Zinger is SICK!!

[haleygirl272]

Okay, I came into my room this morning and Zinger was blackbearding and pancaking. I picked him up and pet him. Then I got him a breakfast of Zuchini and red bell peppers. I came in a few minutes later and saw diarhea ALL OVER! Im freaking out. What if he's sick? Is he okay?!

Panicky,
Haley

 

[Neromom39]

Hi Haley,

I'm sorry to hear about Zinger Has he been to the vet lately for a fecal? The first thing that came to mind is coccidia.

The only other thing I can think of is that you have done some changing around him and that might be affecting him, but I don't know that it would affect him that way.

Has he had any fruit?

 

[haleygirl272]

I have been suspecting parasites. I suspect this by the odor of his poo, but he has only had diarhea once before. His beard is jet black and he's sitting in his hammock. He hasn't had any fruit for the past 2 weeks or so. He also hasn't had crickets for a week because we ordered them, but.... :dontknow:

Yes. I have recently changed his substrate to shelf liner. He didn't show any signs of stress, though. Not until today.

 

[Neromom39]

I have been suspecting parasites. I suspect this by the odor of his poo, but he has only had diarhea once before. His beard is jet black and he's sitting in his hammock. He hasn't had any fruit for the past 2 weeks or so. He also hasn't had crickets for a week because we ordered them, but.... :dontknow:

Yes. I have recently changed his substrate to shelf liner. He didn't show any signs of stress, though. Not until today.

It would probably be a good idea to rule it out then. I know that I always thought that there had to be more than one sign for parasites, but when Nero had them, he was eating fine, growing, acting fine, no stress marks... just the poo thing. And he still ended up having it. In the long run better to be safe than sorry. Especially if you have been suspecting them :?

I'm not going to go throught the husbandry spiel with you, because you know the drill.

 

[haleygirl272]

I have the money to take him and get him to the vet but my parents won't take me. I harass and harass but, "okay we'll make the appointement." It's not happening! The reptile vet is five hours away and Zinger needs the fecal, but they keep 'forgetting.' So I AM trying to get a fecal done.
He's just sitting there and I feel so bad for him! He is sick and I don't know what to do for him. I can't get rid of his black beard.

 

[Neromom39]

I have the money to take him and get him to the vet but my parents won't take me. I harass and harass but, "okay we'll make the appointement." It's not happening! The reptile vet is five hours away and Zinger needs the fecal, but they keep 'forgetting.' So I AM trying to get a fecal done.
He's just sitting there and I feel so bad for him! He is sick and I don't know what to do for him. I can't get rid of his black beard.

Just out of curiosity can you take the sample to a closer vet? They should be able to run the fecal and let you know and then you can call your herp vet after you have the results. That way if isn't positive, you won't have driven 5 hours for nothing and if it is, then you have a soild case... you need to go to get his medicine :shock:

 

[causeascene203]

Aw, poor Zinger. I hope he's feeling better soon.

Has he had more veggies than usual? Sometimes when they eat a lot of veggies it can make their poo really runny. Even if they have the same amount of veggies as you usually feed them but less live feeders, that can make the poo runny too. Has his diet changed at all in the past week? Has he been eating the same amount of veggies and the same amount of live feeders as usual?

Try and convince your parents of the importance of bringing Zinger to the vet. Are you sure there isn't someone closer? Have you tried http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ ? Sometimes a really nice dog or cat vet will take a look at a fecal sample for you. They usually won't treat, but if you bring them a list of things to look for (like coccidia, pinworms, etc) they'll at least tell you if everything is normal or not. (Most of the younger dog and cat vets who have graduated from vet school recently had to take at least a half semester on common treatment and anatomy of exotic species when they were in vet school. A lot of vet schools consider it a graduation requirement now. They certainly don't know as much as an exotics specialist, but they should all know at least a little and should be capable of running a fecal.)

EDIT: Sorry for repeating you, Neromom39, you must have posted while I was typing.

 

[haleygirl272]

That's a wonderful idea! I had no idea they could diagnose reptiles if they weren't certified. This is odd, but he's acting like NOTHING ever happened. He is a little dark, but he is always dark when he basks, which is what he's doing right now.

Okay, I tried herpvetconnection and there was nothing closer. That's where I got the information in the first place. I have tried with my parents. They just...gosh, don't get me started. I could rage on about this vet issue. They even apologized and said, "when we let you have Zinger, we were also making a commitement." Yeah... They have yet to make the appointement. I might just have to walk there on my own. :roll: (just kidding.) Anyway, back to serious matters. I have given him more variety of veggies. I have added cilantro (just a little) and some zuchini and carrots and butternut squash. It used to be collard greens, red bell peppers, strawberries, and some yellow squash and dandelions. He has a variety of crickets and worms. His protein diet hasn't changed.

 

[causeascene203]

Well, they can't exactly give you a diagnosis if you have other problems, but they CAN tell you if Zinger has a high parasite count in his fecal sample. Give all the vets a call and see what they say!

I know one of my dragons gets really runny poo if he eats collard greens, another gets runny poo if she eats kale. Try going back to the veggies that you were offering before and wait until the next poo to see what happens. It might have just been one of the new veggies that made his poo runny.

I would still try to get a fecal done even if it looks good, though. It's always good to have them up to date just in case.

 

[haleygirl272]

Thanks for all the help!

 

[causeascene203]

Good luck!

 

[haleygirl272]

He did it again. It was slightly more solid, but I've decided I'm going to go easy on veggies and feed him more crickets to see if that is the problem. He is actually being more energetic than usual. Maybe it's a last wind before he gets really bad. I hope not.

 

[causeascene203]

Oh dear.

Any luck on convincing your parents to go make a vet appointment? It's a strong possibility that Zinger has picked up some parasites, and it would be a really good idea to get a fecal done just in case.

 

[haleygirl272]

Yes. They tell me we can go to the vet, it's just they haven't made an appointement yet. (refer to above posts)

Im going to get him some pumpkin since it's a natural dewormer

 

[causeascene203]

Oh, I was asking more along the lines of if you were able to convince them to make the appointment yet.

I've never heard pumpkin being a natural de-wormer, but I have used it to clear impactions. It can make everything go through their digestive tract faster, so I don't know if pumpkin would be the best idea if his poo is already really runny. It might make him really dehydrated.