E coli, parasites & worms! : |

[Charmaine25]

Hey everyone !
So my bearded dragon has a few problems atm (understatement) been to the vets twice already, she is 5 months old 17 inches, 268 grams in weight, I have had her since 2 months old the vet said her bone density is beautiful & her fat packs are good so she should be able to get through this..... I am slightly concerned tho..... she is on baycox, baytril & panacur (poor thing), she hasn't had live food in 3 days so I went back to the vets 2 days ago and got something called 'carnivore care' to syringe feed her she has 2 syringes a day (recommended for her weight etc....) but is she getting all the vitamins she needs with this?? I don't want anymore complications as this is stressful in her so would appreciate any advice anyone has to offer! She is still putting on weight but only a little but is still a good sign I suppose & she is still fairly active all things considered.
Thanks for reading

 

[mikewithsfi]

Carnivore Care (product by Oxbow Animal Health) is a 45% protein, 32% fat formulation with added vitamins and minerals.

Guaranteed Analysis taken from their website.
Crude Protein (min) 45.00%
Crude Fat (min) 32.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 3.00%
Moisture (max) 10.00%
Ash (max) 8.00%
Calcium (min) 1.40%
Calcium (max) 1.80%
Phosphorus 1.20%
Copper (min) 10 mg/kg
Vitamin A (min) 25,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 (min) 1,850 IU/kg
Vitamin E (min) 150 IU/kg
Taurine 0.20%
Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C) (min)* 400 mg/kg
L-Carnitine 500 mg/kg
Omega 3 Fatty Acid (min)* 1.00%
Omega 6 Fatty Acid (min)* 7.60%
Metabolizable Energy (Calculated) 24 kcal/Tbsp

So reading the guaranteed analysis she is getting the proper nutrition, but make sure she has plenty of water. She is probably getting more nutrition than most Beardies in captive care. If she is gaining weight and not losing I would say she is doing fine. Please keep us up to date...

 

[Charmaine25]

Thanks for that! She has a bath twice aday with reptiboost to hydrate her (recommended by the vet) but she hasn't passed anything in 3 days I am assuming because all she is getting is really liquid?? I hope so anyway, I'm going to contact the vet again tonmorrow if she hasn't! Nightmare

 

[discojan]

Hi there,

We went through a similar bout with our girl Salsa when she was roughly the same age (six months instead of 5). She had a terrible run with a variety of parasites, and though otherwise healthy, it took her a long time to clear them. What finally did help was something called Ponzaril (recommended by Tracie here). Even after she cleared them, it took her months to get back to normal eating/pooping. Now, at a little more than 2 years, she is doing great and eating and pooping like a champ, but it was a long battle. If you do a search for Salsa you'll probably pull up the whole saga. Your dragon is very beautiful and I hope you have better luck fighting the parasites!

 

[Charmaine25]

Thanks for that!, yea I heard its a long road to recovery she's pretty active to be fair all things considered she finishes 2 of her meds soon so only 1 left, the vet thinks she should start eating again after the meds are done so hopefully fingers crossed she starts to take her live food again!

 

[discojan]

One other thing...I'm not sure if anyone else already mentioned it, but if you're not yet doing this , you might try giving your dragon some acidophiliz (available from beautiful dragons online) or some SOY yogurt (must be soy as they can't digest dairy)--our girls love the latter, especially if it is fruit-sweetened with something tasty like blueberry. This will help replenish the good bacteria in your dragon's gut and many help with appetite after you finish the meds. Good luck!

 

[Charmaine25]

O really just any yogurt as long as its soy? thanks for that

 

[discojan]

Make sure there aren't any artificial ingrediants or sugar....I forget what the brand is , but we found some that are fruit-sweetened...

 

[Charmaine25]

Hey guys just an update!
I beat coccidiosis & E coli! Yay! But the worms are still there & she has a new parasite (found in pigs), the vet was baffled but seems to think it could be her live food being contaminated', so I am buying from another source, she is doing really well tho so no doubt she will take this in her stride she's a little fighter.