Fecal Test Needed?

[annieoakley123]

Man its one thing after another! well my baby who is 3 months, i think, 7 inches. He has been acting a little different lately since i put him in his new viv with a megaray mvb(one week since hes been in there). I also have been dusting his crickets every feeding!! AH just found out just to do ONCE a day. Also switched to a CHE yesterday instead of the red bulb for night.
What he is doing is:
-taking forever to get up in the morning
-taking longer to start eating and doing his morning poo
-laying down on his basking log with head up, body flat
-shuffling around (might be because he is scared?)
-does still eat and hunt(eats little greens)
-goes to his hammock (bed) more than an hour before lights out and goes to bed right when i turn out the lights
-sometimes just a urate that can be watery like a splat
-poo most of the time looks normal with a normal urate, today poo was a little mushy


How old is your dragon? now 3 mo
How long have you had your dragon? 1 mo
How long is your dragon? 7 inch
What is the sex of your dragon? male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 40 breeder
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? non adheisive shelf liner
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? mvb
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? megaray
How old is your UVB bulb? few days
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 13
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? blue 100watt
What are the basking temps? 105-110
What is the cool side temp? 80
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? dig with probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?on the surface beneath the light
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? no
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Crickets (small) spring mix, beardie bites, some treats occasionally (shredded carrots, strawberry)
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? 2/3 morning after 1.5 hr lights on, afternoon, night 3 hrs before lights out
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? calicium with d3...just ordered without d3 and multivitamins
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? yes, 2-3 a day, NOW ONCE with a urate...
Do you bath your dragon? How often? yes, every few days
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? I mix water with her greens, occasionally mist with a reptile spray
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?no

Im thinking maybe i should have a fecal test done on him soon. How much does the whole thing cost? do i just bring the poo, or both poo and beardie?

 

[herpfreak]

It sounds like partial brumation, though your dragon is way too young to brumate.

I agree; a fecal sounds like the way to go, it could be parasites. Just bring a fresh poo sample to the vet; it's a lot cheaper, faster, and easier than a checkup. While you are at it, ask the vet what s/he thinks could be the matter, if it turns out not to be parasites.

 

[annieoakley123]

i thought about the brumating as well! but i agree, way too young. I know we have a local herp vet around, i just hope it is not far and they can help me out soon.

 

[annieoakley123]

He is doing very well today, eating like a pig! He has also grown .5 inch in this last week with my new mega ray bulb that hes been exposed to for a week. Poop looked good. He also woke up normally this morning and went straight to hunting. I am still going to get a test done just because. YAY

 

[herpfreak]

Glad to hear he's feeling better! They are so silly sometimes. One day they'll act lethargic and the next they'll be running all over the place.

 

[annieoakley123]

Well i just made an exam today for the little guy. Im so excited to see what they do! hopefully he will have a big poo for me to take in, he should by then! ill let you know how it goes!!! He still has been taking forever to get up and going to bed an hour earlier. So we will see.

 

[GoFast]

i noticed that you had mentioned that you use a CHE for night time heating and am wondering what your night time temps are with that?

 

[annieoakley123]

It gets down to around 75 or so at night.

 

[GoFast]

is with or without the CHE?

 

[annieoakley123]

with the CHE it gets so cold in my house at night!! gets down to 63! aye yi yi!

 

[GoFast]

that is pretty cool but I do almost wonder if that could be part of the issue?? My house gets down to about 62-63 at night as well but I don't have any night time heating for the viv. It is normal and arguably healthy for the cooler nighttime temps. I am sure that some more informed BD experts here can tell us why exactly that cool down is needed.

 

[annieoakley123]

thanks for the help! i was wondering too if that may be an issue. My beardie is still young and the guy at the store told me i should keep him around 80!! Ill consult this with the vet, also i can always move the CHE away from his sleeping area to make it a few degrees cooler.

 

[GoFast]

you could but the general rule of thumb is that as long as it doesn't get less than 60 in your house there really isn't any need for night time heating. plus this saves some money in the E-bill too!

 

[annieoakley123]

I hope it will getting warming sometime soon. Im in california by the coast so it does get chilly at night.

 

[xJaZx]

Id recomend getting a fecal done either way.

I got a fecal done for the first time in my boy Turbo when he was 6 months old (I got him when he was 2 months old). He never gave me a reason to feel like he needed one. He was lazy but had a GREAT appetite and everything seemed normal. I decided to get one for both my dragons once I got my female (she was a recuse and obviously not very healthy). Turns out Turbo had a HIGH count for pinworms & coccidia. My sickly resuce had a lower count but still had a minor problem with it.

So with that said, Id say its good to get it done especially once a newer dragon is comfy in his new home, JUST to be sure. However the medications from treating the parasites took a tole on Turbo (his appetite has slowly started dwindinling down over the last 3 months, where the last couple weeks hes really been un-interested in food).

I am now relying on Reptaid to get his appetite back & get his system back to normal.

The thing with parasites, the "host" may act fine and be hanging in there just fine, but the moment his immune system drops for whatever reason, the parasites "take advantage of that" and he can become really ill.