Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,

I'm currently using Nutribac Df in the water of my sick little babies... Its supposed to help replenish beneficial intestinal bacteria while fighting off (or keeping at bay) non-beneficial bacteria.... I'm adding it to their drinking water (changed daily) and have been dusting the mealies with it as well.... I was hoping this would possibly help out, as I'm pretty sure that they babies are suffering from some sort of bacterial infection (Thanks Starling and Jag)... Its kinda hard for me to come up with a way as to how the gex could've come in contact with Coccidia as they are all my very own captive bred babies and none of my adults have ever had coccidia... Who knows though. But on a better note, my beasites who havent been infected with bug or bacteria are all doing GREAT... My albino babies are starting to get all kinds of Tangerine on their bodies, and all are keeping their beautiful bright coloration... I've actually got one Hypo Tang that has 6 body spots in all, and he was born in May so I'm pretty sure he'll go Super Hypo.... I'll post some pics of my healthy Geckos here very, very soon... I'm very proud of them all.... Again thanks for all the help with the sick ones and I'll let everyone know what comes back from this fecal sample thats getting done tomorrow.... Oh and if you've used the Nutribac Df, please let me know what you thought of it....

Bye
- Richie

Bacterial infections are not uncommon when you feed mainly crickets, but they are not parasitic infections such as coccidia or nematodes. Crickets eat rotting food, including other dead crickets and feces, and drink foul water and can carry suprizing loads of germs and toxins in their bodies which pose no danger to the crickets, but may make your gecko sick. Bacterial infections are very difficult to diagnose since they usually do NOT show up on a fecal exam, and require broad-spectrum antibiotics like Baytril that can conrol both gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Different infections require different treatments, and unfortunately many of the drugs used to treat these specific infections (such as Baytril, Cepha, and Flagyl) can wipe out the beneficial gut flora as well.

Nutribac, BeneBac, and other name brands like those are made up of Acidophilis/Bifitus bacteria cultures that can help restore the "good" bacteria in the intestines that are needed to keep the GI system in balance. Personally, I use a tablet of Acidophilis/Bifitus from the store and dissolve it in 5-10 ml of water for my geckos... and even take it myself! It's usually alot cheaper than the commercially available variety.

Although many of you may not know how your crickets are kept/fed before you buy them, you can help eliminate the potential for these kinds of bacteial infections by feeding good gutload for your crix and keeping clean water available.
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Marcia McGuiness
Golden Gate Geckos
www.goldengategeckos.com