Hi,
My 6 1/2 month beardie is on meds for coccidia and 2 kinds of protozoa. On 3/1 he was 75g and over 13 inches long, in good overall health per the well known reptile vet here in CT. Although his stool looked normal, it had coccidia, pinworms, and protozoa. He was on 5 days of Albon .07 and something else for the pinworms and protozoa. I noticed right away while he was on the meds his appetite went down to about half of normal. After about a week of being off his meds, his appetite went back to normal. Then I took a fresh stool sample to my local vet and they did a fecal direct - still protozoa and coccidia but a lower count. The reptile vet spoke with the local vet and had me put him on Albon .07 for 21 days (we are on day 3 now) and 5 days of Metronidazole .11 for the protozoa. As I expected, his appetite is down, I think the meds make his tummy not feel well. On day 1 and 2 of the medicine he also shed his body and head and his stool (goes 1x a day) was loose and smelled bad. I got soy yogurt today and put some on his mouth so he would lick it off and left a small amount in his viv..hoping he'll eat it. He normally got baths every other day but with this medicine, I was told to give him a bath every day because of one of the meds.
The thing that concerned me the most today was that his stool had a couple undigested Phoenix worms in it. I have never seen that in his stool before so I'm assuming it has to do with him being on the meds. He gets medium Phoenix worms (not bigger than space between his eyes). Since he didn't jump at his worms this morning like usual (but not surprising) and I left for work, I couldn't confirm that he basked like usual or bathed in his UVB light.
*Could the medicine cause him to not digest properly? Has anyone had that happen?
*Or is it more likely that if he doesn't feel well from the meds, he didn't bask properly after eating and that caused him to not digest the worms?
My other question is I've read on here about how hard on them a long course of medicine is...should I not keep him on a whole 21 days? I don't want to second guess a very reputable reptile vet, but I also am the one here observing his behavior, the side effects, etc, and I know that it's not unusual for them to live with a certain amount of coccidia and still be healthy.
Plus is the lack of appetite going to stunt his growth if he's on this for 21 days?
I studied this site for many many hours before getting Beau so I'm pretty confident about his viv..
*we've had him since he was 4 1/2 months so the bulbs are two months old at most
*36x18x18, using paper towels now (to help keep cleaner while fighting the parasites)
*cool side about 76 (with a hide)
*warm side in 80's (I found I needed a CHE to help keep the temp steady on that side)
*basking point - 105-110 at highest point but he doesn't usually like to be at the hottest point (outside of viv)
*UVB - 18 inch Reptisun 10.0 tube mounted inside on back wall - there is an overlap between basking and UVB light so he can have both
*he can get within 6 inches of the UVB bulb when he wants to
*gets a green every day - dandelion, collard, chicory and a fruit or veggie (I have referred to beautifuldragons.or nutrition listing)
I almost feel like he was better off without treating the parasites (he had normal appetite, normal stools, growing) but I know they need to be controlled...I'd appreciate your help before he's on the meds much longer.
Thanks
Jennifer
My 6 1/2 month beardie is on meds for coccidia and 2 kinds of protozoa. On 3/1 he was 75g and over 13 inches long, in good overall health per the well known reptile vet here in CT. Although his stool looked normal, it had coccidia, pinworms, and protozoa. He was on 5 days of Albon .07 and something else for the pinworms and protozoa. I noticed right away while he was on the meds his appetite went down to about half of normal. After about a week of being off his meds, his appetite went back to normal. Then I took a fresh stool sample to my local vet and they did a fecal direct - still protozoa and coccidia but a lower count. The reptile vet spoke with the local vet and had me put him on Albon .07 for 21 days (we are on day 3 now) and 5 days of Metronidazole .11 for the protozoa. As I expected, his appetite is down, I think the meds make his tummy not feel well. On day 1 and 2 of the medicine he also shed his body and head and his stool (goes 1x a day) was loose and smelled bad. I got soy yogurt today and put some on his mouth so he would lick it off and left a small amount in his viv..hoping he'll eat it. He normally got baths every other day but with this medicine, I was told to give him a bath every day because of one of the meds.
The thing that concerned me the most today was that his stool had a couple undigested Phoenix worms in it. I have never seen that in his stool before so I'm assuming it has to do with him being on the meds. He gets medium Phoenix worms (not bigger than space between his eyes). Since he didn't jump at his worms this morning like usual (but not surprising) and I left for work, I couldn't confirm that he basked like usual or bathed in his UVB light.
*Could the medicine cause him to not digest properly? Has anyone had that happen?
*Or is it more likely that if he doesn't feel well from the meds, he didn't bask properly after eating and that caused him to not digest the worms?
My other question is I've read on here about how hard on them a long course of medicine is...should I not keep him on a whole 21 days? I don't want to second guess a very reputable reptile vet, but I also am the one here observing his behavior, the side effects, etc, and I know that it's not unusual for them to live with a certain amount of coccidia and still be healthy.
Plus is the lack of appetite going to stunt his growth if he's on this for 21 days?
I studied this site for many many hours before getting Beau so I'm pretty confident about his viv..
*we've had him since he was 4 1/2 months so the bulbs are two months old at most
*36x18x18, using paper towels now (to help keep cleaner while fighting the parasites)
*cool side about 76 (with a hide)
*warm side in 80's (I found I needed a CHE to help keep the temp steady on that side)
*basking point - 105-110 at highest point but he doesn't usually like to be at the hottest point (outside of viv)
*UVB - 18 inch Reptisun 10.0 tube mounted inside on back wall - there is an overlap between basking and UVB light so he can have both
*he can get within 6 inches of the UVB bulb when he wants to
*gets a green every day - dandelion, collard, chicory and a fruit or veggie (I have referred to beautifuldragons.or nutrition listing)
I almost feel like he was better off without treating the parasites (he had normal appetite, normal stools, growing) but I know they need to be controlled...I'd appreciate your help before he's on the meds much longer.
Thanks
Jennifer