Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I took a sample of my bloated bearded's stool to the vet and they said she had toxicidia(not sure of spelling) and it was probably caused by the food I gave her. They prescibed panacur and said I should give it to all my beardeds just in case. Has anyone ever used this medicine? Doe it hinder appetite? Do they become very inactive when on this drug? All 4 beardeds are eating little and very inactive, is this normal? They have been on it for two days now.

Thanks for any advice!

Brian

????? this doesn't make a lot of sense (but I'm sick right now and may not be thinking straight myself lol). Panacure is a wormer and yes it will affect appatite and energy levels. My best guess as to what they said is Coccidia but the perscription should have been for Albon then and not Panacure. I'd wait and see what someone else says but my first response would be to find a different vet that knows what they're doing.

Sean
-----
Heart Mountain Herps

If it's coccidiosis (coccidea) panacur won't do too much for you. Now will it decrease his appetite. The vet should have prescribed Albon for your beardie if he has coccidea. The Albon is a string antiobiotic that will kill the good gut flora while it flushes out the coccidium. Be sure to use a probiotic with it to replace this good bacteria in the tummy. Use Acidophiliz .

Please make sure you are 100% positive it is coccidea. If's its not and you use Albon your looking at a possibility for kidney diseases. Double check with your vet, and make sure they are good with herps. I don't see how you could give panacur for coccidea. Panacur is for worms like pinworms, roundworms, etc. It goes through the system and keeps the worms from grasping onto the tissue in the intestines, allowing them to come out the other end.

Along with your Albon and probiotic (acidophiliz ) your goin to want to keep the cage SPOTLESS! Only use essentials, and make everything disposable. Use cardboard for basking spot and paper towel that you should change 2-3 times daily. Coccidea have a direct life cycle and if they re enter the body there could be a stronger, more resistant strain. So its manatory that you keep the the cage VERY clean.

Also, keep the dragon well hydrated. Feed outside the cage only. If your beardie comes into contact with a cricket of some food, and doesnt eat it, pitch it and consider it affected for coccidea. Tehy are nastly little stinkers, and are tuff to get rid of.

I agree with Sean and if what you say is true than your vet is a quack. If your dragon has Coccidia then he should treat with TMS(Trimethylsulfoxide) it is like Albon but much easier on your dragon. The other funny thing is that if your dragon has Coccidia Panacur(Fenbendazole) is not the drug to treat with. Panacur is for worms and has shown some efficacy against some flagellates but not Coccidia. IMO Panacur has really no effect on your dragons behavior. I think it is almost innocous.
I would find a new vet and check your setup and temps. Get rid of your sand(if you have it) and be a vigilant cleaner of their tank(s)Oh yeah most of the time coccidia comes from other BDs and not there food source. Certain worms can be transmitted by eggs on the food source but most often not Coccidia. Lastly I would order some Lactobacillus Acidolphilus from Reptilesupply.com and that may help with the bloating and with the meds. I just touched the surface so make sure you go to another vet and get those guys checked out.
-Randy

-----
www.AlphaDragonZ.com

____

edited sig file 1/29/05 [phw]

COCCIDIA is a parasite that all beardies have, but can become fatal at too high levels, most treatments have a 3 day on/ 3 day off cycle to attempt to bring the levels down. During the treatment you should keep the enclosures absolutely spot free. This can be a pain because treatment has been know to take months. This is disease is transferred through poop as far as anyone can tell. Lethargy and anoexia are common side effects, the not eating is not from the medicine. Anorexia is unsually the number one killer from high levels of coccida. I had a bout with it after I got a new beardie and didnt quarantine him and get a fecal because I thought he came from an excellent breeder. Took me 5 treatment of 2 weeks each to get rid of it. Every one of my beardies was chock full of it. Good Luck!!

Brian,

Panacur will treat many different types of parasites like pinworms, but it will not rid your beardie of Coccidia. You need Albon for that.

You can find more info on parasites here...
Parasites

More info on Probiotics here...
Probiotics

Let me know if you need any Albon or Acidophiliz and I can get you both. I hope I don't get into trouble for saying that here, but I just want to help out. I can't believe a vet would prescribe Panacur for Coccida. Unless your beardies also have pinworms...

Best of luck to you and your beardies. Coccidia is not a fun thing to deal with. It requires strict cage cleanliness and keeping your beardies well hydrated while on Albon.

Veronica
-----
Beautiful Dragons

____

Signature file edited; [phw 8/31/04]

I went to the vet today and asked some questions. Yes, it is coccidia and I asked about the medicine. He said that they have found that Albon is not effective with bearded dragons and coccidia and panacur is a better option. I was told to take it for 5 days and I am on day 4 - I figure I will just finish it out. I will take a stool sample back to the vet in a few weeks. Any thoughts? I am completely clueless in regards to all this stuff. I am cleaning all the tanks and going with simple set-ups for a while - this will be a pain with 4 set-ups in my class.

Thanks again for any thoughts!

One last question, you need touch to spread? I also have 6 corns in my class - they should be safe?????