Parasites? (Cant afford vet at the moment)

[stupiddogauzu]

Hello! I’m very new to the beardie world, this is my first one and I got him (I don’t actually know gender) as a Christmas gift and am not entirely sure if I was ready to take him on. Since I’ve gotten him (December 2021) he has had problems. I didn’t want to take him back to Petco though because he was already on sale for being I assume older than the other lizards. He was alone in a small tank there and when I saw him he kept coming to the glass and putting his little hand on it. Since week one he has had very bloody stool (which has progressively gotten better). At the time in the in my area vets were booked a minimum of a month to two out and had high non refundable deposits for appointments. My roommates at the time said to wait to see if he even makes it’s that long because he wasn’t looking to good. Shortly after getting him I lost my job and was no longer able to make the appointment. He currently looks kind of skinny and is definitely dehydrated. His appetite has gotten increasingly worse. Before I would feed him once a day when I got home from work (horn worms at the time but he had veggies in his dish all day). He would eat around 5-10 small worms or 3-5 medium ones. He refused to eat veggies though. He would rarely on occasion eat kale and bell peppers (they were changed daily but usually dried out). Now he’s on more dubias and crickets (I dip them in the calcium powder once in awhile bc im not sure how much calcium they’re supposed to have). On two occasions (first time In January and second time in May) he has prolapse trying to poop. I used sugar water and a q-tip to gently push it back in. The second time he wasn’t very happy with me and wouldn’t let me handle him for a bit. I liked to bring him out for about 30 minutes to run around my room on the daily (that’s the only time he seemed active). Nowadays he seems more lethargic and just sleeps under the logs in his basking spot or on them. I genuinely cannot get him to eat any veggies and sometimes even bugs. Sometimes he will go a few days refusing to eat, then will only eat 2-4 bugs. It’s like he won’t eat anything that doesn’t move. I also can’t get him to consume any water. Im scared he’s going to stay dehydrated to long and die from it. Every time I try to soak him he just freaks out as soon as he touches the water. I’ll add pictures of his stool when I first got him + current. I’m not sure what to do anymore. The people at our local pet shop said he may have parasites but like said before I cannot currently afford to take him to the vet. What should I do? Any information helps! Like I said before, I’m new to this and I just want this baby to survive and be happy and healthy.

 

[RangoRocky]

Did you check ever let Petco know what was going on with him/her? Did you call and speak to someone there to see if they can help assist you with the vet bill or offer assistance? My beardie had problem with blood in the stool and I was advised by the vet to only feed bugs twice a week and offer more veggies which helped a lot. @AHBD and @Drache613 can offer better assistance.

 

[stupiddogauzu]

Did you check ever let Petco know what was going on with him/her? Did you call and speak to someone there to see if they can help assist you with the vet bill or offer assistance? My beardie had problem with blood in the stool and I was advised by the vet to only feed bugs twice a week and offer more veggies which helped a lot. @AHBD and @Drache613 can offer better assistance.

We called them and my friend had lost the receipt so they said all they could do was take it off our hands or we could keep it. I can’t seem to get him to eat any veggies and I try to mix it up with different ones but he just won’t even try to eat them? Thank you so much by the way! <3

 

[RangoRocky]

We called them and my friend had lost the receipt so they said all they could do was take it off our hands or we could keep it. I can’t seem to get him to eat any veggies and I try to mix it up with different ones but he just won’t even try to eat them? Thank you so much by the way! <3

So Rango went through a 3-4mo period of not eating greens. Basically if they only get fed bugs 2x a day if they get hungry enough they will have to eat what is there which is the greens. But what ultimately got him eating them was bee pollen. Once I added that he fell in love with the greens. Try adding that or even small pieces of fruit. As far as the receipt if your friend paid with any type of card try looking back through your banking history. Or if you joined their pet rewards it may be a record there. I would go back to your oldest pic you have to get a guestimate of the date. They may can look the receipt up by that. I would also reach out to their corporate as a last result. But either way right now I would cut back on the bugs.

 

[AHBD]

His poo does look better but a fecal test should be done as soon as you get money. Borrow from family or friends if you have to. To get more hydration in him get some low sugar veggie baby food like sweet potato , squash, green beans and add a little extra water to it . You can also drip water on his snout slowly until he starts to drink. BYW, what lights do you have, heat + uvb brand and can you post pics of the fixtures + bulbs ?

 

[KarrieRee]

No enemas+ take a fecal in go from there -- in the meantime please go over uvb coil or long tube fixture-- is it a T 5 or T 8 where in the tank - basking temps how are you taking them? No stick ons please digital probe thermometer- is best-

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What type & brand of UVB are you using? How often do you use calcium & vitamin supplementation
for him?
If he isn't eating much right now, you can use some nutritional slurries for him made out of chicken or
turkey baby food, squash or sweet potato baby food to drop onto his nose, as AHBD suggested. It is
usually very effective.
To naturally treat worms & parasites without medications, parsley, cilantro, mint, & oregano. Mix those
in with his greens or with his slurry to help naturally get rid of worms & parasites. If you aren't able to get
him in or get a fecal, I can help with deworming, etc if that is the route you are wanting to go.
For now, if you can safely keep him around 75-80F overnight that can help boost his immune system.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie