Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Guys,

I have a sick 8month old beardie at home he was doing great and out of nowhere got worms/parasites he was given panacure and finished his first 5 days he was not eating i was told to give him a pro-biotic such as bene-bac do you guys know how long it will take before he starts eating again he has gotten really skinny and needs to put on some weight.

In my experience Panacur does not interupt appetite. But I always opt for the 2 doses of Panacur rather than daily doses. My thought is that something else is causing the lack of appetite.

You need to provide much more husbandry information and a picture and set up if possible for me to give any advise.

Age, weight,
temps. and how you are measuring them
enclosure size etc,

Parasites don't typically come out of nowhere. Flare ups can be due to constant exposure to contaminated substances (ie poop from an infected animal), poor husbandry conditions, stress, multiple animals in the same cage or contaminated foods.

As BDlvr requests, please give us a complete rundown of your setup since you purchased the dragon. Also, was he eating normally before treatment? What was its weight before treatment and after? Are you keeping him well hydrated? The more info you give the better.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

He is 8 months old he is 14 inches long. When i first got him he was eating great for the first 2 weeks out of no where he began bleeding every time he pooped he was constantly trying to poop even when there was nothing else to poop i contacted my vet and he told me it is parasites/worms and to go ahead and use the panacure i have at home he cut the dose for me based on my BD weight...Also he is in a 30g tank i know it should be bigger at least a 40 but i am building his and my other BD tanks right now they will be 60g tanks. His hot side is 90degrees and basking spot is 110, his cool side is 80-85degrees. He still will not touch his greens or crickets, or worms. He is on bene-bac right now it seems to be helping and he has also been a lot more active the past 2 days. I am keeping him hydrated and also am feeding him baby food chicken and sweet potato so that he continues to get nutrients and to put on some weight.

What's the volume of the chicken/sweet potato you are feeding him?

I don't think most baby food is a good choice, short of just a one time feeding. It is very high in vitamin A, and chicken is the wrong kind of protein for a dragon and can lead to gout in the future.

The best choice is Critical Care for Herbivores from Oxbow. Dragons prefer the Anise flavor. Mix it with half water and half ensure vanilla. Use more liquid than what the directions instruct.

Most vet offices sell it or you can get it here:

http://www.calvetsupply.com

I've had vet techs. says dragons should eat the carnivore formula but that is incorrect.

Yeah, bearded dragons are not carnivores, they are omnivores, though a straight herbivore diet wouldn't be good either, they do need insect proteins, especially when under a year and half of age. But to just boost their appetite and get them eating normally, the critical care for a short term basis is alright, if just herbivore... you don't want to be feeding this stuff all the time, just till they have the strength and appetite to go back to fresh greens and insects..
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

I find it odd that bearded eats more veggies than bugs, but some of them don't like veggies at all. Doesn't anybody find it odd?

In captivity we make bugs too readily available.

In the wild they'll get a bug when they can but otherwise would eat available vegetation. In captivity, we make bugs so available there is no need for them to eat salad at all in some cases. They are programmed to eat bugs when they see them, if they see less they will eat more salad. This is why dragons are bulky in captivity but lean in the wild.

Hmmm.... One of my female would only eat a couple bites and then give me the stink eye. lol I've tried to give her nothing but salad because I thought she needed more roughage by not feeding her bugs for a lengthy time, but she still will not touch it...only a couple bites...maybe. When she was little, I try to get her use to veggies. I feed her salad in the morning and bugs later during day, but she still prefer bugs over salad any day. I thought if they were more vegetarian they would show a little enthusiasm in eating and inclination toward veggies, like iguanas.

A couple of mine will pretty much only eat salad. Even one female. I only offer bugs 3 days a week. salad 3 days a week. One off day. (older adults only) So there is one day when they are offered salad after a no food day.