Help with adenovirus management

[rango101]

My beardie is 1 year old, he's 19.5 inches and around 400 grams. I've had issues with him since I got him with coccidia and salmonella. Unfortunately I got him tested for ADV and he came back positive despite the fact I got him from a good breeder. Anyone who has had beardies with ADV have any suggestions for keeping him healthy as long as possible?

 

[KarrieRee]

Drache613 and AHBD can help you on this one Drache613 Tracie is our vet tech mod shes working on research for ADV -- you can either PM her or post -- shes on late at night

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry your dragon came back positive with Adeno. It isn't a death sentence but you do
need to focus on keeping them on a healthy diet to help with liver function. There are ways
to try & clear out the system, too.
We can review your setup & nutrition with you if you need, to be sure it is all correct.

Tracie

 

[rango101]

He's in a 4x2x2 zen habitat, reptisun 10.0 T5 HO in reflector in cage 10 inches from basking spot, basking light 60 watt flood, hot side 105 F, cool side 80 F. Substrate is zen mat + tile. He gets 14 hrs of light a day. He’s not great about eating salads (I typically feed dandelion greens, collard greens, mustard greens, escarole + squash), I’m working on getting him to eat more salad. He gets dubias or silkworms daily. calcium without D3 3x a week and multivitamin once a week. Overall he’s a good body condition and is growing well, he just has issues with recurrent infections. I know I should start milk thistle supplement but I’m not sure where to get it/how much to give. Are there any other supplements I can give? I have started giving him bee pollen powder too. Hopefully he can still live a relatively normal life since he doesn’t have any neurological signs and his last bloodwork his liver values were good.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, liquid or powdered milk thistle is great for liver help & just for overall health.
You might be able to find it at your local health food store in either form. If you aren't
able to find it there, you can check consider my site hereL
www.bug-de-lite.com

As far as dosing, there is no "set" dose since it is a supplement. It is safe so if using
powdered milk thistle, simply use a small pinch sprinkled onto the greens daily or several
times per week. As far as the liquid, my formula is a 15mg/ml solution & you can dose it
anywhere from a 5-10mg/kg. Your supplementation schedule sounds fine.
The bee pollen is very good, so you can continue with that daily or several times per week.
Just keep him hydrated which helps out his liver & kidneys. If you have a copy of the blood
test, please post if you can so we can take a look at it.
The Reptisun 10 T5 10% tube is great. You might want to move the basking light closer towards
the UVB source.
How is your dragon doing today?

Tracie

 

[natnat]

Thank you for the advice. Here's what I have from the bloodwork
CBC: Hct 34%, WBC 13K (Heteros 7.67K, lymphs 3.12K), thrombocytes clumped but adequate in number
Chem: AST-20, bile acids <35, uric acid 5.1, Alb 2.9, TP 6.4, Glu 203, Ca 12.9, Phos 4.3, K 3.4, Na 157, cholesterol 231

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The bloodwork doesn't look too bad. I would like to see the uric acid a little lower but it
is ok. Focus on keeping him hydrated.
The AST which is one of the liver enzyme markers is well within range so it doesn't appear
that he is having any liver trouble right now.
The glucose is well within range & so is the calcium right now. Some values may change due
to hormonal or seasonal times but should mostly be stable.
How is he doing today?

Tracie