I was wondering if anyone had any input on coccidiosis in beardies. Mine has it and I've treated her with Albon for 3 weeks now. She's 1 year old and is in excellent condition considering. I have had to force feed her prescription diet dogfood w/ her meds to get her to eat. Her appetite has declined and she is depressed. Anyone else ever have to deal w/ this problem? The Albon is for 3 days on and then 3 off for 3 weeks. When she's off the meds, her appetite comes back slowly...but, not anywhere near were she used to be. Thanks for any input.
dewmaniac, Treatment for coccidia can be very hard on a beardie depending on what degree and how long she had them, combined with the force feeding adding more stress to her. If you have not replaced the "good bacteria" that the albon also killed off, her digestive system is probably not being able to function right. Contact your vet and ask what he would recommend to replace the bacteria that was killed off also in the treatment that was beneficial to her. We are putting up an article later today on possible relationships with antibiotics and yeast infections resulting in bearded dragons after treatment with Albon. So check back later for that. Coccidia lives in the intestinal walls of animal, if she had a lot of them a long time, they can burrow into other tissues and organs which create other problems that she will need to recover from, a good start to that is getting the balance back into her tummy. Letting her go a few days without eating is not going to hurt her, she needs to get back eating on her own and avoid stress, just make sure that you keep her well hydrated, temps in the proper levels. Its her system that kills the coccidia, not the meds, they inhibit reproduction allowing the beardies own immune system to get rid of the coccidia. Keeping her enclosure clean and not allowing reinfection from excreted oocysts is vital in the treatment also. You can check our knowledge base under bearded dragons for tips on keeping them hydrated and treating resistant coccidia.
Thanks for the info. She's had her last round of the meds, thank goodness. She's perked up a little, still not eating, but at least she's movng around again. I hydrate her at least once a day with a nice warm bath for around 15 minutes. Hopefully, she'll recover fully and we'll be on our way to better days! Oh, I had planned on getting a male dragon in the next month or two, any suggestions on that? I'll be getting him tested as soon as I acquire him to make sure he's well off w/ no parasites and such. But, I don't want to overinfest him with her problem. I'd planned on quarantining him for at least a month or so. Thanks again.
Just make sure she is well recovered and has no possible side effects from her treatment before you place them together. She should also we a bit older, they are not fully grown til 18 months - 2 years so you might want to think about waiting til next before allowing them together. Also please read what is on the main page that we just finsihed about Yellow Fungus - possible cause and effects. As we beleive this fungus follows after some treatments with meds used.
I have been reading and following the coccidiosis posts and yellow fungus. My dragon's last fecal was negative for parasites and coccidia. However, she has yet to gain her appetite back. I have been trying all sorts of veggies/fruits and her usual crickets, mealworms, & waxworms to no avail. The vet gave me Hill's Diet A/D for her and I've force-feed her at least every other day for the past 2 weeks. She will perk up when the morning comes, start to move around and bask. She looks at the food, but won't try to eat. And after a few hours, she tries to hide under her log and papertowels. I read on the fact that the good bacteria is killed off w/ Albon, so I have been giving her a few drops of acidopholis every other day directly to her tongue. Any of this sound familiar? I was wondering if it would just take time or if she might be getting sicker. I haven't noticed any yellow fungus on her. I've checked her mouth and it appears dry, with no mucus. The back of her throat is black however..was wondering if this was normal. I will probably end up going to vet again on Tuesday when I'm off work. I need to get some ideas first as to what might be happening. Let me know if you suspect anything. Thanks.
Glad to hear that her test are negative now! the A/D we have used also before on beardies but they do get spoiled with it and not want to eat on their own. The acidolphilus is good that you are using, when we had to deal with coccidia we found that it took them several weeks to get back to normal, especially if it got to the point of having to force feed them. Sounds like she is doing good except for the eating, make sure all your temps are right, 90-105 basking 80 cooler area. We have one stubborn boy now 2 yrs that will also bask a few hour then wants to hide and sleep, he's been that way from a baby, eats less than any of the others but has the best fat pads and is healthy .... go figure I have also notice that if you can get them out and get them some exercise running or swimming in a kiddle pool will stimulate their appetite, also, let her see YOU eating and leave a bowl of greens always in her enclosure. She may just be stressed from the whole ordeal that she had no control over and she can control her eating so she is doing the only thing she can to establish her "power" . Dragons, especially sub-adults and adults can go fairly long without food as long as they are getting hydration. As long as her temps are high enough, and you know she is parasite free, let her go a few days on her won without food, but have it available to her. Have you tried superworms? rare is the beardie that will not eventualy go for them.
I was always skeptic about trying superworms. I've heard that too many mealworms of any type were harder to digest, so I just gave them to her rarely. But, I'll try some. She does run around the room when I take her out. I've also been giving her pedialyte to keep her hydrated. It seems to perk her up a little. I'll let her go a few days without feeding her, just warm baths and maybe she'll get back to normal. Or at least close to it. Thanks for your input. Oh, do you remember anything about what color beardies throats are supposed to be? (On the inside of the mouth that is...)
