Recently rescued beardie

[cleepritch]

We recently rescued a six month old bearded dragon and immediately noticed runny foul smelling poop. After a vet visit he was diagnosed with Coccidia, pinworms, and bad bacteria overgrowth. He is on three medications for the past 7 days but poop is still runny.
I am worried about how to clean his enclosure (all new to him) and keep him healthy. I have enclosed a picture to help. I’ve read here that loose tanbark isn’t the best but it has proven easy for clean up. I have a hide that I removed because it was pooped on and I want to steam clean it.
He is eating very well. 4 crickets and 3 worms daily and red lettuce with extra water on top. He has an under tank heater along with the heat lamp and a ceramic 75w heater at night.
Happy to get any tips. We are new to owning a beardie and want to keep him happy and healthy.

 

[smaugthebeardie3756]

First of all, thank you for rescuing this guy! Judging from his size I wouldn't be too extremely worried about impaction with that substrate, but there are other issues with it, the main one in this situation being the risk of reinfection. Bark and other loose substrates like that harbor the bacteria and parasites you are trying to get rid of, essentially canceling out the treatment you are giving. The best would be a solid substrate like NON-adhesive textured shelf liner from a home improvement store that can be cleaned with a 50/50 water and vinegar solution or paper towels.

Other questions to hopefully prevent future issues: What is your UVB source (tube, coil, MVB)? Is the UVB on top of the screen or inside the enclosure? If it is on top, what type of screen is it, fine mesh like a screen door or more open hole type? How far away is your UVB from the basking spot? What is the temperature of the basking spot and how is that temperature taken? Sorry, I can't quite tell from your pictures.

 

[hdochow]

paper towels make excellent substrate in times like this because you can just pick it up and throw it away. in general i use the non-adhesive shelf liner mentioned above and do daily/weekly cleaning with vinegar.

is the steam the only way you are cleaning things currently? for parasites, a lot of people recommend F10 cleaners which is used in vet offices. i'm not sure how they compare, but the cleaner seems like it would be less of a process to use than the steamer.

 

[cleepritch]

First of all, thank you for rescuing this guy! Judging from his size I wouldn't be too extremely worried about impaction with that substrate, but there are other issues with it, the main one in this situation being the risk of reinfection. Bark and other loose substrates like that harbor the bacteria and parasites you are trying to get rid of, essentially canceling out the treatment you are giving. The best would be a solid substrate like NON-adhesive textured shelf liner from a home improvement store that can be cleaned with a 50/50 water and vinegar solution or paper towels.

Other questions to hopefully prevent future issues: What is your UVB source (tube, coil, MVB)? Is the UVB on top of the screen or inside the enclosure? If it is on top, what type of screen is it, fine mesh like a screen door or more open hole type? How far away is your UVB from the basking spot? What is the temperature of the basking spot and how is that temperature taken? Sorry, I can't quite tell from your pictures.

Thank you for your response.
That was my worry with the substrate, reinvention. I really like it as it makes cleanup very easy but I don’t want to risk him getting sick again.
There is a tube light on top of a mesh screen (like a screen door fine mesh). I take the temperature with a digital thermometer that I can point at a spot to read. The warm side is usually about 85-104 degrees. The uvb is probably about 6-9 inches from the basking spot when the wooden hide out is in the enclosure. Right now there is probably 10 inches or more because I’ve removed the hide for cleaning.

 

[cleepritch]

Thank you for your response.
That was my worry with the substrate, reinvention. I really like it as it makes cleanup very easy but I don’t want to risk him getting sick again.
There is a tube light on top of a mesh screen (like a screen door fine mesh). I take the temperature with a digital thermometer that I can point at a spot to read. The warm side is usually about 85-104 degrees. The uvb is probably about 6-9 inches from the basking spot when the wooden hide out is in the enclosure. Right now there is probably 10 inches or more because I’ve removed the hide for cleaning.

Sorry *reinfection

 

[smaugthebeardie3756]

Alright with a fine mesh screen like that, it is filtering out almost all of the UV, so you would want it inside the tank or remove the screen over the portion that you have the tube. Even a wide hole mesh (unless it's like chicken wire wide) filters out about 30%. Is it a T5 or T8 tube? T8 would need to be 6-8 inches directly over the basking spot and should be inside the tank regardless as it is not powerful enough to go through any screen. T5 bulb (recommended Reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia 12%) is more powerful, so your distance increases to 12-15 inches above. If you switched the screen top for one with wider holes, you could place it on top as you have it 8-10 inches above the basking spot. Proper UVB is how they get their d3, which is essential for calcium absorption and utilization. Without it they can have a whole host of problems including metabolic bone disease, which can be extremely painful and deadly.

Basking is how they digest their food, so getting accurate temperatures there is also important. Temp guns are better than the stick ons that usually come with a kit, but the most accurate will be a digital thermometer with a metal probe. Put the probe right on the spot he likes to bask and wait 10 minutes, then see what your temperature is. For a 6 month old like that, anywhere from 100-110 would be acceptable, but when he gets to about a year or year and a half 95-105 is good. Warm side ambient temps should be around 90, cool side 80, and cooler at night but not below 65. I would also lose the under tank heater. They don't process pain the same as we do and can't feel it if they are getting too hot on their belly, so they can easily burn themselves by staying on it too long. Not as much of an issue with that bark in there, but with shelf liner or paper towels it could be.

I know this can all be overwhelming, and I promise I'm not trying to make you feel like you're doing everything wrong. I made many of the same mistakes, so I'm trying to pass on the hard lessons so others can avoid them. In fact, you're already doing better than me when I first started because I bought one of those pet store "essentials" kits that came with all kinds of useless stuff that all had to be replaced within a year.