Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well everyone on the forum was right. I brought Racso to the vet today, and he got a fecal done. He has coccidia, pinworms, and flagelletes (Spelling). Other than being parasite infested he is in perfect condition. I got panacur that I have to give him orally for three days to rid him of the two worms. I also convinced her to give me Albon instead of trying tons of other meds first to get rid of the Coccidia. I have to give that orally too, but not until next week. The whole visit cost me 140 dollars. It just shows you're better off buying from a reputable trustworthy breeder like on here, because in the end you pay the same. I'm kinda bummed, but I'm willing to do anything to make Racso as healthy as possible.
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*Kara*
0.1.0 Leopard Gecko (Tarzana)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Racso)
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko (Nanito)

Little note on the meds. I would read the article on www.reptilerooms.com about coccidia. It is a nasty little parasite. The albon treats coccidia, the panacur treats the pinworms, the flaggelittes (sp?) aren't treated by either to my knowledge. Standard treatment for those are metronidazole.
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Peace
Derek

good hands! Good luck with your treatment, and remember to keep that enclosure clean (as in, sterile!). It's a pain, but in the end you'll be much happier than if you had to to it for 2 months instead of a week or two.

Ya I'm trying the best I can, just like any new parent. Right now I have shelf liner as the subsrate, should I take it out and leave it glass for a couple weeks so I can sterilze it? It seems harsh but he rarely stays on the ground anyways, hes mostly on his basking rocks, and only goes on the ground to go to the bathroom. Do you think all the treatment, and tough love is going to traumatize him in the future?
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*Kara*
0.1.0 Leopard Gecko (Tarzana)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Racso)
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko (Nanito)

Shelf-liner will be difficult to deal with for the time being, but I wouldn't just go to bare glass. I'd recommend a layer of unprinted newspaper or a thick layer of paper towels. Cheap and disposable. Also the cage furniture will have to constantly be sterilized, so it may be easier to go with disposable furniture for a while, too. I used empty soda boxes while treating my beardie for coccidia, and it turned out he loved them so much they are now a permanent piece of furniture in his cage.

Anyways, he may act a little bummed from all the fuss, but part of that is just cuz he's isn't feeling well. It's hard to put them through all that, but it's all only temporary, and it will be worth it when it's all over. He'll be glad to not be sick anymore!

Good luck!
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

Papertowels was exactly what I thought of right AFTER I posted. Ya, this all seems overwhelming and a huge task but all I really need is a role of papertowels, and some diposable cage furniture. Right now I have some large basking rocks and a half log. When I take them out, should I boil them or disinfect them before I put them in when this is all over? And what about the half log, there is no way to sterilize that. Should I just get rid of it, and buy a new one when hes given a clean bill of health? Also how often would I replace a disposable piece of furniture, like a soda carton?
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*Kara*
0.1.0 Leopard Gecko (Tarzana)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Racso)
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko (Nanito)

Boiling the rocks or baking the wood at 350 should do it.

As for the soda cartons or anything else, replace them every time he soils his cage. Everytime he goes, take him out and clean him with a bath as best you can (I know you're having a hard time with that,) then you'll want to put him back into a clean cage. It's coming back into contact with any fecal matter that makes getting rid of these parasites so difficult, so you pretty much want to clean or throw away anything it touches.
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

Thankyou for the advice. He always goes to the bathroom in the morning, and since it is summer I am home almost everytime he goes, so it should be very easy to control that aspect of it. Right now I'm just frustrated from the dealer I got him from. I told him about the results of the fecal, and he is saying that he got his beardies tested after I said something and they came negative. He is either accusing me or the vet of lying. I find it hard to believe that he had no idea that he was selling me a sick beardie. Everytime he goes to the bathroom it stinks up the room in seconds, how could he not suspect anything? I'm just a little frustrated because I always seem to trust the wrong people.
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*Kara*
0.1.0 Leopard Gecko (Tarzana)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Racso)
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko (Nanito)

Giving people the benefit of the doubt is nothing to be ashamed of. You may get screwed every once in a while but there's always another side to that coin. Maybe that beardie was meant to be with you. Give it a little while and I bet you'll be glad things happened the way they did.
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Rob Talkington

I generally feel that way too. There is no doubt that with all the parasites he has, he would have died if he was left untreated. Maybe he needed someone like me to get him healthy.
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*Kara*
0.1.0 Leopard Gecko (Tarzana)
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon (Racso)
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko (Nanito)

but not him.

I bought a cheap rubbermaid type tub to put inside my glass enclosure (the largest that would fit) and only used molded plastic furniture (or rocks) that I could sterilize. You can use a 10% bleach/water solution to do that...just apply it with a spray bottle, let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse it off and let it dry. Same with the tub, which is a lot easier to rinse and dry than a rock or fake tree limb.

I had enough pieces to cycle clean stuff in so I didn't have to clean it and put it right back in. If you don't, the cardboard furniture is a great idea. I also used paper towels and replaced them every time they got messy, or once a day. Seems like I did sterilization every two days, not every day (unless she pooped on something besides the towels), now that I think about it.