Beardie acting odd?

[viciousred]

Hey guys, I've had my girl for about a year and a half, Hasn't brumated at all this winter, but in the last 2 weeks has stopped eating and is pacing and restless,
starting to get a little worried as she is losing weight rather quickly. Wont touch her favorite veggies, wont chase crickets, even a meal worm cant temp her,
witch i use for treats. she is coming up to 2 years old soon as well. She is still pooping tho, but very little poos so I'm guessing she is eating a little bit..

Any ideas? I read they can get pacey and restless when gravid but she is on her own.
I thought it might be boredom so I've changed out her old logs and put some new bigger and thicker ones in, easier for climbing .
I've got her in a normal 3 foot tank atm with three sides insulated with foam and cardboard, temp at hot end stays between 35 and 40. I have her on newspaper subsrate.

Forgot to mention the frequency of the popping has shot threw the roof. small runny poos every day.

 

[leamos]

I've read females can produce eggs without mating, these are obviously not fertile. My first beardie did a similar thing once, went off his food for a few weeks, wet poos, paced the tank back and forth, I was advised it may be due to a parasite or worm infestion from a vet friend

 

[bucket]

yer sounds like she has eggs
is she fatter than normal?
& is she digging around thats what mine does

 

[Chris1]

small runny poos every day?
i would agree with the possibility of a parasite infestation,..call the vet, they may do a smear without the consult fee.

yes they can lay infertile eggs, but she shouldnt be losing weight, she should be eating like a pig and gaining,..til a few days before laying, then digging a lay site.
to make sure she has somewhere to lay if thats the case, half fill a tub with damp sand, (4-5 inches deep) and put that in her tank, she'll know what to do if its needed. that being said, you should be able to see the eggs if she is gravid.

 

[viciousred]

I suspected it might be parasite, , deffinatly not gravid, much much skinnier than normal. I have worming liquid but i should probably get a scat test first yes?

Just spoke to vet, going in for a consult and poop test either tomorrow after work or thursday. Thanks for the help guys

 

[Chris1]

good stuff, was going to agree with getting a poop test first, but youre already onto it.

 

[viciousred]

Yep Now just need to organize a lift, these things always seem to happen the one month i Don't have access to a car....

ps. Best way to get a sample? take newspaper out and have her on glass? does it matter if its on newspaper? Never had to do one for a lizard everything but lol

 

[souldoubt]

Good idea to make that appointment, it definitely sounds like an infectious organism to me. The problem is you dont know whether its worms, protozoa, bacteria (although usually secondary) etc and they all require different drugs to treat it, then of course there's the possibility that it is something else. Good luck with the vet consult hopefully it's an easy diagnosis!

use newspaper for substrate and put the faeces in jar or sandwich/freezer bag etc then refrigerate it. If you dont refrigerate it fungi will start growing and fungi will consume most of the things youre hoping to find. Urine sample jars work great, but you probably dont have any of those just lying around

 

[viciousred]

Actually I do. Cat with kidney problems lol. Hopefully she does a pop between now and Thursday, she didn't do one today.

Do most keepers regularly worm there herps?

 

[souldoubt]

I never worm my animals unless its necessary. By using antiparasitic drugs regularly you actually select for parasites that are resistant to that drug (ie. the drug kills the susceptible worms, but the resistant ones live and reproduce) this means more and more of the population becomes resistant to the drug and the drug eventually becomes relatively or completely ineffective. In saying that definitely use drugs when its necessary (eg. in your current case, if worms are the problem) but I wouldnt recommend worming for the sake of it, or there will come a time when parasites are resistant to most drugs we have available.
In addition to that, some parasites can be of assistance like pin worms (in the right proportions) will help the dragon with digestion and cause minimal weight loss.

EDIT: I should add that development of resistance can be slowed somewhat (when you are worming regularly) by rotating the type of drug you're using however it needs to be a different class of drug each time so if you use fenbendazole the first time, something like ivermectin should be used the next as those two drugs work against the parasite in a different way. And just incase any turtle-owners happen to read this: please dont ever use ivermectin in turtles as it's very toxic to them

 

[viciousred]

OK cool thanks for that

 

[souldoubt]

No worries. I Hope that load of info wasn't too confusing resistance in parasites is a complex issue, and my explanation skills are....developing haha

 

[viciousred]

Haha no I understood

Because I am a complete retard, I read the opening hours wrong... so no vet today, maybe tomorrow, at least she is eatin. Mananged to get a sample yesterday morning too, dont know if it will be any good tomorrow or sat. so bloody grumpy with myself right now
:evil:

Been to vet, got fluids and anti biotics,The poo sample was too far gone to really notice much but no obvious signs of parasites, maybe coccidia but not sure, as her brother died of a liver virus of some kind when we was only a few weeks old, she is leaning towards a liver problem. Back to vet on tuesday and if no improvment doing blood tests to check enzimes, over all body condition is pretty good tho.

 

[viciousred]

She ate 8 Crickets!!! still not interested in Greens tho... and to make matters that much more complicated her globe blew and I dont have a car to go get a new one. I stole the one from my bed room, its only getting it too 33.9 tho

Getting someone to drop off a globe for me. was sitting and watching her, she is running at the glass and pacing again, ' Managed to get some calcium syrup into her, just a drop or 2 on a cricket,

 

[Chris1]

goood news that shes eating!!! fingers crossed its not a liver problem,....

 

[viciousred]

Hasn't eaten today or yesterday. Off to vet tomorrow morning. Did a very well formed poop sunday morning, no point in collecting as would of gone bad by tomorrow. Still pacing. still basking. Will update more after vet tomrrow. fingers crossed.
Also looking at night time temps being a factor in her not eating, I used to have a heat matt for her at night but took it away about 6 weeks ago for my hatchy. Have bought a new matt and have that on at night now so will see.

 

[Chris1]

gotta be happy with a well formed poo!

night time heat isnt a bad idea, i often hear of that fixing a feeding problem,..

what kind of antibiotics/worming treatment is she on? (oral or injecty?)
oral can affect their appetites since they kill good stuff in the gut as well as bad, its recommended to give probiotics after oral meds to replenish the good flora.

is she definately a girl? (my boys pace cos theyre horny as,....then they lie down and sulk, lol)

 

[viciousred]

Lol pretty sure she is a girl Doesn't have the bumps on the tail when you lift it But I could be wrong.

She did a poop at the vet witch looked fine apart from a little coccidia but that's apparently normal for beardies? Another injection of antibiotics and will go back on Friday for another, if no improvement by then will definitely do bloods, but happy that she ate on sat. Hopefully now that I'm heating at night again she will get her appetite back. After thinking about it it has been a slow decline in her eating since the heat matt left. I'm silly for not thinking of it sooner. I'm Not well too for the last 2 weeks so I'm putting my sillyness down to that

 

[ajandj]

don't beat yourself up as hindsight is a wonderful thing. Sounds like she is on the ment which is great. Keep us updated

 

[Chris1]

yeah, cocodia is fine in small numbers,...

what a nice vet, mine showed me how the needle thing is done, then sent me home with 10 more to finish the course myself,...

does sound like the removal of night time heat is responsible,....fingers crossed for that anyway!!