parasites

[crystal leonard]

Hello,
So I currently have two bearded dragons. One is Im figuring to be a little over a year old and the new one to be about 6-8 weeks. when we got the new one, Rye, she would eat fine at first. Then about a week later she just up and stopped eating. I give her a bath every morning and fresh greens everyday. we tried to giver her meal and wax worms along with crickets and she wasnt having it. So I took her to the vet and physicaly she is perfect but her stool showed a parasite. So got meds and gave her all of them and she still has no interest in eating. she will take this reptile boost that I picked up from the store. I am wonder what else I can do to get her to eat live food again. Her lamp is at 95-100 and at night I beleive it stays at 80. she is still pooping until today and I think she may of ate some greens or at least made a mess of them. Is there a chance she could still have a parasite and I need to get her rechecked? What else can I do??

 

[Eavlynn]

If this is the baby we're talking about, it's odd that she quit eating before taking the meds. With that tidbit, I'd take a closer look at husbandry. If her basking spot is 95-100, that's a tad low for a baby. It's best to aim for 105F. Also, what is your UVB source? These may sound unrelated to appetite, especially in light of the parasites and treatment, but they are key factors in keeping our dragons healthy, and often cause a decrease in appetite.

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[crystal leonard]

So her temperature was up at 105 the first day we got it so after a we it dropped a little... and I thought her cage was to little to have both the uvb and heat lamp on top... she is in a dinky ten gallon tank... that being said do I measure it by the bulb wattage or what? My bigger dragon has a uvb light but now that I think of it I don't member if it's the right wattage for him...

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[Eavlynn]

A 10 gallon is way small, it's virtually impossible to create a proper heat gradient in a 10. If you can, I'd get her moved into a 40 gallon tank. It seems big, but they grow quickly and don't seem to mind if you cover 3 sides of the enclosure to make it seem less daunting.

UVB is absolutely crucial. Without UVB, dragons can't synthesize vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 allows them to utilize their calcium. Without UVB, young dragons become calcium deficient quickly which can lead to metabolic bone disease. Damage caused by MBD is irreversible. I would highly recommend a 40 gallon enclosure with proper temps and a fluorescent tube style UVB light.

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[crystal leonard]

Yeah I'm hoping to get my taxes so I can move her to a bigger tank but nothing else she will have the uvb this weekend... she was a sur of the moment idea and we knew then the little tank was temp... my older dragon was in a 40 gallon off the bat...

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[PatsyB]

If you don't have a UVB and a heat light on top of her tank at the same time, that is probably why she is not eating. That and the fact that it's not warm enough for her to digest her food. The UVB and the heat light work in unison to make a healthy dragon.

 

[crystal leonard]

We now have a dual lamp set up for her with the uvb and heat... I've been running the uvb all day and night to help her for now... tomorrow I'll prolly shut it off at night...

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[PatsyB]

She needs to be on a light cycle or that is going to mess her up too. 12 hours of both UVB and basking light and 12 hours of absolutely no light. You can even do 14 hours on and 10 hours off but BOTH lights need to go off. On the very top of their head, you will see a weird looking scale, some call it the third eye. Even when their eyes are closed, they see lights and shadows with that eye on top of their head. A dragon that has a light on all the time is going to be grumpy and not want to eat and may even be skittish and overly hyper because it's not getting proper sleep.

Coil or compact UVB bulbs really hurt them. Coil bulbs damage their eyes and compact bulbs don't give off enough UVB. You need your UVB light to cover at least 2/3'rds of your tank.

 

[crystal leonard]

I know... she has only had it on all night long yesterday to make up for the weeks she didn't have it... she practically sleeps all the time but she is eating more already... and she has been skidish since we got her...

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