Dragons getting sick

I have a huge problem on my hands. I have quit a few dragons that all are getting sick or already there. I'm not to sure of what is causing this. I haven't changed much on the way I take care of them or raise them. But this is the first year that anything like this has happened or have had any sick.

I have 5 dragons that are sick at the moment, in 3 different setups, all melamine cages, with news paper.The paper is thrown away daily and the cage is disinfected every weekend with a bleach mix solution. I use 10.0 UVB lights and of course my heat bulbs, everything is on thermostat set at 80for cool side and 95- 100 on high side.

The only things i'v changed in the last 4 months are the cages I went from glass tanks to melamine. for the last 3 years I'v been breeding my own feeders and all has been good till a few months ago when a heating accident wipped out all my feeders, so i'm back to buying them till I get a colony established again. And thats all thats new.

None of my older adults are sick and are doing great, but there was one I purchased about 2 months ago 1 1/2 months ago that was sick and had to be treated for worms. Since then I'v noticed its been spreading through out the other dragons, but none are housed with this one. The ones that are sick are the younger ones ranging from 1-5 months old.

Any Ideas on what could be causing this spread of illness

Your husbandry sounds perfect.

-Are they just having diarrhea, or are there other symptoms? Weight loss, regurg, upper respiratory signs?
-Was there ever a fecal exam done, and what type of oocysts were found?
-Do you wash your hands between cages?
-Do you start with the healthiest, and end with the sickest?

Sounds like they keep re-infecting themselves somehow, and without a better hisory it's hard to say with what. If parasites are present in a dragon that lives with other dragons, it's safe to say that all the dragons in that particular area have parasites. In addition, even keepers who separate their sick animals should be aware that they should wash their hands thoroughly between each cage, and to always start with the healthiest animal, and end with the sickest. I recommend you separate each dragon that is sick into it's own enclosure until it's feces is examined and treated.

Another thing to think about is the possibility of infestation from food items. Is there ANYTHING that is shared between your bearded dragons? Does everything get washed separately? All the food items that are uneaten and unwanted are thrown away and not recycled back into a container?

Try to think of any possibility that could be transferring microscopic fecal-bacteria to the cages with the other dragons. The younger ones are probably getting sick because their immune systems are not yet developed fully. Your adults probably have a good enough immune system to ward off stuff that the little ones can't.

Yes I do wash my hands and started with my young to oldest with the one that was sick beeing last. the one that was sick was treated with panacur and I forgot the other one I have the bags at home. Today thats what I was planning on doing is sperating them all into their own little bins and watching them.

Symptoms are similar to the sick translucent sub adult. He's ok again and back to normal. the young one are showing signs of not eating, sluggish, dark pigments and I saw one last night that has weight loss. He's starting to develop dimples in the base of his tail. Fecals have not been done on these yet. I made an appointment with my vet to have them checked, but its not till tommorrow. The only thing the share between all my dragons is my hands , and the different food items I give them. All from the same store same veggies, and feeders, just different trays.

The sub adult trans that was sick was never kept with my others far to big to be housed with young ones. and not ready to be introduce to anyone else. I kept him alone since I purchased him. Then about 1 - 1/12 weeks later he started to show sings of not wanting to eat, then waeight loss and I took him to the vet.

Are these babies that you bred,or did you get them elsewhere,if so how long have you had them?Also,could you maybe have spread something from the sick trans before you realized it was sick?Also,your basking area could be a LITTLE bit hotter,105 is preferred to 95.

2 are of my own stock and the other 4 including the trans male are from others breeders. Thats also why I'm thrown off about it. If it were just my own then I would say bad breeding or genetic. But its multiple dragons from different parts of the world.

I'v always kept them around those temps , but kicking it up a few dagrees wont hurt.

About having spread it before i knew about the trans being sick, could possibly be a possability. But not to likely since I normally handle the younger ones before the oldest. But you never know there is always that slight chance.

Originally Posted by ace9916

2 are of my own stock and the other 4 including the trans male are from others breeders. Thats also why I'm thrown off about it. If it were just my own then I would say bad breeding or genetic.

To me, this says that it's something that's spreading throughout your collection somehow.

If it were me, first I would find a spot for everybody to go individually, away from other dragons, in an entirely separate container.

I would get myself some latex gloves from the supermarket or drug store, and I would use those every time I cleaned. I would use a new pair for each container. I would even go as far as using a separate pair to pick them up with. And on that note, I wouldn't pick them up too much while their sick, in an attempt to contain the illness that's spreading.

Once the fecal samples have been run and if parasites are found, (take a collective sample there...take a few samples and put them together...that way you'll get a fecal test run for a bunch of them at once) I would have EVERY SINGLE dragon treated. Even the ones who didn't test positive, and who aren't showing signs. I would then repeat the treatment in two weeks, and two weeks after THAT, i'd have another fecal test run to see how the treatment worked.

I wouldn't put the dragons back together for at least three months, or until fecals checked out clean. You're going to have to be SUPER aware of proper hygiene for the next few months to be able to conquer this, but i'm confident that with a little help from you, the situation will work itself out. Sorry this is so long, but there's a lot I wanted to say!

Last night I seperated everyone individually into plastic bins it was alot of bins lol but it got done. As for latex gloves I normally use them so to keep the feces off my hands. I was thinking the same thing last night when I was cleaning them to use sepeate gloves for each one. I will also be treating all of them if anyone tests positive.

OH I had forgoten Thank You everyone for you replies given and any that will be given. I know i can beat this and move on with my collection.

I've seen Pin Worms and Coccidia spread like that I would get fecals to the vet ASAP If it is Pin Worms they will give you Panacur if it is Coccidia they will get Albon. If you find out that it is Coccidia and they gon Albon get some Probiotics they will ened that right after to get the good gut flora back to normal also you will need to watch them closely as albon dehydrates dragons easily. Good Luck

I took the dragons this weekend to the vet he gave me panacur and flagile for the dragons i had with me and then gave me some for the ones at home to give my self.

Oh yuck! That had Flagellates that is very hard on a dragon make sure you keep them very hydrated maybe get some pedialite so you can give them a little. Also get yourself some probiotics like BeneBac they will need it as soon as they are done with the treatments to get their stomachs back to normal.