Is my baby bearded dragon having RI or relocation stress?

Kamewu

Member
Original Poster
Hello Beardie Fam!

After a year since my 8-year-old bearded dragon passed away, I decided it was time to welcome a new baby bearded dragon into my life. I got this little guy at a reptile expo in NY last week. The breeder mentioned he’s about 2 months old. Last week, he ate around 8 crickets and 5 Dubia roaches, which feels a bit low for a hatchling bearded dragon. About three days ago, I noticed he occasionally seems to choke or make a sound while basking—2-3 times a day. (Please see the video for references, I do not know how to describe this, choking/wheezing/clicking?) At first, I thought it might be relocation stress since he’s been active and exploring his tank. He doesn’t have bubbles from his mouth or nose or show open-mouthed breathing. However, his appetite is low, he keeps closing his eyes in the basking area, and he’s not eating any veggies at all. He also hasn’t pooped in the last two days, which has me worried.

And here are some info for my tank:

Heat lamp: Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamp 100W--------(NY is cold right now, the basking area is showing 95 ° F to 100 ° F, Humidity: 30%)
UVB: Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO Reptile Terrarium Lamp, 24-watt (Its brand new, never been used but I brought it one year ago, should I get another one?)
Tank size: 40 gallon
Food in tank: Veggies-----Collab green, yellow squash and carrot (He doesn't want to eat at all)
Insects------Crickets and Dubia roaches


I’m unsure if I should risk traveling to the vet in this cold weather or if this might just be stress, shedding issues? I'm worrying if this is possibly an early sign of a respiratory infection. I’ve reached out to the breeder, but it’s the holiday season, and they’re currently on vacation. I’d really appreciate any advice or suggestions from the fam before scheduling a vet appointment!

Please let me know if you need any additional information from me! Thank you so much!
 

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Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That's great you have the Reptisun 10 T5 tube, it is
a nice bulb so it should really help him out a lot now!
So he is more alert too?
The distance sounds good for the light placement also.
Please keep us updated on how he is doing.

Tracie
 

Kamewu

Member
Original Poster
Hello,

That's great you have the Reptisun 10 T5 tube, it is
a nice bulb so it should really help him out a lot now!
So he is more alert too?
The distance sounds good for the light placement also.
Please keep us updated on how he is doing.

Tracie
Hello Tracie,

He seems more alert, but he’s still quite lethargic. His weight has dropped from 20g to 19g. I’m still feeding him the powdered food from the vet and occasionally hand-feeding him 2-5 Dubia roaches. Today, we noticed he might have a prolapse issue. He’s been straining to poop but hasn’t been successful. He finished his Ponazuril treatment four days ago—could that have caused diarrhea? I’m really worried about him. And he is definitely underweight now… he just doesn’t want to eat and I usually feed him every few hours to meet the requirements of 2 syringes of the food…..
 

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Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I hope he is feeling better. At least he is more alert right now. Continue to feed the powdered food
that you have gotten from the vet.
The Ponazuril shouldn't cause diarrhea, but, if his coccidia levels were relatively high, that can cause
intestinal distress though. Are you giving any probiotics?

Tracie
 

Kamewu

Member
Original Poster
Hello,

I hope he is feeling better. At least he is more alert right now. Continue to feed the powdered food
that you have gotten from the vet.
The Ponazuril shouldn't cause diarrhea, but, if his coccidia levels were relatively high, that can cause
intestinal distress though. Are you giving any probiotics?

Tracie
Hello Tracie,
I’ve been giving him probiotics daily, usually mixed with water. Since he no longer shows any respiratory infection symptoms, I’ve also been giving him baths and adding probiotics to the water.
Unfortunately, he isn’t improving. Today, I noticed blood in his stool, which makes me suspect that he’s still dealing with coccidia. He completed his ponazuril treatment on 12/17, but it seems like he’s still struggling with parasites.
I’m not sure what to do at this point. It’s only been a week since the treatment, so it feels too soon to do another fecal test. Seeing him pass blood and experience seizures is heartbreaking.
Do you have any advice or suggestions on what steps to take next? Thank you so much!
 

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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Sorry to hear all this about your baby, I can imagine how heart breaking it is.:( I'm sure that Tracie will pop on later but I wanted to chime in on a few things. How often has your baby had seizures and when did they start ? You can stop the baths , the baby will get hydration from the syringe feedings and soaking them won't hydrate them anyway and they can aspirate water when they are weak.
How big are the dubias you're feeding him ? Make sure that they are smaller than the space between his eyes, like tiny size. If he's having trouble digesting them he might have trouble passing them and that might be causing that very slight amount of blood you see.
 

Kamewu

Member
Original Poster
Sorry to hear all this about your baby, I can imagine how heart breaking it is.:( I'm sure that Tracie will pop on later but I wanted to chime in on a few things. How often has your baby had seizures and when did they start ? You can stop the baths , the baby will get hydration from the syringe feedings and soaking them won't hydrate them anyway and they can aspirate water when they are weak.
How big are the dubias you're feeding him ? Make sure that they are smaller than the space between his eyes, like tiny size. If he's having trouble digesting them he might have trouble passing them and that might be causing that very slight amount of blood you see.
Hello AHBD,

Thanks for your reply! The first sign of seizures appeared on 12/19, just two days after completing the coccidia treatment. I also noticed another seizure over the past weekend. However, today was the first time I saw both blood in his stool and a seizure occur together.

I’ll avoid bathing him tomorrow morning and will instead focus on feeding him probiotics mixed with water and the powdered food. I stopped feeding him Dubias after noticing the seizures. When I did feed Dubias, I always chose the smallest ones and ensured they were smaller than the space between his eyes before hand-feeding him.

There was a moment when I thought I was about to lose him, but he’s such a little fighter! He stood back up even though he was so weak. I’ve decided I won’t give up on him until he can’t fight anymore. We’ve already spent over $1,000 on him in last month, and I’m committed to doing whatever it takes to help him recover, and hopefully he will😭
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Did the vet say what the coccidia count was ? Your baby looked very healthy + good sized earlier in the month so I hate to see a baby put on powerful meds, seizures ARE a possible side effect of Ponazuril. Hopefully once all of the meds are out of his system he'll start feeling better. I'm sorry you + the little guy are going through this and spending so much $$. We'll try to help you through this. Who was the breeder that you bought him from at the expo ?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Thank you AHBD for mentioning the coccidia counts. After reading about your baby having seizures
like this, it is a possibility the meds caused this type of side effect. If you can inquire about the counts
that would be helpful. What was the strength or percentage of the Ponazuril solution, & what was his
dose & his body weight. Perhaps his dose was too high? I am just guessing here but all possibilities.
Bless him, keep him hydrated as much as you can. It sounds like he has a fighting spirit right now, so
definitely don't give up on him.
I hope the probiotics are helping him out. Be sure to keep him warmer overnight, to help boost his
immune system.
Let us know how things are going for him.

Tracie
 

Kamewu

Member
Original Poster
Hello,

Thank you AHBD for mentioning the coccidia counts. After reading about your baby having seizures
like this, it is a possibility the meds caused this type of side effect. If you can inquire about the counts
that would be helpful. What was the strength or percentage of the Ponazuril solution, & what was his
dose & his body weight. Perhaps his dose was too high? I am just guessing here but all possibilities.
Bless him, keep him hydrated as much as you can. It sounds like he has a fighting spirit right now, so
definitely don't give up on him.
I hope the probiotics are helping him out. Be sure to keep him warmer overnight, to help boost his
immune system.
Let us know how things are going for him.

Tracie
Did the vet say what the coccidia count was ? Your baby looked very healthy + good sized earlier in the month so I hate to see a baby put on powerful meds, seizures ARE a possible side effect of Ponazuril. Hopefully once all of the meds are out of his system he'll start feeling better. I'm sorry you + the little guy are going through this and spending so much $$. We'll try to help you through this. Who was the breeder that you bought him from at the expo ?
Hello AHBD and Tracie, I truly appreciate both of you taking the time to share your expertise on this. The lab results shows “
Isospora


Oocysts 3+


Coccidia having 2 sporocysts (genus Isospora) are present.”

The ponazuril dosage is 60MG/ML, and I’ve been administering 0.01ml orally every other day for a total of 4 doses. He was weight as 20g when we brought him to the vet 3 weeks ago, and he is currently 19g ;(
I’ve attached a picture of him from today next to the Ponazuril while I was checking on the meds lol. He’s been refusing the powdered food, so it’s been taking me at least 20 minutes to feed him each time, usually 4-5 times a day.
I’ve also attached the logo of the breeder I got him from, though I’m unsure if I should call him out. Honestly, I’m disappointed. I’m certain the little guy didn’t contract coccidia in my home, as I don’t have any other animals, and my last bearded dragon passed away over a year ago. It’s clear he must have come from the breeder with parasites, and possibly a respiratory infection as well. I contacted him one week after I purchased and he just responded that I should bring him to the vet……
I’m also grateful that I’m the one who got him. With my prior experience caring for a sick bearded dragon, my last one had gout and kidney failure. I feel better equipped to handle this situation and help him recover.
Thank you again for your guidance! And hope you have a wonderful holiday!
 

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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
They look like they have decent animals and reviews , the problem with coccidia is that a lot of beardies can have it but show no symptoms but stress can make it worse and the coccidia may multiply a little more. Still, the meds. themselves can have a bad effect on a small creature. Just so you know that you're giving the exact amount here is info + pics to help people to read the syringe properly.


It is still possible that he would have slowly recuperated without the Ponazuril and begun to eat on his own. BTW, try squishing a small and rubbing the guts lightly on his mouth, even though it's nasty sometimes that will get them to eat.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

The dose for him is correct. We can double check the reading on the syringe if you need.
How is he doing today? I hope you were able to get some food into him, to help support
his system & get some nutrition into him.
I agree, at that size, medications can be pretty hard on them. Keep trying with him & work
towards getting his immune system strengthened.

Tracie
 

Kamewu

Member
Original Poster
They look like they have decent animals and reviews , the problem with coccidia is that a lot of beardies can have it but show no symptoms but stress can make it worse and the coccidia may multiply a little more. Still, the meds. themselves can have a bad effect on a small creature. Just so you know that you're giving the exact amount here is info + pics to help people to read the syringe properly.


It is still possible that he would have slowly recuperated without the Ponazuril and begun to eat on his own. BTW, try squishing a small and rubbing the guts lightly on his mouth, even though it's nasty sometimes that will get them to eat.
Hello,

The dose for him is correct. We can double check the reading on the syringe if you need.
How is he doing today? I hope you were able to get some food into him, to help support
his system & get some nutrition into him.
I agree, at that size, medications can be pretty hard on them. Keep trying with him & work
towards getting his immune system strengthened.

Tracie
Hello AHBD and Tracie,

The good news is that he hasn’t had any seizures since yesterday. However, the bad news is that he’s still having blood in his stool, and this is the third day now. I’m really worried about him. I feel like it’s definitely a coccidia issue, but I’m not sure if the treatment isn’t working for him or if it just needs more time. It’s been a week since the Ponazuril treatment. Should I wait until next week to take him to the vet to see if he needs another round of coccidia treatment?
And for the syringe, the vet gave me the one with the sticker on so I’m pretty sure he is having the correct amount of the meds. I don’t know what else I can do besides feeding him water+probiotics and the powder food from the vet.
Feeling very stressful during the holidays….
 

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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Poor little guy, he's getting very thin, not sure it's the coccidia or if it IS that but then the Ponazuril + Baytril made him nauseated so he has that making him lose all appetite too.The combination of meds. and stress could contribute to the slight amount of blood. Did you try a crushed insect ?
 

Kamewu

Member
Original Poster
Poor little guy, he's getting very thin, not sure it's the coccidia or if it IS that but then the Ponazuril + Baytril made him nauseated so he has that making him lose all appetite too.The combination of meds. and stress could contribute to the slight amount of blood. Did you try a crushed insect ?
I hand feed him Dubias last week, and he was eating them then, but he’s refused to eat anything since the seizures started. I also tried offering superfood, but he wouldn’t eat that either. I’ve been doing my best to feed him the powdered food every day to meet the vet’s recommendations.
I’m considering trying baby food, but I’m hesitant because of the blood in his stool. I’m planning to take him to the vet on 12/31, two weeks after the Ponazuril treatment, to do another fecal test. However, I’m really worried he might not make it until then.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I know it's super stressful and sad for you. I just don't know what will help him. Another round of Ponazuril may help or may leave him in the same condition and I feel so bad that you have these very difficult decisions to make.
So when you try to syringe feed him now will he accept any of it ? What method did you use to get him to eat it ? Sometimes if you run the syringe along the side of the mouth and gently wiggle the tip in you can slooowly push the plunger , wait to see if he swallows. If he doesn't, , then gently stroke his throat to get him to swallow.
 

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Does this look like a healthy beardie
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Hey! I'm planning on ordering a 4x2x2 for my next beardie but I'm worried about lighting. I have a UVA and a UVB but they are small (the UVA just being a bulb and the UVB being 12 ish inches?) My house is drafty so I need a strong light that puts off quite a good amount of heat, any suggestions?
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