Brandon,
LOL... better to be ignored than jumped on, which is why I and others do not answer a lot of these anymore on the forums, I do answer them privately or try to get info to others when someone messages me or I see something that is really off.
I am going to risk answering this one here, as I think there is a real issue with this and causing many problems for young beardies that can be avoided with a little more time, patience and info. Telling others to take their young dragons to a vet within a few weeks, I think is leading to more problems for them, if the dragons are not showing signs of being health compromised. There is a general tendency to treat anything showing in a fecal by most Vets and I think if the animal is not showing any other signs, they should be allowed to try and deal with it themselves with support from the owners.
That being said I will probably get more flack of "some" people complaining I am telling others not to listen to their vets. That is not what I mean. Most vets do not know about reptiles, they do not study them in school, keep up with new studies or info about them, and rarely know much about bearded dragons which are fairly new to the US and captivity anywhere.
Warning, this is long
Since bearded dragons really only caught on in popularity in about the last 5 years (to the degree it is now), there are more studies being done on them in captivity and in the wild. There was really very little info but the basics available in the past on how parasites and meds interact with them.
Beardies DO show parasites in the wild, but they are constantly changing their "substrate". By moving around their location, they avoid reinfections, which is the worst problem for them. They develop their immune system from these exposure to parasites in small amounts that they can deal with and the parasites die off when their life cycle ends. Only when re-ingested do they become an issue usually and that rarely happens in the wild. In trying to duplicate nature in an enclosure, we are really creating a lot of the problems they are having..... you can not duplicate it or come close in an enclosure, you need to make adjustments since they are captive now. Since they can not change their location, owners need to be able to do that for them to keep parasites and bacterias at controled levels.
Most parasites are self limiting and can only become a problem when re-ingested. Example is coccidia. The meds do not kill coccidia, it inhibits the production on enzymes that the coccidia needs in the reproduction process, thus breaking the cycle of reinfection. Also, only as long as the meds are being given, are they inhibiting the reproduction. Once the meds are stopped, if the animal is still ingesting oocysts, he will continue to be infected and increasing in the parasitic load.
Coccidia reproduce by asexual reproduction (I am shortening the whole process for simplicity) they create merozoites that infect the lining of the intestinal wall, then "burst" and infect more intestinal cells, they are self limiting and die off rapidly in a few generations, so eliminate themselves. Only when oocysts are then produced (after several generations of merozoites), exit the body and then are reingest by the animal does the cycle of coccidia continue. That is a process that has to happen for the coccidia load to increase. The coccidia does not increase in the animals body without oocysts being produced, exiting the body, being in the air and being reingested.
Really good cleaning alone can control the parasite load and prevent reinfection, thus enabling the animal to be clear of coccidia without meds since the merozoites will die off without the meds. Only if the animals health is already being compromised should meds be used to assist the animal in coping with them. Meds often create many other problems that need to be taken care of and this can start a nightmare cycle if not supported and can results in a seriously messed up digestive system, effecting not only the intestines, stomach, kidneys and liver, but also other organs that produce enzymes. The result is an beardie that goes off food because they do not realize they are hungry, the digestive system is not working and it can take months to correct that.... There are so many other things that can be affected, including glucose levels, bile production.. and so much more. Many bearded dragons in the US have what is considered higher blood sugar levels than most reptiles, I really wonder if a lot of that is not related to medical treatment when younger. Some universities have done or are doing studies that link glucose levels with parasites..... as them being good for them and theorize that the lack of them may actually cause the onset of elevated blood sugar levels and other complications later in life.
Roundworms are another that can be controlled with cleaning. Roundworms have been found in some feeder that are fed to bearded dragons and infected them, like cockroaches, earthworms, and rodents, also on greens and vegetable that are not washed well. I have not seen any in crickets or silks, but that does not mean that can not be carriers also.
Obviously not all dragons under the same conditions will react the same, there are extremes both ways and what works with one may not work for others. From pbserving and testing every few weeks our ouw dragons and rescues, we now elect not to treat any bearded dragon that is not showing signs of being compromised. We monitor them, keep things really clean and do not allow them to remains on any substrate that can not be cleaned daily, except a sand box area, but that also is removed if we see parasites in a fecal till they are clear. Amazingly all but one dragon has cleared the parasites themselves without meds.
We also take in many rescues that are usually ill or loaded with parasites and many of them we have to treat, most come through those treatments fine now with support methods including cleaning, probiotics proper temps and good diets.
If anyone wants more details (I actually edited out a lot of info as this was too long), they can email me or check the articles on our site about probiotics, treating coccidia and beneficial bacteria under the bearded dragons section or the health and medical section.
Cheers
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www.reptilerooms.com
