Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a three year old male beardie and he was taken to the vet shortly after i recieved him(i bought him as an adult). He had coccidia (sp) and pin worms...he currently has undergone a two different medication regimine and we are currently waiting on a "sample" to take to the vet to be rechecked. My question is has any one else experienced this and would they have any advice on how long it takes to get rid of this? I have heard it can take several rounds of treatment. Also, does anyone have any advice on giving medicine? He is less than cooperative. I appreciate all of ya'lls help.

If you look a few posts before yours there is one about a thing called parazap, it is a all natural medicine to increase appetitie and kill parasites, here is the website wher it talks about how to give it and everything, www.parazap.com . I hope I was helpful at all. Tell your beardie to get well soon!!

Logan

if you already have drugs from a vet i wold not use parazap as the other poster mentioned, just because its natural does not make it safe, if you want to e-mail me i can explain why ( i posted my reasone before and the post was deleted)
i am a vet tech with 10 years of reptile care also, most often parasite meds will kill whats in the body, but the animal reinfects themself from the environment. this happens with herps, cats, dogs , all of them. so the best thing is to clean your cage, and all of its "furniture". you could ask you vet for a good disenfectant, or use a 1:32 bleach:water soulution, and if its warm out put everything in the sun for a few hrs, and then rinse well before putting it back together.
with ~30 animals in my house at most times keeping things clean is most important to keep parasites down, and keep up good husbandry will help you animal stay healthy while fighting the parasites.
good luck!!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

There are pretty much three things you have to do when dealing with parasites. So far you only mentioned doing one, giving the medication.

As already mention, you have to keep the cage clean. Re-contamination is very easy to happen, could simply be a cricket running over the dragon's poop or the spot the poop was, and then getting eaten by the dragon. Strip the cage down and give it a complete and throughout cleaning. If the cage is glass or plastic, soak it in a bleach solution (I would actually use a stronger concentration than recommended, a one part bleach to 10 parts water) after washing the cage with soap and rinsing. Soak in this solution for 20 minutes, then rinse the cage and all furnature many times with cold clean water till you can no longer smell bleach on it. Set out in a well vented area (or outside) to dry.

Any furnature that is wooden or porous, toss out if at all possible. If it can't be thrown out, bake in the oven at about 240F for several hours. Cool. Make sure any wood is already very dry before baking, as greenish wood can split when baked, or ooze sap all over your oven.

If the cage itself is wooden and not sealed.....toss it. If impractical, put the cage through the bleech treatment but leave ouside for a good 24 hours then seal it with urathane or other wood sealing finish. Let dry completely for another 24 hours after the final coat.

Assuming you can put the dragon back into it's original cage (if not, then use a temporary cage, even if small, just make sure it's at least twice the length of the dragon and that length wide. A rubbermaid container can be used in a pinch). Keep the cage as barebones as possible, basking spot, lamp, UVB bulb, hide is all the cage needs. Line it with papertowel or newspaper.

During the entire treatment and every bowel movement, remove all the paper, not just the soiled area, disinfect the floor of the cage, put in new papertowel/newsprint. Keep this up for a good week after the treatment end, to ensure the parasites are gone.

ALso, during the treatment and for a couple weeks afterwards, give your dragon a probiotic. This can be acidophyllis, pediatric (the probiotic given to kids) and even just regular unsweetened low fat yogurt that contains an active bacteria culture. (a teaspoon a day is good).

Giving the dragon itself a bath is a good ideal too, especially at the start of his treatment and anytime you suspect he ran through his poop before you cleaned it up.
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PHLdyPayne

thanks guys i really apreciate ya'lls help...i will post a pic of him when he's feeling better