Rex, 8 week old, 28grams, has coccidia. What probiotic?

[Rowdy Rex]

Hello, we just got our boy Jan 25th, he is about 8-9 weeks old now we are guessing, he is 8 inches long from nose to tail and weighs 28grams (he’s almost a whole ounce!)
Stool sample showed coccidia.
- Vet prescribed him SulfadiVet, 1ml daily for 21 days.
I have some questions!
1. Isn’t 21 days of taking these meds going to be a lot for this tiny thing to handle?
2. How do I keep him hydrated? Is just some drops of water on his nose going to be enough? How often should we be doing this?
3. What probiotic do I get for him?
4. What is the best food for him during this treatment?

 

[Claudiusx]

1. Isn’t 21 days of taking these meds going to be a lot for this tiny thing to handle?

Yes. Sulfa drugs are extremely harsh. I don't even recommend taking dragons that young to a vet.

2. How do I keep him hydrated? Is just some drops of water on his nose going to be enough? How often should we be doing this?

If he will drink water this way, that is great. Its a good habit to get into for life long health

3. What probiotic do I get for him?

Non-diary probiotics only. But, I recommend not giving him the medication at all.

4. What is the best food for him during this treatment?

Once again, I highly recommend against it. It will greatly affect his appetite and his GI tract. Feed him what he would normally eat.

Almost all dragons will have parasites in their systems. It's only when these parasite counts get out of whack that treatment is necessary. Dragon's immune systems typically do a good job of keeping these numbers at a non-symptomatic level. Things that can cause these numbers to grow out of hand would be moments of sickness or stress.

You've only had your dragon for a few weeks. He is a baby. And he is in a whole new world from the one he grew up in. He is likely under a lot of stress right now which is going to inflate his parasite numbers. Give him a few months to settle in and then, if you want, recheck him for parasites to see what the numbers are like.

Putting him on such a harsh medication when he is already obviously stressed out is going to be a lot on him.

Make sure your husbandry is up to par, and that you are providing a proper diet, and let him settle in.

-Brandon

 

[Rowdy Rex]

Yes. Sulfa drugs are extremely harsh. I don't even recommend taking dragons that young to a vet.

If he will drink water this way, that is great. Its a good habit to get into for life long health

Non-diary probiotics only. But, I recommend not giving him the medication at all.

Once again, I highly recommend against it. It will greatly affect his appetite and his GI tract. Feed him what he would normally eat.

Almost all dragons will have parasites in their systems. It's only when these parasite counts get out of whack that treatment is necessary. Dragon's immune systems typically do a good job of keeping these numbers at a non-symptomatic level. Things that can cause these numbers to grow out of hand would be moments of sickness or stress.

You've only had your dragon for a few weeks. He is a baby. And he is in a whole new world from the one he grew up in. He is likely under a lot of stress right now which is going to inflate his parasite numbers. Give him a few months to settle in and then, if you want, recheck him for parasites to see what the numbers are like.

Putting him on such a harsh medication when he is already obviously stressed out is going to be a lot on him.

Make sure your husbandry is up to par, and that you are providing a proper diet, and let him settle in.

-Brandon

 

[Claudiusx]

He is a cute pudgy little guy. looks like he's already off to a great start with an owner who cares so much.

-Brandon

 

[Rowdy Rex]

Okay! Thank you for the fast response! I am going to stop the meds. Ugh. Today was the 4th day he was on them. I attached a photo… it looks pathetic in his enclosure now. What do I need to do to fix this setup for him? Should we just leave him alone and let him just get comfortable?

 

[Claudiusx]

Oh I didn't realize you had already started them. I still would err on the side of stopping them and then retesting in a few months if need be. Unless there was a reason you had him checked for parasites to begin with other than just for a routine check?

-Brandon

 

[xp29]

One of the biggest keys to Coccidia is cleanliness and hygiene. Coccidia has to be pooped out and reingested to multiply. Beardies test everything with thier tongue. So if he tracks through poops and then licks something he tracked it on to, that's when Coccidia can explode. Clean poop asap and if he gets in it rinse him in luke warm water from the faucet.
Bleach will not kill Coccidia. Ammonia or high heat with about 10 minutes exposure will. Ammonia is toxic to them if used rinse and air to zero fumes.
I agree with Brandon about the meds. They will likely wreck his appetite as well. Babies need to eat. He could become stunted or sickly if given meds to young.

 

[Rowdy Rex]

Oh I didn't realize you had already started them. I still would err on the side of stopping them and then retesting in a few months if need be. Unless there was a reason you had him checked for parasites to begin with other than just for a routine check?

-Brandon

Just a routine check. We have goats, chickens, cats and dogs, so stool samples are kind of routine with us around here. LOL. I will stop the meds for now and check once he is older and better adjusted here. Thank you!

 

[Rowdy Rex]

One of the biggest keys to Coccidia is cleanliness and hygiene. Coccidia has to be pooped out and reingested to multiply. Beardies test everything with thier tongue. So if he tracks through poops and then licks something he tracked it on to, that's when Coccidia can explode. Clean poop asap and if he gets in it rinse him in luke warm water from the faucet.
Bleach will not kill Coccidia. Ammonia or high heat with about 10 minutes exposure will. Ammonia is toxic to them if used rinse and air to zero fumes.
I agree with Brandon about the meds. They will likely wreck his appetite as well. Babies need to eat. He could become stunted or sickly if given meds to young.

Thank you. I actually purchased and have been using F10 to clean his enclosure the last two days. Since learning he has coccidia I have been on high alert with his poo and cleaning it up as soon as I see it.
I was going to purchase a steam cleaner also. I read about ammonia and it makes me too nervous to use it.

 

[xp29]

Thank you. I actually purchased and have been using F10 to clean his enclosure the last two days. Since learning he has coccidia I have been on high alert with his poo and cleaning it up as soon as I see it.
I was going to purchase a steam cleaner also. I read about ammonia and it makes me too nervous to use it.

I use chlorhexidine personally. It is a vet grade disinfectant but is safe enough to pour on open wounds or to use as mouthwash. It can be found online or at tractor supply in the horse section.

 

[Rowdy Rex]

I use chlorhexidine personally. It is a vet grade disinfectant but is safe enough to pour on open wounds or to use as mouthwash. It can be found online or at tractor supply in the horse section.

I use that also. I actually clean with that first and then go over everything with the F10. Chlorhexidine doesn’t kill coccidia from everything that I have read.

 

[xp29]

I use that also. I actually clean with that first and then go over everything with the F10. Chlorhexidine doesn’t kill coccidia from everything that I have read.

I've gotten mixed info on if it kills it. I use it they to lift any parasites so they can be wiped away when I clean up the poop. We don't necessarily have to kill it, just remove from the habitat.
It should kill most any other bacteria or parasites there. Any time I'm actually fighting an outbreak I use ammonia. But since I've started using the chlorhexidine I've only had one instance in about 3 years or so.

 

[stormfly]

Not a beardie expert by any means, but my little girl Stormfly had coccidia at the same age last year so I can at least speak from personal experience. The vet prescribed her 2 weeks of 1ml antifungal meds (I don't remember what exact type, sorry!), so I did that and it cleared her right up. I gave her a short bath for hydration every day, but she also would lick up water from my fingers. She did not drink her bathwater.

For her living situation while she was sick, I cleaned out her entire enclosure and removed anything that wasn't paper or cardboard. I use F10 for cleaning, too, and cleaned all of her old habitat setup like twice. I made a new setup with a couple tissue boxes that had a ramp and nice hiding space, and she loved it. If you're crafty, definitely recommend doing something like that for the little guy so the enclosure doesn't look/feel as barren! I covered the boxes in paper towels for easy cleaning when she pooed.

When I took her in for a 6 month checkup the vet said she was in perfect health, was growing as she should be, etc. Her meds didn't seem to have any affect on her appetite or growth, but I'm not sure if that was just her or more general. She got crickets and was offered greens, which she absolutely destroyed. Girlie LOVES to eat. She was shedding during all of this, too, and didn't seem affected by her meds.

Not necessarily recommending to do what I did, but I at least wanted to share my experience! She's a healthy, happy 9 month old now who still destroys her protein and veg with gusto.

 

[Rowdy Rex]

I've gotten mixed info on if it kills it. I use it they to lift any parasites so they can be wiped away when I clean up the poop. We don't necessarily have to kill it, just remove from the habitat.
It should kill most any other bacteria or parasites there. Any time I'm actually fighting an outbreak I use ammonia. But since I've started using the chlorhexidine I've only had one instance in about 3 years or so.

Gotcha. This whole thing has me a nervous wreck. Haha. We got Rex for my son who has very little interest in anything and he has really bonded with this little thing! I just want to make sure we do everything right for my sons sake.

 

[xp29]

Gotcha. This whole thing has me a nervous wreck. Haha. We got Rex for my son who has very little interest in anything and he has really bonded with this little thing! I just want to make sure we do everything right for my sons sake.

Beardies are FANTASTIC companions. Once they bond with us they are happy to spend hours and hours with us.
It makes me happy your kid is taking interest in him