GeckPhotographer
Very Well-Known Member
Yep I agree with Waruikazi.
Maggots in my beardie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Flaviruthless
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Could the maggots have come from a wood roach?
mad_at_arms
Very Well-Known Member
Next time feed it a spider to catch the fly.
GeckoRider
Doesn't Own Geckos
has anyone thought that maybe they weren't maggots but worms?
GeckPhotographer
Very Well-Known Member
See that assumption is more reasonable as at least after eggs were layed in the roach there would be time for gestation which just doesn't work with the fly.
waruikazi
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GeckoRider
Doesn't Own Geckos
Aimees_Dragon
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Yeah they could easily have come from a woodie. He eats those daily but the last ones were yesterday and i only noticed them today. Not that i looked yesterday I must admit.
I am not on drugs for the record. The things I saw were about 4mm long by 1.5mm wide and cream coloured, and the 4 or so that I saw appeared to be wiggling inside his head a bit like worms wiggle..
They are not there at the moment and i really really hope they have not gone further dorn into his ear canal.. but maggots ONLY eat dead flesh! If they are maggots i don't see how they will survive very long as my beardie is very, very much alive.
Veins. I like that theory!!! That is very non-life threatening! Kudos to that excellent theory!!!
Oh and he did eat a spider by the way lol.
And if it was worms.. is that better or worse and how do I treat that??
I am not on drugs for the record. The things I saw were about 4mm long by 1.5mm wide and cream coloured, and the 4 or so that I saw appeared to be wiggling inside his head a bit like worms wiggle..
They are not there at the moment and i really really hope they have not gone further dorn into his ear canal.. but maggots ONLY eat dead flesh! If they are maggots i don't see how they will survive very long as my beardie is very, very much alive.
Veins. I like that theory!!! That is very non-life threatening! Kudos to that excellent theory!!!
Oh and he did eat a spider by the way lol.
And if it was worms.. is that better or worse and how do I treat that??
waruikazi
Legendary
I've cared for panoptes that have had their wounds become fly blown and survived, just the flesh has to be dead not the whole animal.
So they were under the ear membrane? Like i said, i'm no guru on agamid anatomy but i can't get my head around evolution allowing an ear that lets maggots into it evolve.
Turns out they do have eustachian tubes.
So they were under the ear membrane? Like i said, i'm no guru on agamid anatomy but i can't get my head around evolution allowing an ear that lets maggots into it evolve.
Turns out they do have eustachian tubes.
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Anatomy
In reptiles with external ear structures, the tympanic membrane is visible, either nearly contiguous to the surface of the skin (as with iguanids such as the green iguana), or recessed deeper into the head (as with some scincids, such as the blue-tongue skink, and agamids, such as the bearded dragon). The tympanic membrane covers the middle ear cavity. In fact, it is the outer boundary of this cavity which is linked, on its other side to the pharynx and eustachian tube. In general, the inner boundary of the middle ear cavity has two openings. There is a round one, covered by a thin membrane, and, farther back towards the neck, an oval opening which is uncovered. The stapes crosses the middle ear cavity, from the inside of the tympanic membrane, its inner end fitted inside the oval opening. The outer end of the stapes has a cartilage cap which comes into contact with the tympanic membrane. In some reptiles, this cartilage, called the extrastapes, is attached to the quadrate, the primary support of the lower jaw.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Beyond the round and oval openings of the middle ear cavity is the inner ear cavity. Here are located the organs related to balance (the semicircular canals, utricle, and saccule) and hearing (cochlear duct). The cochlear duct and the saccule are both suspended in perilymphatic fluid; the cochlear is also filled with this fluid. The inside of the duct has two specialized regions, the papilla basilaris and the smaller macula lagenae. Both of these areas are actually clusters of sensory cells. These areas also have cilia which are embedded in a membrane within the cochlear duct. These sensory cells give rise to the auditory nerve (the VIIIth cranial nerve).[/FONT]
In reptiles with external ear structures, the tympanic membrane is visible, either nearly contiguous to the surface of the skin (as with iguanids such as the green iguana), or recessed deeper into the head (as with some scincids, such as the blue-tongue skink, and agamids, such as the bearded dragon). The tympanic membrane covers the middle ear cavity. In fact, it is the outer boundary of this cavity which is linked, on its other side to the pharynx and eustachian tube. In general, the inner boundary of the middle ear cavity has two openings. There is a round one, covered by a thin membrane, and, farther back towards the neck, an oval opening which is uncovered. The stapes crosses the middle ear cavity, from the inside of the tympanic membrane, its inner end fitted inside the oval opening. The outer end of the stapes has a cartilage cap which comes into contact with the tympanic membrane. In some reptiles, this cartilage, called the extrastapes, is attached to the quadrate, the primary support of the lower jaw.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif]Beyond the round and oval openings of the middle ear cavity is the inner ear cavity. Here are located the organs related to balance (the semicircular canals, utricle, and saccule) and hearing (cochlear duct). The cochlear duct and the saccule are both suspended in perilymphatic fluid; the cochlear is also filled with this fluid. The inside of the duct has two specialized regions, the papilla basilaris and the smaller macula lagenae. Both of these areas are actually clusters of sensory cells. These areas also have cilia which are embedded in a membrane within the cochlear duct. These sensory cells give rise to the auditory nerve (the VIIIth cranial nerve).[/FONT]
Aimees_Dragon
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Sorry I am having trouble understanding all that. Eustachian tubes? Are they what link the mouth and ear?
Ok so I wikipedia'd it and that is apparently correct. So assuming they were wormy/maggoty things.. and they are now gone.. there is a good possibility they got swallowed.
Thanks everyone for your help! I will let you know how he goes.
THANKS!
Ok so I wikipedia'd it and that is apparently correct. So assuming they were wormy/maggoty things.. and they are now gone.. there is a good possibility they got swallowed.
Thanks everyone for your help! I will let you know how he goes.
THANKS!
B
Bluetongue1
Guest
Let’s just clarify a few things first. The maggots visible through the eardrum were around 3 or 4 mm long and about 1 mm in thickness, correct? I’ll presume that is the case...
The Eustachian Tube
Bearded Dragons, just like humans, have a narrow tube connecting the middle ear with the back of the throat – the Eustachian tube. When opened this tube allows air pressure from outside to reach the inside of the ear drum. This equalises the air pressure on both sides of the ear drum. The tube is opened by swallowing or opening your mouth wide. You don’t notice this working unless there is a rapid external change in pressure, like driving up a mountain or taking off in an aeroplane. Try holding your nose and blowing air into your mouth under pressure - you will feel the pressure pushing through your Eustachian tube and making your eardrums pop outwards.
Ovoviviparous Flies
There are numerous fly species that the females retain the eggs until they actually hatch. Consequently they give birth to live young – a mass of wriggling maggots. This includes a number of common fly species associated with human dwellings in Australia. It sounds like the Bearded Dragon ate a pregnant female fly ready to deliver. By crunching it between its teeth the maggots would have been squirted out. As the maggots use moisture to adhere to surfaces, the inside of the mouth would be an ideal travelling environment. No doubt the lizard's tongue helped it to swallow most but sheer weight of numbers would have been against it. Depending on the species and the size of the fly, one batch usually contains anywhere from 40 to 80 maggots. (Don’t quote me there – am working entirely from memory). Some of the little blighters have made their way down the Eustachian tube only to be blocked by the Tympanic Membrane. Without a suitable food source they will simply keep moving until they find their way back into the oral cavity or throat and end up being swallowed. Being non-parasitic, the vets were not concerned.
Blue
EDIT: Sorry. I somehow mised a couple of pages of posts. Not sure it it is because I got distracted while writing this or they were already done and I did not see them. Apologies for the replication of information.
The Eustachian Tube
Bearded Dragons, just like humans, have a narrow tube connecting the middle ear with the back of the throat – the Eustachian tube. When opened this tube allows air pressure from outside to reach the inside of the ear drum. This equalises the air pressure on both sides of the ear drum. The tube is opened by swallowing or opening your mouth wide. You don’t notice this working unless there is a rapid external change in pressure, like driving up a mountain or taking off in an aeroplane. Try holding your nose and blowing air into your mouth under pressure - you will feel the pressure pushing through your Eustachian tube and making your eardrums pop outwards.
Ovoviviparous Flies
There are numerous fly species that the females retain the eggs until they actually hatch. Consequently they give birth to live young – a mass of wriggling maggots. This includes a number of common fly species associated with human dwellings in Australia. It sounds like the Bearded Dragon ate a pregnant female fly ready to deliver. By crunching it between its teeth the maggots would have been squirted out. As the maggots use moisture to adhere to surfaces, the inside of the mouth would be an ideal travelling environment. No doubt the lizard's tongue helped it to swallow most but sheer weight of numbers would have been against it. Depending on the species and the size of the fly, one batch usually contains anywhere from 40 to 80 maggots. (Don’t quote me there – am working entirely from memory). Some of the little blighters have made their way down the Eustachian tube only to be blocked by the Tympanic Membrane. Without a suitable food source they will simply keep moving until they find their way back into the oral cavity or throat and end up being swallowed. Being non-parasitic, the vets were not concerned.
Blue
EDIT: Sorry. I somehow mised a couple of pages of posts. Not sure it it is because I got distracted while writing this or they were already done and I did not see them. Apologies for the replication of information.
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P
-Peter
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Parasitic worms.
Sel
Very Well-Known Member
Id still go to a vet..very weird
I was about to respond, but Bluetongue said exactly what I was about to type out.
1. I've killed some species of blowflies and have seen maggots spilling out of the carcass a short while later. Given that the beardie had just been given a fly, there's a good likelihood the small white worms were maggots from the fly. Did the fly have a large, yellowish coloured abdomen?
2. Lizards have quite transparent tympani and the openings into the eustachian tubes are quite wide, so the possibility is there of being able to see some of the maggots through the tympani if they'd crawled up the tubes.
1. I've killed some species of blowflies and have seen maggots spilling out of the carcass a short while later. Given that the beardie had just been given a fly, there's a good likelihood the small white worms were maggots from the fly. Did the fly have a large, yellowish coloured abdomen?
2. Lizards have quite transparent tympani and the openings into the eustachian tubes are quite wide, so the possibility is there of being able to see some of the maggots through the tympani if they'd crawled up the tubes.
Aimees_Dragon
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Thanks for the info Bluetongue. Yep they were about that size.
Crocdoc: Sorry I didn't notice the abdomen of the fly. It got munched too fast.
THANKS EVERYONE SO MUCH FOR THE HELP!!!
I assure you there will be no more fly-eatings for Nims.
-Aimee.
Crocdoc: Sorry I didn't notice the abdomen of the fly. It got munched too fast.
THANKS EVERYONE SO MUCH FOR THE HELP!!!
I assure you there will be no more fly-eatings for Nims.
-Aimee.
B
Bluetongue1
Guest
I realy would not worry about it. Dragons have been eating flies for a long time before we came on the scene.
For those that are interested, fly maggots are used in the medical treatment of certain ucerating or necrotic wounds to get rid of dead flesh. It was noticed in one of the wars (WW1 or Civil I think) that wounds that became fly blown healed better and more often than eqiuvalent wounds that did not. The maggots also got rid of bacteria, evidently an adaptation to eating decomposing meat.
Blue
For those that are interested, fly maggots are used in the medical treatment of certain ucerating or necrotic wounds to get rid of dead flesh. It was noticed in one of the wars (WW1 or Civil I think) that wounds that became fly blown healed better and more often than eqiuvalent wounds that did not. The maggots also got rid of bacteria, evidently an adaptation to eating decomposing meat.
Blue
waruikazi
Legendary
That is true blue but the waste products from the maggots are toxic and cause further infection. That's why animals die from becoming fly blown.
B
Bluetongue1
Guest
Deleted - not needed.
A couple of general points to clarify...
You cannot accidentally introduce maggots via a live feeder roach (woodie).
The Eustachian tube opens into the pharynx – where the food tube and the airway cross over at the back of the throat and the same length of tube is common to both. (Externally, about the same position as midway between the ear hole and the angle of the jaw.)
A couple of general points to clarify...
You cannot accidentally introduce maggots via a live feeder roach (woodie).
The Eustachian tube opens into the pharynx – where the food tube and the airway cross over at the back of the throat and the same length of tube is common to both. (Externally, about the same position as midway between the ear hole and the angle of the jaw.)
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bowdnboy
Well-Known Member
I thought fly's laid eggs first?
Also would a maggot, that has come from a fly, (before being born) already be 3-4mm long and 1-1.5mm wide? They seem too big.
Also would a maggot, that has come from a fly, (before being born) already be 3-4mm long and 1-1.5mm wide? They seem too big.
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