Needing Advice - Pinworms and not eating

[Screamin99]

Hello everyone.. Before I start let me answer some questions about tank setup.

55 Long
75watt housebulb for bask
24" Reptisun About 8" from the top part of his bask.. So I suppose he can get a little closer than advised to his bulb.
Tile floor
His Temps are harder to get set straight with the rise and fall of temps here in Cincinnati, but right now its a steady 100.4* and his cool side is around 78-84*
He gets about 1-2 baths a week right now.. I use to give him a lot more, but my schedule has been really screwed up with me almost being done with my associates.

Lazlo is roughly 21" long nose to tail and about 640grams currently (he is at his biggest weight, but he just looks thin) and he is roughly 16-19months old.

This time last year He was around 6 months old and he stopped eating crickets 100% and wouldn't eat greens. He started trying to hide under his bask (literally pushing himself under the rock and in between the glass and his stuff trying to sleep) So I got a fecal done on him and the vet said he had fairly high coccidia levels. So we treated him for that around may tried to hold off and not treat as the vet said he would rather not treat him if not necessary so I force fed him basically until May-April and we finally treated him and he started eating again. Well around this time I started offering him other feeders in terms of giving him something to eat. I kept trying crickets, but no dice.. I would offer mealworms here and there which he really wouldn't eat. I offered butter worms, he ate them better than the meal worms, but wasn't a huge fan. Finally I got him some supers and he seemed to really enjoy them and he was eating them fairly steady for the longest time. And then he stopped eating these also and I switched him to Horn worms/Pheniox worms. He lives for horns.. and will eat 2-3 a day if I offer them to him. He ate the pheniox worms a bit, but just did not really dig them that much.

This entire time he was picking at his salads and he would eat a bit here and there a few bites or on occasion he would eat a full bowl like he use to do. Then slowly he stopped eating salads totally.

Once I realized that he was trying to go down for burmation (around October ish) I started getting worried as this was my first burmation. Ive been force feeding him baby food and giving baths off and on as much as I can.

I didn't take a fecal in before burmation because I did not really know the signs of him going down until he was basically half way done.. and with his burmation he was going under his bask rock again and holding his head out, eyes half open under his lights. Finally I cut his lights out when I realized what needed to be done and I wrapped him in a towel in his tank. He stayed like that for 4-5 days until he came out on his own and he started trying to eat a few crickets that I offered him. He maybe had 2 total. I kept force feeding him and then started giving him some horns. He loves horns still and will eat them no problem, but he just isnt eating greens. SO I Took a fecal in 2 weeks ago or so when he was up from his burmation for sure. The vet said he has a very large amount of pinworms in his stool and that it was almost as large as he had seen a number. He mentioned that there was no coccidia at all in the stool which he said was odd. But he kept talking about the pin worms and was referring to them as oxy urids? The vet had called me and said give him some time to wake up see if he starts back eating on his own and if nothing happens that we should treat him for the worms.

He is two weeks into treatment, he gets another dose of meds tomorrow and then another next tuesday.


Why isn't he eating his greens? Ive offered him Turnips,Collards,Mustards and I offer him Butternut squash too.. He has not eaten a bite of greens on his own in almost 7 months.

What am I doing wrong? What Should I do? I really am very attached to this little guy, but he is making my life very difficult in a time where im out of money and trying to finish college to get a job that will only pay me a few dollars more than minimum wage :roll:

 

[imaginarium]

I honestly don't have an answer but I'm in the same boat. My dragon stopped eating his greens 3 weeks ago and the only veggies he's getting is the squash baby food I give him 3 times a week. He never had a problem before, and it's like he woke up and no longer wanted them. I'm going to be getting a fecal done but I'm interested to see what answers you get.

 

[Screamin99]

So does anyone know or have any advice for me?

Ive been feeding some rabbit formula that the Vet recommended I give him its a blend of stuff with vitamins and such mixed in and I just mix it with water put it in a 3ml syringe and force it down him. He really doesn't mind it and will take a good 10-15mls worth before he is full and wont take anything else.

 

[RioReptiles]

I don't know if this will help or not, but a lot of people have a hard time getting used to their dragons slowing down when they reach adulthood. They change so drastically, it's almost a shock. Most dragons will actively eat every day for the first year as they grow to almost full size, some will brumate, some won't, and they still eat quite a bit into the second year as they fill out. By 18 months to 2 years, most will brumate, waking up to high hormone levels, which cause females to eat more and males to eat less. They are typical guys and only have one thing on their minds, they head bob and black beard, and don't even think about food much. As time goes by and they calm down, most will fall into a steady pattern of eating, basking and pooping. It's at this age that they no longer need constant food because they are not growing as fast, therefore, they don't need high temps or to bask as much. This is when they seem plain lazy and don't do much of anything, and may seem picky about food. The average adult male may only eat a couple times per week, some greens, a few bugs, but not huge amounts. It's all relative, and they don't need much because they're cold blooded and virtually solar powered. You don't have anything to worry about unless your dragon is lethargic or sickly, which is usually evident by sudden weight loss and other signs. If it is just spring fever, give it some time and it will pass, it's a natural process we all learn as we get to know our dragons.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, pinworms don't do tissue damage physically like coccidia, and the medication doesn't affect dragons adversely. This shouldn't give any cause for alarm.

 

[AHBD]

Rio Reptiles is spot on about everything pretty much. Males will be males...I'd also like to add that the force feeding a semi-brumating dragon is not good for them at all, it's the opposite. People feel that they need food and water [ occassinal water can be offered to an awake dragon], but they should not be awakened to have it done. So it may have actually upset his stomach to a degree to have food when he was doing his " natural" thing. Never force-feed a brumating dragon !! By the way, he is also quite heavy for his length, the butterworms are like candy, this can also cause refusal to eat greens when he can just hold out for " ice cream" Keep the butters to a minimum, stick with crickets supers and, when he's ready to eat again, mix them with his greens.