Scared my beardies are dying.

[Momswims1]

Someone please read this and respond. My Frankie and Rosie were declared free of Coccidia by the vet after quite a battle, however, they never started eating again. It has been weeks now that I have been dropper feeding them carnivore supplement by Oxbow, but now they will not even take that. They have lost incredible amounts of weight.
I have tried waxworms, baby food, discoids, superworms, crickets, greens of all kinds, repti boost. They are getting weaker and just want to be held all the time when I am home.
We are giving them acidophilus, calcium...everything we can. Please help. The vet seems baffled. He checked them for pinworms and they were clear, but he wants to treat them proactively because our smallest one has them. I can't stand the thought of starting them on Panacur when they are don't even have pinworms. They are already so stressed.
The only thing I can find wrong is that we switched the basking bulbs to a different kind and their basking temp is not high enough. It is only 89. This is certainly enough to make them stop eating, isn't it? It is a subject of debate in our house.
I think it needs to be higher, around 102 degrees. Am I right? Please clarify.

 

[vampy]

It is only 89. This is certainly enough to make them stop eating, isn't it? It is a subject of debate in our house.
I think it needs to be higher, around 102 degrees. Am I right? Please clarify.

You are right. It needs to be at least 95 for them to digest food, and babies do better with 100-110 degree temps. You don't need special basking bulbs, just regular old household incandescents are fine. In the first instance I'd definitely switch out the bulbs (and use a probe or IR thermometer to check the temps).

If this doesn't help, I'd also be wary about giving them more meds for something they don't even have. Did the vet check for other parasites, or just coccidia and pinworms?

Have you tried smooshed up crickets whose insides are coming out? That sometimes appeals to them.

It would help if you can give a rundown of your setup...UV type, tank size, substrate, etc. That way someone else might have some ideas of what you can try for them.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, I'm so sorry for all this distress your family + dragons are going through . I hope they can be helped....first off, how big + how old are they ? Are they babies or larger ? Can you post pics ? Also, how were they eating BEFORE they were treated for coccidia, and what was used ? I would hold off on any more meds., these dragons need a rest from drugs that have upset their digestive tract. As Vampy mentioned, you need to bump the temps. up a bit, especially if they are young dragons. And the smashing a cricket trick will work well at times, rub it on their noses. It seems to work better for babies than adults. So if you can post pics, it will show what condition they're in.

 

[Onlymediocre]

Have u tried giving them some soy yogurt? If read that the meds can rlly upset their tummies.. It may be a combination of the temps not being high enough and them just feeling "blah" from the medicine..

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What type of basking bulb did you switch to? Is it a bright white light or a bluish tinted daytime bulb that is coated with neodymium?
The basking temperatures should be in a range of 95-110 with a cooler end of around 78-82. A temperature of 89 is not enough for digestion so they may not want to eat if they are not warm enough.
I would not give more meds as they have been through enough right now.
What type of UVB do you have? Is it a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?

Tracie

 

[Momswims1]

The bulb my husband had switched them to had some kind of coating. They were 75 watt, also, which is not enough.
I took those bulbs out last night and we put in regular clear 90 watt bulbs and the basking temp went up to 114 immediately. We moved their perches to where the temp just above their heads is 103 with a probe thermometer. Ambien temp went up to 80 or 85 depending on which end of the viv.
They are in 55 gallon vivs with reptisun 10 UVB bulbs in each. They have wooden perches that they can go up and down to regulate. They have hides, half logs, bricks, etc. We have nice tile down on the floors that we sanitize after each poo.
I turn their lights on at 6 each morning and before I leave for work, I make sure they are up and basking, after each gets held for a few minutes.
Their lights go out between 8:30 or 9 pm.
Did I say that I totally adore these animals and I don't know what I would do if something happened to them? They mean so much to me.
Yes, we are holding out on the panacur with them already being so sick.
Rosie and Frankie are 6 months old and 16 inches long. They are beautiful orange and gold. They were really chubby before all this happened.