Had fecal test, should I medicate for pinworms/coccidia?

[LiVZ]

Hi,

I was wondering if I could get advice on whether or not to medicate based on the results of a fecal test: low counts of pinworms and coccidia (1+, which supposedly means 2-4 eggs seen). From what I understand, the medication can have a negative impact on the dragon's digestive system, and I didn't want to put my dragon through any unnecessary stress.

My dragon has recently been less active (not basking or eating much at all). She also hasn't pooped in quite a while -- 2,3+ weeks prior to her fecal test. I'm not sure if she's going through some sort of semi-brumation, since this seems like normal behavior for her for several months of the year.

Here's more information about my dragon, if it helps any:
age: 4 years
lighting: reptisun 10.0
temps: 105f basking, 80f cool
diet: dubia roaches, and a mix of collard/mustard greens (doesn't really eat much greens, though)

 

[Goonie]

Since the pinworm egg count is relatively low, you could ask the vet to prescribe a weak antibiotic so it won't compromise her system. While on the medication, you should supplement her daily feedings with a probiotic (alot of people had used plain soy yogurt in lieu of Benebac).

How many dubias does she eat on a daily basis? If she's eating anything at all, she should be having daily bowel movements. If it's true that she hasn't pooped in 2-3 weeks, there's something else going on. Does her belly feel lumpy at all, or tender to the touch?

 

[AHBD]

If she's acting similar to her usual brumation behavior, and is already semi - sleeping for several weeks, it may be best to let her be until she gets active again in a few more weeks. As was mentioned, if she's eating daily [ it doesn't sound like she is ] then you would want to see a b.m at least every week, which may be less than usual but she may be eating less than usual, but if she's not eating you might just leave her be until she's active + eating again. If she's of good weight, the very low count of parasites may be less problematic than how she might react to meds. Either option is probably fine though.

 

[LiVZ]

Thanks for the help.

Her periods of inactivity typically last 2-4 months. She'll go for periods of around 5 days before eating anything (in which case she'll only eat a few dubias). Her stomach seems normal to me. In order to help get a fecal sample for the test, I fed her squash baby food with olive oil for a couple of days and massaged her stomach. Could the possibility that the poop was sitting inside of her for a while skew the results of the test?

When she's not in this inactive mode, she'll eat around 5 dubias per day and have a bowel movement every 2-3 days.

I've been moving her to her basking spot a couple of times per day in hopes that she'll want to eat more and digest better, but she'll usually just run back to her hammock on the cool side of the tank within a few minutes. She's actually never really liked basking--I see her on her hammock most of the time. Not sure why.

Does this behavior seem troubling? Is there anything else I should be doing/looking out for?

 

[AHBD]

If she's done well for you in the past and is acting the same as usual, it seems like she will be fine. I don't think the results of the fecal would be altered much by what you did. It's your call to give a small amount of meds. as Diamc mentioned, you'd just hate if it ruined her appetite at this time. I think she'll probably be fine either way, though.