should i be worried

[bouncer36]

hi i was in petsmart in Paducah ky today that where i got my jessie(bearded dragon), and a lady told us that she got her dragon there in may and it turns out it had worms and almost died i just got mine 4 weeks ago from there. should i be worried about that

 

[richard]

once your dragon is home and settled for about a month, you should take it to an exotic vet for its first physical and fecal float. dragons get cocidia, pinworms and other nematoads etc. a healthy dragon usually has to be treated or given a preventative once a year

 

[richard]

a few cocidia is normal but stress tends to elevate levels. once a dragon gets settled in, a more accurate reading can be obtained

 

[bouncer36]

good im been looking for a vet that can take care of him in case it gets sick and wanted to get him checked out anyway to make sure he is healthy but at the moment no such luck
yet will still keep trying to find one

 

[richard]

where are you located?

 

[Bill]

A vet is a must. your big pet stores buy so many dragons at very low prices that they will never have them checked to them it would cost more then they would make.Like Rich said stress brings them out and the infestation can be more then a baby Dragons system can handel and wormers can be hard on them also. Many believe that ther are some natural wormers I can't remember which one it is the sweet potato or squash but I make sure to feed them at least 1 a week.

The crickets you get can harbor worms also they are notorious for pin worms they are the nastiest bug there is they will eat any thing. You can spread worms threw your collection with them if you don't feed and quarantine properly. We never feed our dragons in there cages that way if you where to walk away and your dragon went poo a cricket will eat it and if you come back and he didn't eat them all you take them out you may end up feeding them to another dragon and spreading what ever the first dragon may have. When we feed a quarantined dragon we dispose of what ever he don't eat.

 

[Sarah26]

You should definitely get Jesse checked for worms, is she having any difficulties with digestion? does she have the runs?

 

[bouncer36]

jessie seems to be fine it was while i was at petsmart me and my hubby was looking at the dragons and this lady overheard me talking that we just got a bearded dragon from here 4 weeks ago that would be jessie and she told me that if i got it here at this petsmart then i should take it to a vet because she had got one here in May and she was here to tell them that her's had worms when she got her's but that was in may i got jessie in auguest do i still need to worry about it? he seems to be healthy to me no he does not have the runs no seems to be digestion just fine is pooping just fine

 

[bouncer36]

here he is saterday

 

[ajandj]

As Jeff said, it would be advised to get your little fella checked. Pet stores are not known for thee cleanliness.... The cages probably haven't been disinfected and the substrate has probably only been spot cleaned. So the sake of having your little guy checked, l would.. I'd rather that then blame myself if something does happen

 

[bouncer36]

ok still looking for a vet somewhere close to karnak illinois or paducah ky

 

[Dragonsx6]

From what I can make out the Petsmart stores are the same as the Pets at Home shops we have here in the UK and I have to say I would never buy an animal from them. I recently reported my local store to the S.S.P.C.A as they let a baby dragon die. I had been using the store to buy my live food and used to spend a bit of time looking at the dragons and noticed that one of them was ill. For weeks I had been telling them that it was ill, they kept saying it was ok, it just didnt like to eat very much, which for a baby beardie is very unusual, they didnt know how to feed it as they were puting in bugs that were for adults & not chopping the green. As the dragon became more and more poorly I offered to look after it and then return it to the store once it was healthy which they refused to do. Eventually you could see a growth at the poor little guys backend. I had pleaded & begged them to take him to a vet, I even gave them the number & address of the vet I use for my own dragons and still they didnt do anything. The last day I saw him he was just so ill I asked once again to speak to the manager and the staff became very abusive so I came home and called the S.S.P.C.A. They called me back two days later to say they were very sorry, but they had taken the baby to the vet I recommended and unfortunately he had to be put to sleep. He was so severly ill that his internal organs had closed down.
Had they taken him to the vet when I had first spoken to them then that little dragon could have been saved. I would never buy from these stores as the staff have not been properly trained in looking after this type of animal. I no longer shop there either, my new supplier may be more expensive, but I would rather buy from somewhere I know they care than somewhere they are just interested in making money.

 

[bouncer36]

well when i went to get him there was only four in the tank they all was allert and met you at the glass , they all looked healthy the tank was pretty clean i didn't see any poop in there either
i will get mine checked out as soon as i find a vet for him

 

[Dragonsx6]

The SSPCA is the Scottish version of the RSPCA. They made me so angry with their attitude towards the wee guy, if they had listened during the weeks I had been at them then the wee dragon could have survived. Also everytime I was in the shop the so called reptile expert was 'on holiday' must be a fantastic place to work if you can have weeks off at a time!! Anyway that me had my rant about them, I wont waste any more time on them

 

[bouncer36]

i've found a vet going monday to see him and to get a checkup

 

[ajandj]

good news

 

[bouncer36]

the only thing i am worried about now is i don't get off of work that day until 1230pm and i know i can make the appt if i take jessie(bd) with me to work i have permisson from the lady that i work for, how do i keep him warm i can't take his tank with me too big going to get a small tank tonight to take him in to the vet in will he be ok without the uvb light and heat light until we get home from the vets?

 

[Dragonsx6]

When I take my dragons to the vet I take them in a box with a Covered Hot Water Bottle. They are ok with out the lighting for a while but it at least keeps them warm. If you at work then you will be able to check the temp of the bottle and refill it if it gets too cold before you are going to the vet.
Hope this helps. Good luck & keep us posted.

 

[bouncer36]

ok i will let you know going to the petstore tonight to get crickets do you think one of those tank that is plastic with a plastic lid with slits in it will work and i can put a hot water bottle in it will that work?

 

[Brett]

As long as it doesnt drop below 65F i wouldnt even worry about the heat. He will be fine with out it. When you get home from the vet put him under his basking light for cpl hrs then feed all will be good.