pinworms & coccidia....need help!! (update on marbles)

[marlimarbles]

I NEED HELP!!!!

so i took marbles to the vet (as per my last thread topic) while we were there she had a GREAT exam, everything went well, shes well hydrated, i showed pics of her viv to the vet and she asked all the right questions (which gave me so much faith in her, as she has only ever seen my hamsters before) she said everything seemed to be perfectly normal, she looked at the fecal sample and said it didnt seem TOO watery to her though it was a strange colour and smell so she tested it right away, she said if it came back negative that she would do a blood test (so thorough, i love it!) thankfully, the test results came back with something...... (i only say thankfully so that we dont have to continue doing bloodwork and other stressful tests to find out whats wrong)

marbles has pinworms.... AND coccidia...

in my last thread, or maybe it was even someone elses, someone posted a link to a website so that i can buy a cleaner that works for coccidia, i bought it along with carnivore/critical care + some afadolpholiz (sp??lol,im new to this..) with syringes etc...

i will also be asking the vet for the toltrazuril instead of albon.


my questions are, has anyone gone through this? can you give me some cleaning tips and tricks for her tank?
also, how long will this take to pass? i feel so bad for her....

shes 10m 362 grams .... too young & little for this to happen to !!!!!

if anyone can give me some advice that would be great!

 

[LoveMy4BeardieGals]

I believe you are referring to beardeddragon.co

They have EVERYTHING that you just mentioned in your post above

 

[marlimarbles]

YES!!!!! i did order from them, i was quite impressed!!

since im new to this i want to make sure im not missing anything, im pretty sure i can order toltrazuril from there too right??

just in case the vet wont give it to me for whatever reason



if anyone can give me cleaning tips thatd be great as she keeps scooting around the paper towels,

or ways to keep her appetite up too..... she hasnt been eating as much as she normally does for the past few days... will only eat the orange things out of her salads (squash, carrot) she ignores the escarole and dandelion.... bah!!

 

[marlimarbles]

also, is there anyone here from the toronto/ontario area who has ordered from BD.co and knows how long it takes to ship here?

my order is still in tampa, FL according to the tracker

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

I highly recommend Toltrazuril to treat the coccidia. I got mine from http://www.beardeddragon.co just because it's cheaper there, and it wiped out my dragon's coccidia within 2 or 3 doses. I had tried Albon for two weeks beforehand, and her coccidia count didn't drop a bit. Panacur or Panacur+ should work to get rid of the pinworms, but honestly I don't think pinworms are even worth treating as long as it's a low count. As far as cleaning and sanitizing, I also have the same anti-coccidial solution from beardeddragon.co ...just make sure you mix a fresh batch a couple times per week or so. Steam cleaning also works very effectively to kill parasites.

 

[marlimarbles]

do i absolutely NEED a steam cleaner?? Thats another question i meant to ask before.

i will buy one if i need to, but money is very tight and they are around 150.00 for the cheapest one, its the bissel steam cleaner meant for pet urine... i dont even know if that one will work..


Is there any other way?

 

[oxskittlefreekxo]

I don't think a steam cleaner is absolutely necessary (I've seen people disinfect without it). As for the shipping question, on their website it says they won't be shipping the 16th-20th so perhaps it'll actually ship out tomorrow? GL on getting your beardie cleared of those nasty pests and healthy again!

 

[marlimarbles]

update on marbles:


slight regression every day that is just barely noticeable, only in her appetite can i tell.
yesterday in her salad it was only the squash she would eat from her salad, today its nothing.

im not sure which flavours of baby food to buy for her, i was thinking squash, maybe apricot, but for meat i havent found any that is just turkey or chicken etc, always just turkey and veg. is that ok? i tend to be quite anxious and little things like that throw me off..

in terms of her critical care stuff, its still on its way. hopefully coming in soon, as her meds are being picked up today... i have to call first and ask for toltrazuril..

also, her glass dancing is really intense... shes constantly running about in the morning rubbing her hands and nose on the glass... not sure what to make of it or how to make her more comfortable...

@oxskittlefreekxo Thanks !!! i'll have to check that out. been so busy cleaning i havent bothered checking the actual website, just the tracker

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

do i absolutely NEED a steam cleaner?? Thats another question i meant to ask before.

i will buy one if i need to, but money is very tight and they are around 150.00 for the cheapest one, its the bissel steam cleaner meant for pet urine... i dont even know if that one will work..


Is there any other way?

You don't absolutely need a steam cleaner, but it's the most sure-fire way to kill parasites and viruses. You don't need one of the big carpet steam cleaners, just a little handheld one you can find for like $40 here >>> http://www.amazon.com/Steamfast-Everyday-Handheld-Steam-Cleaner/dp/B0051T8Y1W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1345478869&sr=8-3&keywords=steam+cleaner (there's others available in that price range as well). However, the anti-coccidial cleaner you bought should work just fine as long as you follow the instructions and make a fresh batch every few days As for the babyfood, it's weird that you can't find just straight turkey or chicken. I usually find it with the babyfood that's for very young babies (like stage 1 or 2). If you can't find it though, squash, sweet potato, green bean, etc. would be your best options. The fruity ones are ok to mix in here and there, but you don't want your beardie to get too much sugar. The Critical/Carnivore Care will work just fine as a food replacement supplement as well. How old is your dragon? All the glass dancing sounds like she could possibly be gravid.

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

P.S. If your order from beardeddragon.co hasn't shipped yet then you could probably email them and have them add the Toltrazuril to your order, if your vet doesn't carry it.

 

[marlimarbles]

thanks for the tips!! shes ten months old...


and i picked up the meds today, they did not have toltrazuril however didnt give me albon either, they are two meds that ive never heard of before, hopefully someone can tell me what its all about !!! sounds silly, but i kind of want some sort of "all clear" from the experts here before i go ahead and give it to her, just in case its really intense stuff... although i dont want to wait cause i know she needs it !!!


- sulfadimethoxine 250mg/ml give 7 units by mouth every 24 hrs for five days, then every other day until infection clears
&
- fenbendazole 125 mg/ml give 7 units by mouth every 24 hours for three days, then repeat three day cycles every ten days until infection clears

does any of that sound familiar to anyone??


also, i wanted to know if i should be using these two meds at the same time (do 7 units of one, then 7 units of the other right away) or if i should do one in the morning, one at night ???


i want to make sure i do this right !!

 

[marlimarbles]

oh poop! i should have done my research before posting, turns out those are just the big words for panacur and albon (apparently, if im reading right..)


im a little bit discuraged with the albon, and my order from bd.co was shipped so i cant add to it, bahh!

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

I'm not sure what "7 units" means - what unit of measurement is that? Typically those meds would be measured in mL/cc but there's no way the dosage could be 7 mL or cc... even if it was 0.7 mL or cc, then that would be a pretty high dosage. I would highly recommend you PM Tracie (username Drache613) and ask her about those meds & especially the dosages. She's an all-around bearded dragon expert and definitely a medication/dosing expert as well. Also you may want to wait until you get your Acidophiliz in the mail before you start giving her these meds. It's always best to give probiotics whenever your dragon is on meds, as the meds can wipe out all the good bacteria and gut flora in their digestive tract & cause major fungal issues to develop. I'm pretty sure you can give her the Panacur and Albon at the same time (with NO food) but ask Tracie to be positive. The Acidophiliz you'll want to give about 0.5mL (or however much she'll take) with food at least several hours before or after giving the meds.

Honestly pinworms & coccidia aren't a big deal to begin with if they're in low counts. A lot of dragon owners choose not to treat those things because the meds can be more harsh than the parasites are, and a healthy dragon will naturally lower their own coccidia/pinworm counts. They really don't do any harm unless they're in high counts. Oh, and just so you know - it's very difficult to get a zero coccidia count once they've had it & it's no big deal at all. I know that may sound counter-intuitive, but dragons have symbiotic relationships with some parasites. I would also recommend submitting the parasite test results to Tracie so she can look at the counts and tell you if it's worth medicating at all. Good luck!!

 

[marlimarbles]

thank you so much!!!! the syringes the vet gave me are a total of 1/2 cc, and the lines go up to "50 units"
so im assuming its 0.07 cc/ml ??


i also just ordered

7 x 3cc feeding syringes
3 x .5cc syringe
5 x 1cc syringe
1 x syringe cleaning brush
1 x bee pollen ** add to slurries
1 x 5% toltrazuril *** Excited for this to come..... almost wondering if i should skip the albon all together and just wait for this...

i need the syringes in case things go sour, and theres no where around me that sells them in that measurement.
so that should all come in about two or three weeks, and the other stuff should be here any day now...

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

If her coccidia count wasn't all that high then you could wait for the Toltrazuril to come in... it's much easier on the system than Albon is because Toltrazuril only targets coccidia, while Albon targets everything - even the good bacteria. The Panacur is fine as a de-wormer. I've never seen it dosed for daily administration for 7 days, usually it's one dose one day and then another dose 7 days later... but I'm no expert on those matters, Tracie would know. 0.07mL/cc sounds like a reasonable dosage, but again I'm not 100% sure on that one. One of the most important things will be to administer the probiotics correctly and give extra hydration/oral fluids while your dragon is on any medication. Don't be surprised if she stops/reduces her eating & gets cranky or sleepy while on the meds - it's completely normal. The stuff you've ordered sounds great! I have bee pollen too and my dragons both get about 1/8tsp every day.

All in all, little Marbles has a great beardie momma (or daddy? lol) and I'm sure she will be juuuust fine. She's very lucky to have you!!