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New Owner with LOTS of questions!

Your diet likely won't affect if there are parasites or not. I would give him 2-3 weeks to acclimate and then when he poops just stick it in a baggie and take it to the vet. Some people use a product called ParaZap to help elimate or at least keep parasite numbers in check. An indicator there might be an overload of parasites is not gaining weight. If you have a gram scale you can weigh him every week or so just to see the progress. We got our female in August at 125g, she is now slightly over 300g.
 
Hello

Hello,

I hope things are going well. I agree, give him a couple weeks at least to get all settled in before getting a fecal done. Stress really causes their levels to get high sometimes.
The tank, itself, will be the main cost, along with the lighting, etc. Don't forget to post pictures! :D


Tracie
 
Stress and diet won't affect whether or not he has parasites. If I'm going to have a fecal done, I do it as soon as possible after they come in, to prevent any possible transmission to other animals in my collection. While you don't have this to worry about, you do want to look at the fact that any parasite load he may have is hard on him, and the stress of shipping and setting up in a new home can make it even tougher. I'd say you've had him there plenty long enough to schedule getting one done, IMO.

Be sure to ask your vet how they would like to do it.....while some will let you get away with collecting the poo in a baggie and bringing it in, (cheaper and easier) most vets will want to see the animal on the initial consultation for the new animal.
 
I agree w/ "cat_72" With a new owner and depending on experience ,that an initial visit to the vet for a look see would be a good idea . Just be sure its a reputable 'REPTILE' vet, or it can be pretty useless going. A lot of vets will say there is an expected or exceptable level of parasites in most reptiles. Stress definitely gives the little parasites an upper hand for a while. My thing is get them as clean as possible up front then assume they will pick up some parasites from food, or fecals etc. somewhere along the way. As long as they seem to be doing well, IE: eating ,behaving,coloration, weight gain etc..then I just get a fecal done randomly after that to check in. Keeping their cage clean goes along way to keep a healthy critter. Cleaning their greens real good can be helpful too, as they often carry small parasites, which we humans also ingest by the way. But the insects carry things too. The veterinary predisposition that there is a normal or exceptable level of parasite load is common and I think mostly correct. How ever I will say that we have brought several reptiles home w/ No parasites at all showing in their tests. Repeated tests have been the same! Lucky I guess? Though we also have had some bad experiences as well. Tracie (Drache 613) can attest to that! This a good place to get help and advice for your Beardy. Your in super good hands w/ Drache. She and Angie really pulled us through some rough stuff. There is a lot of good info. in these threads. If you have time read back through some other threads. A great Beardy site also good people, www.beautifuldragons.com. Also check out the thread here , in "Dragon discussion forum," "reps.and Herbal remedies? new beardy w/ bloody fecals??" (Started By bullfrog. ) You'll find lots of info., there reading thru our trials! and some good and yummy foods and herbals for your beardy. Super good info. there from Drache and Angie. Congrats on your new baby! ...G
 
Hello

Hello,

Yes, I do agree as well! My concern is always new owners, which in no way is their fault, go to a vet which may or may not be a reptile vet, gets a fecal done & the vet immediately medicates for what may be an acceptable level.
Relocation stress will allow their immune system to become depressed & any parasites present in too high of numbers already will become higher & take over.
I feel though, given time in alot of circumstances, that it is usually best to wait for a 1-2 week time period before medicating for parasites or worms, if they have just aquired it to let him settle in. Unless of course, it is an absolute emergency.
Sometimes it is good to do a before & after fecal just for comparison sake. :D


Tracie
 
Thanks for all your information! Here's ANOTHER question! Sorry. As Gizzard is now being fed his veges and moist pellets in the morning and his dusted (either with calcium and/or vitamins) about two hours after that, when we feed him a couple more crickets in the afternoon, do those late feeding crickets need to be dusted as well or is he getting enough of the calcium/vitamin mixture from the morning crickets?

I'm having a hard time with the little cricket box I bought too! I have an orange cube in the watering "bowl" but we seem to always spill the water and it is a mess. I'm going to the pet store tomorrow to buy a bigger cricket keeper, make one myself or something. I read online where someone made a cricket keeper out of a deep tupperware bowl but I still hate those things and use the tubes to shake them into the dusting bowl. Any suggestions?

I've also been seeing these verticle reptile cages made from net and all the advertisements say that the dragons like being verticle. Do you guys have a horizontal tank set up like I do? I keep wondering what to do when he gets larger as I've got a 40 gallon tank right now.
 
Those net cages will NOT hold the heat dragons need, and they are much better off with the floor space as opposed to having height. Dragons are terrestrial, not arboreal critters, lol. Aquarium type tanks are MUCH better choices than anything like those net enclosures.

I don't put any actual water in with my crickets. I use a "gutload" food, such as the gutload from ProGeckos, and then put in orange quarters, apple quarters, or potato slices for a mositure source. I also throw in the occasional greens and such that my dragons eat.....stems of the collard or mustard greens, etc. What your crix are eating are only going to benefit the dragon, as he will be eating it too when he eats them! My crix are kept either in a 10 gallon aquarium or Rubbermaid tub with a screened lid and egg crate (you can put paper towel tubes in there in place of those plastic cricket tubes, and just throw them away and replace when they become soiled). Just make sure it is well ventilated.
 
So, the orange cube that I put in the water dish is to be "instead" of water? I've been putting water in there as well. I have a small aquarium left over from a fish our cat ate years ago so I'm sure I could make a cricket habitat out of that but how do you get your crickets out? Just reach in and grab a few? We've already found a couple of crickets in the house so I can just see me scream when I'm trying to grab a cricket and then let them all loose!

I keep seeing all these "gutload" things and can you tell me what that means? We've only been buying about 20 baby crickets at a time and I'm cleaning the whole little cricket habitat out after filling it with the new ones for cleanliness sake.
 
"Gutload" is kind of a fancy name for cricket food, lol. It is called gutload because it "loads" the cricket's belly full of stuff that will provide extra nutrition for the animal who eats them as well....makes them much more nutritious for the dragon (or gecko, or whatever).

Those orange cubes are probably inteded to be their moisture source...those are fine, but much more expensive in the long run than simply giving them a piece of fruit, and I like the natural nutrients in the fruit as well.

When I go to get crickets out of my aquarium, I simply pick up a piece of the egg crate (I keep a few pieces of it in there, it provides hidey places for the crix as well as technically giving them more "floor space"), put my hand underneath, and tap it onto my hand....usually, most of the crix will be clinging to the underside of the egg crate, so I get a handfull each time I do that. If you don't like touching them (I used to be really creeped out, but got used to it, lol)....using the paper towel tubes will do the same general trick as the tubes I think you are using now.
 
Hello

Hello,

Cat, I think from what I have seen on fecal tests, that levels at or around 3+ or under are normally fine & do not disrupt their normal flora in the GI tract enough to affect their appetite & activity levels.
Technically, they do need a bit of bacteria in their gut just to aid in digestion. Once the levels begin to get above 3-4+ then it is time for treatment most of the times.
Gutloading is easy. I usually put together a healthy dry mix of wheat germ, oatmeal, dry baby cereal, nonfat dry milk, & bread crumbs. Then I use greens, apples, or potatoes for moisture. I feed our insects all of the time, so they are ready at anytime to feed to our babies! :D


Tracie
 
So, you are not talking about parasites, but bacteria levels then (?)....as there really is no "acceptable level" of parasites.
 
Hello

Hello,

The flukers cricket feed is fine then, no problems there.
Well, dragons are known to have coccidia & pinworms levels on small amounts in their system when a fecal is done & it does not disturb their health or appetite. It is when those levels get higher than a 3-4+ that is starts to affect their overall health.
Most vets will agree that those are acceptable levels for them as long as they are not negatively affecting the health of the animal. A good reptile vet should not treat if the counts are that low as it will greatly disrupt their appetites & gut flora.
I have not cultured their stomach bacteria or acid, so, as far as those levels go, I don't know those. I do know that they do have a good normal flora of bacteria similiar to what we restore them with when giving them probiotics, that help with digestion processes.

Tracie
 
Sorry, hit return and posted before I was finished asking another question. Do you guys feed hornworms? If so, is my Gizzard too little for these right now? I read about them a little and is it true they are more nutritious than silkworms or the other kind of worms?
 
Hello

Hello,

I have personally never tried a feeding rock/dish but alot of people have used them from what I have heard & they apparently work pretty well.
As far as the hornworms, I think he is too small for them. They get really big. I would stick with phoenix worms or silkworms for now, & the smaller crickets. :D
How is everything going?

Tracie
 
he seems to be doing very well and is a lively little thing. I worry so much that I'm not doing the proper care/feeding but I'm keeping his cage as well as the crickets cage clean and tidy, feeding all the things you guys have suggested, etc. So, I hope everything is okay. When he finished shedding, he is now a darker color with red lines on both sides of his cheeks. I've been trying to figure out what color he will be as the Pet store only said "baby bearded dragon". Is there a "standard" color that they are when they are grown? Is it the standard sand color that he is most likely to be?

I keep thinking that when Santa and I decided to get this dragon for my son for Xmas, I knew that I was even scared of crickets but went ahead and purchased everything hoping that my son would take care of him. I never thought in my WILDEST dreams that I would be the one that has gotten so close to this little lizard! I worry about him so, I am his primary caregiver (not because my son won't do it but because I beat him to it most of the time! LOL) and I have a shopping cart full of fruits and vegetables for ONE little lizard! Seriously, if I ever see a lizard while doing yard work, I freak out! No one told me that you can so attached to these little ones. I've yet to hold him but hopefully I'll get my nerve up soon.

I think I'll try to find long hemostats or long tweezer type things to see if I can get him to eat some of his fruits/veges for me as I don't think he has tried his "salad" yet but haven't watched him the whole time it is in his cage every day. Also, according to all you guys and all the excellent advice I've been given, if I would have done what the Pet store told me to do by feeding two crickets per day, the little fellow would be starving! He ate eight crickets in 10 minutes this morning! Is that normal?
 
We found that our beardies aren't into the salads as much as some evidentally, but put it out daily. You don't have to put a ton out at a time. Ours are both around a year old and many days hardly touch theirs.
The "normal" or standard colors range from sand to a dark sand with some brownish to it. Oranges, reds, yellows are the more "designer" colors you'd have to go to a breeder to find.
Have you looked yet to see where a reptile show is in your area? It would so much cheaper for you to get crickets there. Eventually... once he can eat big ones you can get a box of 500 or 1000 and it's much less expensive (a box of 1000 is like $20.00). We use a paper towel tube to get ours out of their tub and shake a few into a bowl with calcium/vitamin powder, and shake them up. We haven't tried the feeder dish you are talking about. We do put some in our hand, make a fist and then let them come out the hole our fist made and feed ours by hand. The boy loves that... he eats better that way then if we just put them in his cage.
Sounds like you are doing good with him and having fun!
Oh... about the acceptable parasite levels... our vet says normally BD will have coccidia to some degree at least. He's never seen one without it and he is a reptile vet that many breeders in our area use.
 
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