Parasite questions

[saraho]

I've had Charlie since April. I've used this site to educate myself about beardies since I'm his primary caregiver, but I'm still unclear on parasites.

Where do they get the parasites?
What kind of warning signs am I watching for?

I ask because Charlie's appetite & pooping has decreased in the last couple of months, and I've noticed that he is dark colored a lot of the time. I assumed both of these had to do with winter coming on, but after finding out a really stinky poop can mean parasites -- he had one a couple of weeks ago, I'm getting paranoid.

 

[CooperDragon]

Constant stinky and messy poop can be an indicator, as can weight loss, appetite loss (leading to weight loss), and lethargic behavior (often with a dark black beard to indicate distress). They can get the parasites from other dragons, contact with poop (usually from other dragons) or from contaminated food (usually bugs like crickets that haven't been kept in sanitary conditions). There may be more sources, but those are the ones I think of.

It's not uncommon for them to carry a light load of parasites, especially pinworms. As long as they aren't in a high concentration, their immune systems can keep them in check without intervention. Keeping their living conditions sanitary helps with this quite a bit. When higher loads are detected, then treatment can be given and that is often successful at reducing or eliminating the parasites. In most cases that I've seen, they don't turn out to be a big deal.