Coccidia:
Isospora and Eimeria are common types of coccidia that are found in bearded dragons. These parasites are so common that a very small amount of these parasites are considered normal, and generally don't cause any harm to beardies. In times of stress or illness a beardie can quickly become overrun with high levels of coccidia. These heavy loads can cause stomach pain, diarrhea, malnutrition, and dehydration.
During treatment with sulfa type drugs (Albon), you should make sure to keep your beardie
hydrated. Also during treatment, you should minimize the cage furnishings to an absolute bare minimum. Remove any wooden or porus objects and throw them away. The best way is to keep 2 enclosures and clean one while the other is in use. This will allow for the enclosure to properly air dry, which will keep potentially damaging or deadly odors to a minimum. Soak all cage furnishings with an ammonia solution for 30 minutes. Rinse well. Steam cleaners work great as they don't use any chemicals and the steam (over 165 degrees F) kills coccidia oocysts. You'd be surprised to hear that most disinfectants will not kill coccidia oocysts. The best methods for killing coccidia oocysts are: bleach water solution, steam cleaning (temp above 165 degrees F), and a 10% ammonia solution. Also, boiling or baking cage furniture will kill oocysts. They can not withstand high temps or drying.
Please note that I have removed Nolvasan from the above paragraph as an effective disinfectant. I have been informed that Nolvasan will not kill coccidia oocysts. This info came directly from the manufacturer.
Coccidia Lifecycle:
A beardie becomes infected with coccidia when it ingests oocysts that have been passed in the feces of another host. The oocysts find their way to the small intestine where the sporozoites are released from the oocyst. The sporozoites penetrate the cells of the small intestine and reproduce asexually. Each sporozoite is capable of making between 1 and 7 asexual generations. At this stage of the infection, massive numbers of cells are being destroyed in the small intestine.
Oocysts develop and escape from the cells and are passed in the feces. This starts the cycle all over again. Typically, when an oocyst is passed in the feces it is not infectious yet because it does not contain the infection causing sporozoites. In 2 or 3 days, after being deposited with the feces, the oocysts develop sporozoites and become infectious. The lifecycle of coccidia is only 14 days. But infectious oocysts can live and survive in your beardies environment for months, even years! Proper cage hygiene is very important!
Note: Flies can carry oocysts from one place to another and spread the parasite to other areas of your house, even to other beardies. Watch out for those pesky flies!
Primary source of information: Melissa Kaplan's website (
www.anapsid.org) and "Understand Reptile Parasites" by Roger Klingenberg D.V.M.
I think I may look into simple green as a better alternative myself. Thanks again BadCon.
