First time dealing with parasites (and general newbie angst)

Status
Not open for further replies.

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Frank looks great! How is he doing now, has he finished the Metronidazole?
I am glad to hear he was all cleared of coccidia now.
The humidity is fine at 25% but it is less than that on the basking. It is hard to keep it at a good level during the winter. At least he isn't minding his baths so much now!
The basking temperatures sound great for him now. Be sure that the warm end doesn't get too high, as the ambient will climb too much & he will get over heated & not spend enough time basking. Is he enjoying his warmth now?
It sounds like he is active also, especially when he is out of his tank. So he enjoys climbing everything? That is great exercise for him, too.
He isn't eating his greens much yet? The hornworms are fine to be used as a staple though since they are not very fatty, but they are larger & higher in water content, too. Everything in moderation, so just monitor his weight & limit him to a certain amount along with any other greens or bugs you can get him to eat to maintain his weight.
It sounds like he should be getting enough food. You can always supplement a little bit with the critical care if he isn't eating enough greens, etc. If he is taking in more fluids than food that would be why his stools are more watery right now.
He still may be a little slown down for the season, too.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

jarich

Juvie Member
Again, a slight correction, but hornworms are quite fatty and really shouldnt be used as a staple. Not a big deal for a short time, and especially now as you are trying to entice him to eat on his own, but shouldnt be a long term thing. He is looking very colourful though; a beautiful dragon!
 

SqueakstheTiger

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Frank
Frank is currently doing well. I gave him his last dose of metronidazole on Monday. He's now rarely napping in his cave or under his log; he'll still laze around, but he's preferring to do so on different basking spots around his cage. I've got the temperature gradient under control in his cage, and he is definitely liking that.

His appetite is returning; he's eating small amounts still, but he's eating daily. A few times he's actually jumped from whatever perch he's laying on and went after the bug bowl as soon as I set it down. When he does this, I usually add a few more bugs thinking he's hungry. But he is dead set on only eating (at maximum) 3-5 bugs a day. Sometimes he'll eat a couple of roaches on top of that. I've been cycling through a primary mix of butter worms and horned worms with roaches, since those are the three he'll eat for certain. I'm gradually going back to adding phoenix worms and supers to the rotation. I try to vary his diet as much as he will let me. As far as salad, he has been eating a couple of bites of salad every other day. Yesterday he actually almost finished off his salad. That I've stuck with collards and mustard greens as the base, and I'll add the occasional random green or herb to see if he likes it or not.

I cut back his baths to every couple of days, and usually both days on my weekend. Mainly because he went from being fine with 20-30 minute baths, back to barely standing a 5-10 minute bath. So I figure when I get him to a 10 minute or so bath without him freaking out, that will be the right about of bathing for him.

He's not pooping daily yet, but he'll poop usually every couple of days to a week, and usually in the bath. They have been well formed, the urate was still hard so I held off on calcium for a week until he pooped again. The urate was softer after that, so I've dropped down his calcium to 3x/week, with acidophilus+ 3x/week and multivitamin once a week. I figure when his appetite is back to normal again, that'll be a good indicator that his system's picked back up and then I'll go back to normal supplement dosing.

He is pretty active outside of his cage. Since it's been too cold to let him run around in our living room, I've been letting him run around on the floor in the bathroom before bath time to get a little exercise in. Last time he was hell bent on trying to climb up the vanity doors. I didn't have the heart to tell him that vertical slick wood is not exactly scalable :lol:

I'm gradually learning (or more appropriately, accepting) that he knows what he wants/needs, and is very particular about it. So if I just pay attention, he'll let me know in his way what I need to be doing.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Hey Jarich, no need for a correction or you should correct half of the members on the board who do use hornworms, superworms & or butterworms as staples & rotate them around, year around. As long as they get variety, they are perfectly fine.
Glad to hear Frank is doing so well now, that is super news! :D
This is definitely the time of year that they love to be lazy on most counts.
At least he is eating & also eating some greens, too. He is getting plenty of variety, no worries there.
It sounds like his system is up & running pretty well. Adjusting calcium intake definitely helps with the hardness of the urates.
I am sure he loves running around, also. It is good exercise for him.
I am happy he is improving so much for you.

Tracie
 

jarich

Juvie Member
Drache613":1npdtoue said:
Hello,

Hey Jarich, no need for a correction or you should correct half of the members on the board who do use hornworms, superworms & or butterworms as staples & rotate them around, year around. As long as they get variety, they are perfectly fine.


Tracie

Hi Tracie, again I said a slight correction only in regards to the comment that they were low in fat and good for use as a staple. Using them in conjunction with a wide variety of other inverts is, as you say, perfectly fine. However, their nutritional content shows that they are very high in fat (please see the following scientific study of their nutritional content showing them at 21.7% fat http://www.organicvaluerecovery.com/studies/studies_nutrient_content_of_insects.htm ), and so do not seem to be a good option for suggesting for use as a staple.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

No big deal, but it's not worth discussing on her thread though, to hijack her thread.
Staples are items that can be used often or frequently but it doesn't mean they have to be overfed. Superworms are somewhat fatty too but a lot of people use them as staples, also along with other options, too.

I have reviewed many insect analysis, as there are quite a few to look at. I guess it's personal preference & a lot has to do with what your dragon will eat also.

I would like to stay on the OP's topic though, the hornworm discussion could go into the Feeder forum or something. :D

Tracie
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,679
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom