I've never seen her do that since.
She has a voracious appetite for both her greens and her crickets, is always bright eyed and alert and basks frequently. I used a cheap probe to test her temperature and her basking bulb is right at 100 degrees and her cool side at 85. The thing that scares me the most is the horror stories about these types of medications; how they completely destroy their appetite. I understand using Acidophiliz+ can help with that by providing good gut flora after the meds wipe it all out, but I have two major concerns:
She does not often lick anything from my fingers, not even water. I have to bathe her to hydrate her, but she usually gets most of her water content from her greens. I'm worried that if I try to get her soy yogurt and put it on her snout, she won't even try to eat that. And on top of this, reducing her tank to disposable cardboard and paper towels for cleanliness purposes may stress her out even more. I have researched this obsessively since she was diagnosed and would be extremely appreciative of anyone who could provide any help or advice. Thank you.
I would also like to know how exactly I would administer the soy yogurt. Do I just put it on her snout and let her lap it up?