Questions for Coccidia treatment

[Sadie]

I would follow Tracies advice and see if things improve w/ the appetite - when Blaze was on Albon for parasites he didnt lose his appetite but he was also on a different med along w/ the Albon and I was giving a probiotic as well -- I cant remember the name of the other med he was on -- I am glad your getting the Arcadia UVB it is a way better quality UVB --

 

[appamama]

Hello,

Sorry your boy is having so much trouble! While Albon is a good medication, usually effective against
coccidia & other parasites, it is very hard on their system most of the time. Has his stool improved?
Are you giving a probiotic for him while he is on Albon? Perhaps you should give a few days off of the
meds, if he has improved but has lost all appetite.
As for the eye, has it been a variance in size since you have had him? The eye appears clear without
any infection. Does he seem to be able to see out of it normally?
It could be a type of birth defect, or perhaps a side effect from the UVB light, in the case it's giving off
low wavelength that might have caused some damage. Is that eye the one that is closest to the UVB
tube bulb?
I would also try to keep him a little warmer over night to help boost his system.

Tracie

Hi there, thanks for getting back to me. From what I could tell his eye was not like this prior to getting sick. I did order a new UVB bulb and that should be here in the next couple of days! I definitely think he can see out of that eye because when I’m trying to hold his bugs in front of him and he doesn’t want them, he closes his eyes.
He has not pooped since about 12 days ago but has also not eaten much in the last 14 days since starting the medication. (he has only been pooping about once a week or every other week since I got him in the end of November.) originally thought maybe he was in brumation but he was definitely being too active to be in brumation.
He will eat hornworms and blueberries and I bought some organic chicken baby food. I’m going to give him right now.
I was dusting his roaches and hornworms in probiotics, and since he hasn’t been eating most of the roaches, just ate a few, I am now mixing the probiotic in with the baby food to give it to him that way.
He has not lost any weight, though in the last two weeks and aside from the loss of appetite he still runs around when I take him out of the enclosure or give him a bath and isn’t acting too lethargic. He can hold his head up and himself up just fine. I have cats so I have just been hesitant to take him out of his enclosure and handle him too much to avoid it passing to the other animals.

 

[Sadie]

Hi there, thanks for getting back to me. From what I could tell his eye was not like this prior to getting sick. I did order a new UVB bulb and that should be here in the next couple of days! I definitely think he can see out of that eye because when I’m trying to hold his bugs in front of him and he doesn’t want them, he closes his eyes.
He has not pooped since about 12 days ago but has also not eaten much in the last 14 days since starting the medication. (he has only been pooping about once a week or every other week since I got him in the end of November.) originally thought maybe he was in brumation but he was definitely being too active to be in brumation.
He will eat hornworms and blueberries and I bought some organic chicken baby food. I’m going to give him right now.
I was dusting his roaches and hornworms in probiotics, and since he hasn’t been eating most of the roaches, just ate a few, I am now mixing the probiotic in with the baby food to give it to him that way.
He has not lost any weight, though in the last two weeks and aside from the loss of appetite he still runs around when I take him out of the enclosure or give him a bath and isn’t acting too lethargic. He can hold his head up and himself up just fine. I have cats so I have just been hesitant to take him out of his enclosure and handle him too much to avoid it passing to the other animals.

It is normal for dragons not to poop for weeks at a time but w/ him not eating as much that doesnt help either- make sure hes hydrated - Albon will dry him out - is he drinking in the bath?

 

[appamama]

It is normal for dragons not to poop for weeks at a time but w/ him not eating as much that doesnt help either- make sure hes hydrated - Albon will dry him out - is he drinking in the bath?

I am going to start giving him water by syringe mix in with the baby food to make sure he is hydrated.
I usually give him baths a few times a week and he will drink in the bath, but yesterday I put him in the bath and he started swimming and then puffed up like a giant balloon, and I felt bad that he was super stressed out. Is the bath only hydrating to them if they drink the water?

 

[appamama]

It is normal for dragons not to poop for weeks at a time but w/ him not eating as much that doesnt help either- make sure hes hydrated - Albon will dry him out - is he drinking in the bath?

Also how much baby food and water should I be giving him per day?

 

[Sadie]

I am going to start giving him water by syringe mix in with the baby food to make sure he is hydrated.
I usually give him baths a few times a week and he will drink in the bath, but yesterday I put him in the bath and he started swimming and then puffed up like a giant balloon, and I felt bad that he was super stressed out. Is the bath only hydrating to them if they drink the water?

Yes they actually haft to drink it and too many baths will dry his scales out -- I would drop water on his nose see if he will lick the water - if he does keep dropping till he quits or moves away - I have gotten my two dragons to drink water off a salad plate - I set head and feet on the plate and drop water on the head as it runs off onto the plate then I spray water onto the plate and they will lick off the plate -- you cant water the baby food down and I am feeding Blaze 3 MLs of herbivore critical care every other day or so - I offer roaches and super worms in between - Blaze is sight impaired and will not eat vegies - they dont move and he has hard enough time w the insects and worms -

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your boy doing today? I wouldn't worry about your other animals getting anything like coccidia
from him, it is a very remote chance.
Is he taking the baby food from you pretty well? If his weight is stable & he doesn't really need to gain
weight, just give the minimum on the syringe feeding. Give 1-2MLS a few times weekly, for a nutritional
boost & extra hydration. This should help with him feeling better while he is still on the Albon.
I'm glad you got a new UVB light on the way, hopefully that will help his eye.
Keep us updated on him!

Tracie

 

[appamama]

Hello,

How is your boy doing today? I wouldn't worry about your other animals getting anything like coccidia
from him, it is a very remote chance.
Is he taking the baby food from you pretty well? If his weight is stable & he doesn't really need to gain
weight, just give the minimum on the syringe feeding. Give 1-2MLS a few times weekly, for a nutritional
boost & extra hydration. This should help with him feeling better while he is still on the Albon.
I'm glad you got a new UVB light on the way, hopefully that will help his eye.
Keep us updated on him!

Tracie

Hi there, he seems like he’s pulling through
! He’s not super interested in the baby food, but he doesn’t mind if I put it on his nose and then he will start licking it and eating it. I haven’t given him the bond in two days just to give his stomach a break and I’m going to reach out to the vet so that when he does poop, I can drop it off to them.

 

[appamama]

Hello,

How is your boy doing today? I wouldn't worry about your other animals getting anything like coccidia
from him, it is a very remote chance.
Is he taking the baby food from you pretty well? If his weight is stable & he doesn't really need to gain
weight, just give the minimum on the syringe feeding. Give 1-2MLS a few times weekly, for a nutritional
boost & extra hydration. This should help with him feeling better while he is still on the Albon.
I'm glad you got a new UVB light on the way, hopefully that will help his eye.
Keep us updated on him!

Tracie

Hi there I got my new UVB bulb in! Would someone be able to pls help me make sure I have it positioned correctly?

 

[Sadie]

Hi there I got my new UVB bulb in! Would someone be able to pls help me make sure I have it positioned correctly?

What is the screen on the tank? Fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type?

 

[appamama]

What is the screen on the tank? Fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type?

It is a thick screen with holes. Not like a fine mesh door

 

[Sadie]

It is a thick screen with holes. Not like a fine mesh door

Thick screens can block uvb rays even tho the hole is not as fine-- I think I would not take a chance and put it in the tank directly above the basking decor 12-15 inches - you can hang w/ heat resistant long zip ties found at home Depot or picture wire hangers found at your craft stores-

 

[appamama]

Thick screens can block uvb rays even tho the hole is not as fine-- I think I would not take a chance and put it in the tank directly above the basking decor 12-15 inches - you can hang w/ heat resistant long zip ties found at home Depot or picture wire hangers found at your craft stores-

This is the bulb I got! I’m going to try and hang it how you mentioned. Is there an issue if he ends up getting too close to the bulb? I don’t think he will but once I have his other basking decor in there it’s gonna be closer than 12 inches.

 

[Sadie]

This is the bulb I got! I’m going to try and hang it how you mentioned. Is there an issue if he ends up getting too close to the bulb? I don’t think he will but once I have his other basking decor in there it’s gonna be closer than 12 inches.

Is this w/ the basking decor piece you can always get a lower decor or have him sit on the floor- I have a dragon that is eye site impaired so he doesn't climb his uvb is 12 inches above the floor- he also can get out of the rays if he doesn't want to sit under it

 

[Krystal0]

Hi everyone. Some background - My beardie is three years old and his name is Appa. I adopted him from a rescue back in November. I got him set up in a bio active vivarium in a 90 Gal enclosure. From the time I got him he had very inconsistent poops. I just assumed it was stress because aside from that he was healthy, eating, hydrated, and all parts of the husbandry were good as well.
Fast-forward to this month, he had a poop that was just very, very stinky and wet so I took him in for a fecal test and it came back that he did have coccidia, parasites, and very minimal pinworms which I was told was normal (the pinworms, not the parasites of coccidia).
I took all of the stuff out of the enclosure and I sanitized it and he’s currently in there with paper towels, and I change out his water every day and he is currently taking Albon. He’s been on Albon for about two weeks now and he gets .1 ML a day. He is about 575 g in weight. He has about six more days left of the treatment and then I’m gonna have his poop tested again to make sure the parasite is gone.

My issue, however, is that he is refusing to eat anything but hornworms or blueberries. I’ve been dusting the hornworms in calcium and probiotics, so he has been getting that and today I bought some baby food and mixed in his calcium, vitamin, and probiotics, and that he ate by spoon. He’s pretty lethargic and is mainly basking. He won’t even look at Dubai’s or his treat of a waxworm.

I guess my question is is this normal behavior while on Albon? I assume he’s also really bored in the tank without having all of his normal stuff in there to play on or to burrow in. Is there anything else I can do to help him during this time?

Maybe cuddle him, hold him or wrap him.

 

[appamama]

Update - he finally ate some greens, roaches, hornworms, a blueberry, and some bell pepper!
I stopped his dewormer early as it seemed like it was really making him feel bad. Waiting now for him to poop so I can get it tested before setting back up his bioactive enclosure

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That's great he finally ate some greens & insects for you! Sometimes, too much medication is just hard
on them & their appetite really decreases.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[appamama]

Hello,

That's great he finally ate some greens & insects for you! Sometimes, too much medication is just hard
on them & their appetite really decreases.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Hi! Thanks for checking in patiently waiting from to poop so I can get his fecal test done and really hoping that the Coccidia is fully cleared

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You are welcome!
I hope his next fecal exam is all cleared up! Is his appetite getting back to normal too?
Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

 

[appamama]

Hello,

You are welcome!
I hope his next fecal exam is all cleared up! Is his appetite getting back to normal too?
Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

He’s been eating his greens everyday! But is making me feed him lol He loves bright colored fruits (which he obviously rarely gets) but I started chopping up bell pepper and give him a few pieces and he perks up right when he sees it!! The bee pollen really helps.
I’ve been doing collard greens or mustard or dandelion greens and he loves arugula.
Any other greens that they usually like?

He’s not a fan of bok choy and also likes the purple lettuce from spring mix but someone said that and arugula isn’t a good staple in their daily salads.