Lethal Levels of Coccidia? Please Read!

[casey]

Hi everyone,

I have a 16-17 month old male dragon. Like clockwork, as soon as we turned our clocks back an hour, he sensed the darkness and would lay in his cave. Prior to this, he always ate veggies and got crickets twice a week. He would use the bathroom normally and be very alert and active.

A little background:
When he was 4-5 months old, I took him to a herp vet in Milwaukee and was told that he had coccidia. We treated him with Albon several times. We could never seem to get rid of it, even though I kept the cage completely clean. The vet spoke with a collegue and concluded that we would wait and watch for signs of illness (weight loss, loss of appetite..etc.) Well, my dragon grew big and strong.

Well now my dragon is trying to brumate, as I mentioned previously. I understand that they will eat very little, if anything at all and may be somewhat lethargic. I've noticed that in addition to laying in his cave a lot and not being very active, he rarely eats his food. His eyes seem to be sunken in. I think he has lost some weight. I'm not sure, maybe i'm too freaked out that Im looking for problems. My first thought was dehydration from not eating his veggies. Even though I keep a shallow water dish in his viv, I have rarely seen him use it. So I began giving him baths twice a day and pedialyte diluted with water with an eye dropper. He is alert, not completely lethargic. Just seems lazy.

Now, I know that you're not supposed to give them live food during brumation, but here's the thing. He basks. Not too often, but I've seen him do it. Maybe it's partial brumation? I give him live food once a week to help him keep his strength up and so he doesnt lose more weight. When he eats the crickets, you'd think I starve him. He trys to eat the cricket bag (yes my crickets are from a pet store) and when you reach into his feeder tank, he thinks your hands are crickets. This tells me he's really hungry. But if thats the case, then why not eat the veggies?

Today, I contacted the veterinary clinic to have my dragon's vet call me back so I could discuss with him what my dragon has been doing. My dragon did go poo today so I do have a fresh fecal sample which I will have tested for coccidia to see if the levels have risen. The poo is semi-solid, with some white. If they have risen, could this have an affect on him? I would appreciate any ideas someone may have. Thank you!!

The basics:

Reptile carpet in viv
night time temp 70 degrees
basking temp 104-105 degrees
warm side 85 degrees
cool side 79 degrees
50 gallon tank, but hard to make a good temp gradient

 

[dreshany]

Hi Casey,
Yes, coccidia can affect your beardies energy level and appetite. although your beardie seems to be eating well.
my BD had a severe case of coccidia and was being treated with albon, it didn't work and it made him pretty ill. My vet switched antibiotics and it cleared up perfectly. I don't remember the name off the top of my head but I will post it later if you like. I really liked the new med because it was only two doses and caused less side effects for Perry than the albon.