Lethargic dragon, parasite medication questions

[causeascene203]

My dragon has been lethargic lately, going to sleep in the early afternoon. He's been pooping a lot less (once a week instead of about every other day), and while the urate is well formed, soft and white, the feces are runny with a lot of excess liquid. I suspect parasites. Until I can collect a fecal sample and bring it to the vet, what can I do to help? I do have a vet and I will take him if necessary, but I would rather take care of this without the use of harsh medications if possible. Depending on the results of the tests, which medications should I not allow to be administered? What medications treat what parasites? What's unsafe? What's effective? I just need some information.

As far as diet, I stopped ordering silkworms and had the intention of switching to superworms to help him put some weight on. Then I read that even the smaller superworms can't be fed until 16 inches (?) and I took them back. Right now he's getting newly shed mealworms (even though I know they aren't ideal) and waxworms (to put on some weight). I'm going to wait until he hits 16 inches and the day he does, he will be switched to superworms. I am FULLY AWARE that these worms aren't ideal with the chitin and the fat content, so please: It's temporary.

How old is your dragon? 8 months
How long have you had your dragon? 8 months
How long is your dragon? 15.5 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 40gal breeder
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Tile with paper-towel over to aid in clean up.
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Fluorescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ReptiSun-10
How old is your UVB bulb? 6 months. A new one is in the mail and should be here tomorrow or the day after.
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? About 8 inches.
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes, regular house lamp, 100W.
What are the basking temps? About 95-100 depending on the time of day.
What is the cool side temp? 75-78 depending on the time of day
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Multiple digitals with probes.
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? Bottom corner of cool side, on top of basking site, bottom corner of warm side.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No.
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Mustard greens, kale (romaine in a pinch), waxworms, mealworms. (Read above!)
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Morning.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? No.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Repcal calcium with D3 6x a week, Repcal multivitamin with blue label 1x week.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Less than normal, about 1x a week instead of every other day.
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Yes, 2x a week.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? Yes, water dish is in viv.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No.
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? Waiting for appointment opening, and checking with you guys first.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great that you are doing some research prior to treating him.
As far as treating him, personally, I would not treat him unless his counts were over 4 but only if his appetite is markedly decreased & he is lethargic in behavior. Since you did mention that he is lethargic, he could benefit from a round of medication.
Alot of times, medicating when it is not necessary, will make them worse. So great care needs to go into the decision making when opting to medicate or not.

The most commonly used medications are Albon which is used to treat coccida, & Panacur which is used to treat most cases of worms such as pinworms, or hookworms.
If she has flagelletes or amoebas, Metronidazole is commonly used to treat those.
The medication to steer away from is Ivermectin, as it is toxic to them so that shouldn't be used at all. They respond pretty well to most antibiotics such as Baytril, Ceftz, Amikacin, as well as a few others. I doubt that she will need any of those however, as they are mostly for infections, or respiratory issues, etc.

If you are intending on medicating her, be sure to have a good probiotic on hand such as the acidophiliz, benebac or nutribac to help out the normal flora in her gut so her GI tract wont be so disrupted from the medications & she can digest her food better.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Tracie

 

[annieoakley123]

My little beardie had same symptoms as yours a while back. He was treated for coccida and pinworms with albon and panacure. He suffered from complete lack of appetite. I had to hand feed him often and in turn he lost weight. I gave him soy yogurt to help with natural bacteria. A month later he is doing great! waking up on time, going to bed on time. He is not really interested in crickets anymore so i give him phoenix worms, butterworms, occasional waxworms (to put the weight back on), hornworms, and soon silks. I would suggest getting a fecal done anyway to see what you are dealing with. Medication time is not fun, but if taken care of properly im sure he will be fine, just a lot of work.
In the meantime, make sure you disinfect EVERYTHING!!! whenever i see a poo i clean it up and get a little antibacterial gel and wipe off the area thoroughly. Once a week clean sweeps will also help. Sometimes just having a really clean area can help them out.(and i saw your using the paper towels for easy clean up!! so your already ahead of the game!)

 

[causeascene203]

Thanks for all the help. I'll let you guys know what I find out, and I'll probably double check any medication doses with you all as well.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, please do so. Sometimes the vets don't quite get the dosages right. Let us know how things go at the vets.

Tracie