Pinworms and medication

[Charleighsdragom]

Kora was diagnosed with an extreme case of pinworms 8/23/21
I have had her since January 2018 and she was bought as an adult. Maybe 2 or 3 years of age. So she’s around 5 or 6 now. She has been prescribed fenbendazole and required 5 dosages, once a day, for 5 days. Wait 10 days, repeat the procedure and bring a stool sample in.
We are currently on the second set of treatment. We waited 10 days and here we are. She hasn’t pooped since treatment was started 16 days ago. She for the first time ever today wasn’t interested in her live food, and her belly seems descended only sometimes, other times she feels light in weight. She sometimes goes to the floor of her aquarium and gapes. She’s not basking. She sometimes rubs her face and glass surfs. She once had blockage from bird seed substrate 2 years back but we got it out. Could she have been undiagnosed for coccidia? What is going on in her belly right now? I bought her a heat transmitter because i worried it wasn’t warm enough at night when we have the ac on. (Even though her heat lamp is on all night). Don’t know what to do, she has 90° baths daily which used to help her poop but now doesn’t seem to work. We take her outside on 75°+ days on her leash to enjoy the warm pavement or grass depending. She loves that. Her colors are all normal and bright orange. I will post a picture when I get home.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor girl, it sounds she definitely has something going on there. Can you get another
fecal possibly? At least her beard isn't dark right now.
Has she ever laid eggs before?
That might be another remote possibility but I would consider a fecal check. Coccidia might
have been missed or even protozoans.
You are using a ceramic heat emitter for overnight?
Did you use any probiotics for her to use during & after treatments? Since she had a large
number of pinworms, it might have really affected her intestinal flora.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[Charleighsdragom]

I was able to get a stool sample and brought it in today. Today marks her final day of treatment. She is on fenbendazole and her results came back the same. They said the medication basically did nothing and that her numbers are just as high as when she came in... so it was unaffective. I am expecting a phone call from the doctor tomorrow, he wasn't in today but they are thinking they are going to prescribe her a new medication. She is eating all her live insects, picky about fruits and veggies. Has no interest when she usually eats right out of my hand. I am so confused.. They diagnosed her with pinworms and the treatment did nothing.. any ideas? She has a heat emitter, it is working well for her. She wasn't prescribed with probiotics and they did not dianose coccidia or protozoans. They actually said they didn't detect any which makes me think they just didn't test for it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your dragon doing today?
Do you know which medication they are changing her to?
Did they say just how high the levels still were? I hate to see her overmedicated though.
I would definitely try to get her on some type of probiotic to help her system balance out
since she has been on a medication for awhile.
Do continue to use the ceramic heat emitter for her at night, just to be sure she stays a
bit warmer right now.
Has she been basking regularly?

Tracie

 

[Charleighsdragom]

Yes she is basking and the heat emitter is always on, I change the amount of heat it puts off at night to higher when her basking light is off and I turn it lower when it is on during the day. She will be getting a new bulb (TEKIZOO Basking Spot Daylight Lamp UVA Heat Bulb 75W) tomorrow. Pyrantel pamoate is the new medication she is being prescribed and they said I can wait a little while in between. They said the pinworms are resistant to the fenbendazole. :|

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is a common problem with drug resistance, so the Pyrantel pamoate should hopefully hit the
pinworms more effectively for her.
I hope she is feeling better. It is a great sign she is basking right now. How is her appetite doing
currently?
Keep us posted on her. Continue to keep her warmer overnight while she isn't 100% just to help
boost the immune system.

Tracie

 

[Charleighsdragom]

Greetings, it is so good to hear from you. I am just seeing this response. Today I took Kora out to enjoy the sunny weather ! It has been months since I replied on here. Her fecal is still the same, runny and mucussy. She loves to bask and lay on her hammock which has been sanitized over and over again.. I got her a new ceramic hood for the UVB bulb and she is overjoyed. She doesn't eat as much greens as I wish she would, but still does every once in a while. She still goes crazy over her bugs. Her poo is only thing not right and she sometimes glass surfs. I take her out when she glass surfs and she tends to go to the bathroom. I have noticed she has has slimy saliva indicating dehydration so I use a a dropper) used for contact solution) unused) and fill it with water to administer .01 ml of water at a time into her mouth. She doesn't tend to mind it and I think overall that's keeping things afloat. I will be bringing her to a vet in 2 weeks to have this checked out. They will Specialize in bearded dragons. The last place I brought her takes in exotic animals but I do not believe they Specialize in them, especially beardies. Hopefully it will be fixed!

 

[xp29]

She is cute.
You said some stuff in your post that has me concerned.
Can you please post pics of your setup. You mentioned a ceramic hood for the uvb. Are you using mercury vaper bulbs, or coil uvb. You mentioned have the basking lights on at night? (Unless I misunderstood) please don't they need a dark place to sleep.
You said baths daily. That is a bad idea, at minimum your going to dry her skin out, you could also cause a bacterial infection under her scales if she doesn't get fully dry.
You mentioned having her on the blacktop. Please don't or at least take your shoes off if its to hot for your feet you will cook her alive!
Again please post picks of your setup let us help your fine tune it. If you don't have her heat and uvb spot on you will never get her healthy

 

[Charleighsdragom]

She is cute.
You said some stuff in your post that has me concerned.
Can you please post pics of your setup. You mentioned a ceramic hood for the uvb. Are you using mercury vaper bulbs, or coil uvb. You mentioned have the basking lights on at night? (Unless I misunderstood) please don't they need a dark place to sleep.
You said baths daily. That is a bad idea, at minimum your going to dry her skin out, you could also cause a bacterial infection under her scales if she doesn't get fully dry.
You mentioned having her on the blacktop. Please don't or at least take your shoes off if its to hot for your feet you will cook her alive!
Again please post picks of your setup let us help your fine tune it. If you don't have her heat and uvb spot on you will never get her healthy

Hi there, just saw this! She gets baths maybe 1-2 times a week but sometimes it doesn’t happen. I’ve been getting more in routine. I am posting pictures of her set up below, and all lights are turned off every night and a heat emitter is turned on (that way it is dark). She has been doing great lately my only concern is her diarrhea which was caused by pinworms. She has been resistant to both medications the vet has put her on, as she still has diharrea. I am going to be getting her into a vet appointment as soon as I move into my new house (it’s a 7 day drive so it will be at least a week and half from now before that can happen) she is also never left unattended and occasionally let her sit in the grass which I would check if the ground is too hot by taking shoes off. I’ve had her since 2016 and she was 3-4 years old when I rescued her so she has been doing pretty well over the years. I believe she had pinworms when we got her, as the vet said they’ve been there for so long based off the amount and that she shows no apparent symptoms that she is in bad health. She will be examined soon and I will keep you updated! This is her new hood and bulb she is using below and her tank set up.

 

[xp29]

She looks good and is very pretty to!!
I hope i didn't offend you, but to be honest so many people just dont take the time to do their research and we see so many sick dragons. At the end of the day my primary concern is for their well-being. I would rather apologize to someone than miss something with their dragon. Another thought i try to keep in mind is that anyone that comes here IS trying to make their dragons life better. Ask any question you have, the only stupid question is one not asked

 

[Charleighsdragom]

She looks good and is very pretty to!!
I hope i didn't offend you, but to be honest so many people just dont take the time to do their research and we see so many sick dragons. At the end of the day my primary concern is for their well-being. I would rather apologize to someone than miss something with their dragon. Another thought i try to keep in mind is that anyone that comes here IS trying to make their dragons life better. Ask any question you have, the only stupid question is one not asked

Yes thank you so much for your concern! I love my beardie and am always looking for ways to improve her life. what would you recommend for a size tank for her as an adult? Right now she is in a 40 gal but sometimes I feel she’d like something bigger but not TOO big

 

[xp29]

For an adult 4x2x2 is what is popular, thats 120 gallon. The zen habitat is a popular choice. Myself i got lucky and met a guy at an expo that built me a couple front opening glass habitats.
Alot of people like the zens because the only glass is the front. They say the beardies are less stressed. All 3 of mine are all glass, i feel like once they get acclimated they like being able to see out. All three of my beardies are very engaging. They watch everything we do and react to it