Suspecting Parasites

[braugtay000]

I'm a nervous wreck at the moment, my beardie (Lilla) has been having pretty runny poop as of recently. A few months ago (maybe around April or May), she was having trouble pooping. I talked to her breeders and they suggested a few drops of mineral oil on her meals once a day. I did as suggested and she was having runny bowel movements. I stopped, but as of late it's been fairly runny again and VERY smelly. (She actually just pooped on me after I gave her a bath, and she seemed to have a bit of trouble) I tried to search for what a normal BM should look like but didn't get very far but as to that she may have parasites.

I live in a small town near Indianapolis, Indiana. We have no special reptile vets. I really need some help as to whether or not she is okay, and if I need to bust my butt to get here somewhere. She's almost exactly a year and five months old. She eats an entire bowl of calcium dusted kale a day, along with 100 mealworms every week. (it just depends on how many I feed her that day, so I don't have an exact count).

There are no undigested things, her poop is just mostly green.
She sits under a heatlamp all day (100-108 degrees F)
She's housed in a 55 gallon tank.
I give her fresh water every other day.
I sift through her dirt, but I'm pretty sure she still likes to eat her dead skin.

*****EDIT: I have been feeding her Superworms, not mealworms. The two are in my mind, the same.*****

 

[sue09]

I'm sure someone will know better but Kale everyday on its own isnt very good and mealworms are no good for beardies as they have a hard casing and very little of anything else. Your beardie needs a mix of veg and live crickets or roaches also locusts any of these can be fed to him.
I would say his diet is one cause of his runny poos it could also be parasites and only a fecal exam can tell this. I hope you dont mind me telling you these things,Good luck Sue.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I would try to add some variety of greens in for her. The Kale is higher in oxalates & can bind calcium absorption, too. Try some mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, arugula/rocket, turnip greens, etc. Have you also used any squash varieties for her to see if she likes that?
The mealworms are a bit fatty so I would cut down on those & instead offer dubia roaches, crickets, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, or superworms. Just pick a couple of things for variety.

I would also get a fecal done just to be sure she doesn't have worms or parasites. You could try some non dairy soy yogurt or non dairy acidophiliz to help out her GI tract, too.
Are her basking temperatures optimal for her & measured with either a temp gun or digital probe?


Tracie

 

[braugtay000]

I'm sure someone will know better but Kale everyday on its own isnt very good and mealworms are no good for beardies as they have a hard casing and very little of anything else. Your beardie needs a mix of veg and live crickets or roaches also locusts any of these can be fed to him.
I would say his diet is one cause of his runny poos it could also be parasites and only a fecal exam can tell this. I hope you dont mind me telling you these things,Good luck Sue.

I go back and forth between mealworms and crickets, it's harder for me to keep the crickets alive. I also used to buy three dozen dubia roaches a week, seeing as they were her favorite. That was when the place I was buying from shut down. I found a local clinic and I'm taking her tomorrow. Even if she doesn't have parasites, it'll be a good chance for me to see how she's developing. I appreciate your response, I'll make sure to switch up her diet.

 

[braugtay000]

Hello,

I would try to add some variety of greens in for her. The Kale is higher in oxalates & can bind calcium absorption, too. Try some mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, arugula/rocket, turnip greens, etc. Have you also used any squash varieties for her to see if she likes that?
The mealworms are a bit fatty so I would cut down on those & instead offer dubia roaches, crickets, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, or superworms. Just pick a couple of things for variety.

I would also get a fecal done just to be sure she doesn't have worms or parasites. You could try some non dairy soy yogurt or non dairy acidophiliz to help out her GI tract, too.
Are her basking temperatures optimal for her & measured with either a temp gun or digital probe?


Tracie

My go to has always been kale and parsley (small amounts). I'll try the suggestions you have as well. She loves grapes (I skin and cut them), apples (no more of those, she got an upset tummy), and cantaloupe. Like I said in the comment (that should be above me), I used to feed her dubia roaches as her main source of nutrition, and then the buyer went out. I will start using crickets again, and maybe one day breed dubia roaches. Since they are her favorite.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Hopefully you can get dubias again one of these days.
Since she is an adult, you can cut back to around 35-40 supers per week, that be plenty to maintain her weight. Do you know how much she weighs now?
Great, so you can get a fecal done on her just to check for parasites too. I hope she is doing better soon.

Maybe she will like a few dietary changes too.

Tracie