Reptaid Discussion

[Coliosis]

I just started Daisy and Yogi on Reptaid XL today. They both have slightly runny poops, Daisy more than Yogi, that smell quite bad and I also think Yogi may have the very beginning of a URI. He always holds his mouth open just a little bit when he basks/lays around, but doesn't seem to have any trouble breathing or any mucus at all. Then about a week ago, I think the day and reason I ordered Reptaid XL lol, I heard him make a little wheeze/cough noise after his bath...That was the first and only one I've heard, and he actually hasn't been holding his mouth open today, so if he has a URI, it must be very minor. Oh, Yogi has also never eaten very much (never any greens), so I'm curious to see if that will change... They both had their first dose about an hour ago, wish us luck!!

 

[japcarsBrett]

Good luck i hope it helps it has worked a treat on my beardie Axel, he is on his 2 day break now he has also never really eaten his greens he used to but as he got older he went off them and now never eats them what i do is put some mini meal worms and phoneix worms in his veggie bowl so they move his veggies all over the bowl then he has to found out whats moving and as he digs and investigate's he see's them so as he eats them he normally gets some greens at the same time by accident though but least he gets his greens that way not a great amount though but just a thought you could try that see if it works

 

[Coliosis]

I've never actually tried Phoenix Worms, although I would love to! They're just hard to find around here. Yogi normally gets superworms since he can't be bothered to chase crickets. Even with the supers, Yogi won't eat in front of me lately
I'll put about 5 in 2 separate bowls (so 10 total) so they can't use each other to climb out, and he'll usually eat at least one bowl, but some days he eats more, some days he eats nothing. I used to put greens in with the supers, until I realized they were using the greens to escape.. But thanks for the idea! Smaller worms...lol

 

[SpikesAgirl]

JapcarsBrett, Dino is much, much better! Thanks for asking! We still have a ways to go, but we will get there, I'm SURE! :mrgreen:
Her appetite is crazy on the Reptaid. She used to only eat once a day and be fine. I would try to give her an evening meal and she really wasn't interested. Since giving her the Reptaid, she's eats twice a day and is RAVENOUS at meal time. Her lights aren't even on for an hour in the morning and she's running to the glass when she sees her food dish coming! :shock: Her fungus has cleared up quite a bit, but not completely. I'm concerned about the crust/scabs under her eyes. Not seeing much of a change there. I think I'm gonna bring her in to the vet to get that checked out. It's crust that's hard like a ROCK. I put the Reptaid on it full strength every day and not seeing a change. I try to soften it up in her bath, hoping it will slough off and it doesn't. :roll: So, I have seen mostly positive things with the product. Hope everyone trying it has good results! Good Luck!
@Nicole, did you know that Phoenix worms are also called "Calci-worms"? The Petco stores (are they in Canada :?: ) sell them under that name, not Phoenix worms. Online ordering is always an option if you really, really want to try them! They are much, much smaller than super worms. About the length of a wax worm but much flatter. :wink: This site:
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/
was suggested to me by a bunch of people when I asked a superworm question. I had no clue they came in different sizes until I asked about them. They have quite the variety of worms to try!! If you're giving your dragons Reptaid, be prepared to FEED them, they're gonna be HUNGRY! :shock:

 

[Coliosis]

@Sue - Thanks for the tip, but no Petco here. I'm going to ask this guy that owns a reptile shop here if he can get some in for me, if not I'll order some online. I really hope their appetite increases as much as you say, well mostly for Yogi!
Great to hear Dino is doing better
I'm going to give their second dose in a minute.

Does anyone find that it makes a difference if you give them the Reptaid before vs. after eating??

 

[SpikesAgirl]

I put the Reptaid right on her food or drip a couple drops onto the meal worms (they FREAK out, must burn their eyes or something! LOL!) I've also put her crickets in a big, disposable coffee cup, dripped the Reptaid directly on them too and swirled them around in it to get it into her rather than fight with the syringe. Sometimes she eagerly takes it from the syringe, other times she turns her face away from it. I guess it depends on how much you have to give your dragon whether or not you can do it that way. Dino's very small so she only gets .025 of the Reptaid XL which is about 3 drops! The other way you can do it, which totally grosses me out, is to inject it into the bugs! There is no way on God's green Earth that I'm gonna be doin' THAT! Yuk!

 

[japcarsBrett]

Hi i'm glad Dino is doing better that's great news i hope the vet can try something there and help you with that shame the reptaid can't help there i guess it must be something a bit to strong for it but least it is helping with everything else great that she wants to eat like that good old reptaid, also i hope Yogi's appetite gets better i'm sure it will just give him some time and you will notice a big diffrence, my beardie Axel is doing so much better now before he never wanted food or if he did never pooped longest was about a week and a half! he only wanted to sleep all day and do nothing he looked so ill in himself as well, and now he is just like a new beardie all happy running around like crazy chasing and hunting his locuts or crickets and destroying everything in his viv for when i come home to see just like he is telling me see i.m not lazy anymore lol, he has just had his first 2 day break and is now on his next 10 day dose now luckily i can give it to him orally which is great he fights it off sometimes but i found making sure it was warm with putting it under his basking light for a few mins when the reptaid is in syringe he takes it much better something you both could try if you haven't already. well i hope this works out well for anyone else who will use it defiantly 100% worth it .

 

[Coliosis]

So it's day 7 on Reptaid XL for Daisy and Yogi. What I have noticed so far is that Daisy has been eating way fewer superworms (close to half of what she used to, maybe about 10 compared to 20+), maybe a little more salad, but has had a lot more energy most days and runs around her tank. With Yogi, he stopped eating for a few days until yesterday when he ate about 3 times what he normally does, and he has been sleeping a lot lately or just hanging out in his cave. He hasn't eaten yet today and he seemed really freaked out today for some reason, would open his mouth at me and my bf when we approached him and was tail whipping my bf... maybe he was afraid we were giving him more of the reptaid (neither one likes it..)? Oh and both of their poops seem to be a little more solid, I think.

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Hi Nicole,
So are you treating for possible URI and parasites? I have a bunch of questions... Are they housed together? Have they been to the vet and had a fecal exam done for parasites? If you're dealing with a possible URI in one of them, do you have a night heat source? If you can't afford a vet at this time, there is a 'do it yourself' fecal float kit you could try here:
http://www.beardeddragons.co/beardeddragon/index.php?route=product/category&path=68

 

[Coliosis]

Hey Sue,

Yeah I guess I am treating for possible parasites in Daisy, and URI in Yogi, but I think it's mostly me being a worry-wart. Neither one of my beardies actually seems sick at all, in fact quite the opposite. I weighed them on June 5th and Yogi was 490g and Daisy was 440.5g, then today I just weighed them and Yogi is at 503.3 and Daisy is at 489g! They really haven't been eating all that much lately either, not more than usual anyways. Oh and NO they are not housed together, I have enough babies for now lol Actually I don't have a night heat source for Yogi, maybe I should look into getting a CHE, but it doesn't get very cold in his enclosure as it's wooden so pretty insulated (stays around 78 at night). I guess I haven't thought to get one yet because I'm not really sure if he does have a URI, just wanted to be safe. A CHE is a good idea though. I thought he could have the beginning of one because at first I figured his enclosure might be pretty humid as it's wooden, but then I got my hygrometer working again and found that all the enclosures are well below 30%, then he also usually hold his mouth open just a crack while he's lounging around, but then I found that some other beardies do that too, like as if they're too lazy to close their mouth lol, then there was that weird noise we heard after giving him a bath, the one time. Never hear any popping noises, no mucus, he's active and runs around when I have him out, gaining weight, etc. Think he could have the beginning of one or am I just being paranoid? As for Daisy, her poops recently just seemed a little softer and smelly. They haven't had a fecal yet, but I plan on having one done after their trial of Reptaid, there's a good local vet here. But now I'm curious about this "do it yourself" kit, have you used it before? How effective/accurate is it?

Quick question about CHEs...I've read on here and elsewhere they just go into a regular light fixture, light for a heat lamp, but then if you read the fixtures it says not suitable for CHEs, that CHEs need to be in a wire fixture. So who's right? lol

 

[SpikesAgirl]

YAAY! Weight gain for the win! LOL! If your Yogi isn't breathing rapidly/heavy along with the open mouth and there are no "popping" or wheezing sounds, he's probably just thermo-regulating! Kind of like when a dog pants to cool off; beardies open their mouth! Hopefully that's the case and he's just nice & toasty! :wink: If he's open mouth breathing out of his enclosure and your not sitting outside in 90 degree weather and he's doing it, then I might be worried. If his night temps are 78, you don't really need a CHE. The fixture has to be ceramic. The ones we buy for heat lamps/bulbs usually say right on the box if they can or can't be used for CHE's. It doesn't sound like he's got a URI, sounds more like gaping to thermo-regulate. I don't really know how to use those home fecal float kits, I saw someone asking Tracie (Drache613) to help them read the results though. I can't really tell you anything else about them as I'm not familiar with them. :silent:

 

[Coliosis]

Well I definitely appreciate all the info! I know Yogi gapes when he's basking and is warm, with his mouth wide open, but if he's chilling out on his stick or on top of his cave or something (or behind it in the bushes lately ahaha) he'll hold his mouth open just a tad bit, but it doesn't even seem like he's breathing through his mouth like that, just too lazy to close it all the way. But he doesn't do it if I have him out, only when he's relaxing, that's fine right? No popping or wheezing or heavy/struggled breathing either I've just read soo many threads on here about beardies battling URIs and pneumonia and it seems IMPOSSIBLE to get rid of once settled in, so I just wanted to try a round or two of reptaid just to be safe. Plus he's never had a huge appetite (and yet still gaining weight...lol), so wanted to see if it would help with that. Thanks for the CHE info too, I appreciate it! I think I'm going to order some of those fecal tests to try, I'll let you know how it works out!

Daisy just had a pretty solid poop, surrounded by a bunch of water (I've been keeping them pretty hydrated while on reptaid, figured it was a good idea), but her urate looks a little orange/yellow and has been the past few days. Would that be from the Reptaid maybe, or possibly just too much calcium?

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Yeah, pneumonia and URI'S are a pain in the butt to get rid of! Is this the first time you seen the urates like that? Usually orange/yellow is a dehydration thing, but if you're keeping them plenty hydrated, could be a parasite... Maybe the reptaid is working it out? I'm not sure about that one though. :?: Not an expert in the beardie poop department! If there's a puddle of water around her poop, sounds like she's plenty hydrated. You sure Daisy's a she?? Sometimes during breeding season, the males pass seminal plugs that discolor the urates... :?: Maybe you could PM Tracie about it if someone else doesn't chime in. I haven't noticed Dino's urates being discolored at all during her taking Reptaid. They always look bright white. Dino has had blood work done a few times, her calcium always comes back a little high but her urates have always been white, so I don't know about too much calcium causing that either. :| Stumped on that one. :roll: Glad I could help with the CHE info though! :wink: Let us know how that fecal test goes, I'm curious about them myself!

 

[Izzy34]

Well I just read through 29 pages and I'm a bit on the fence. For thirty bucks I ordered up some reptaid, I have a 6-8 month old beardie that is use weight and doesn't poop regularly an eats like a champ though. His coloring has been off and he hasn't gained any weight. Gonba give it a 10 day cycle and see what happens. I'll post back when I receive it.

 

[diamc]

Too much calcium can make their urates off color. How many days a wk are you giving Daisy the calcium and how old is she? Be sure to give oral fluids too besides the baths. The Reptaid is very drying so you have to be sure to almost OVER hydrate them.