Lactobacillus Acidophilus And Its Effects on Bearded Dragons

After reading numerous posts and a discussion on the kingsnake.com forum about probiotics I decided to do some research into what probiotics are, how they work and if there is any benefit in using them. I had heard many people rave about probiotics but didn't know much about them, other than general information, and I was pretty skeptical of the claims these people were making until I researched the information, in hopes of gaining some information to disprove yet another snake oil sales pitch reptile product (pun intended ). However, after thoroughly researching and using products that contain probiotics, one brand in particular that will be discussed in this paper, I have a new opinion about probiotics and hope that the readers of this article will share the same views after reading the information presented.

I rarely doubt that a product works when many people are saying it does, however I must know why it works. Just because a reaction occurs from performing X effect is not good for many of us in the world of science. We ask questions such as why it works or does not work, what does it affect and how long lasting are the effects, and is there a positive or negative change and how much measurable change can be viewed. While I don't generally doubt that a product elicits some change when many people are using it and saying it is the next wonder product, I often think that the same results can be achieved with some other less expensive product not packaged with an iguana on the label and containing the exact same ingredients. And many times people greatly embellish the merits of products. For these reasons I, like many others, do very in-depth research on the products in question, which is what prompted me to perform this research.

What is lactobacillus, what is its function and why does it help people and possibly dragons start eating again and maintain good digestive health? Lactobacillus is a non-spore forming bacterium that has the ability to ferment glucose into lactose. The most common uses of this bacteria are industrial and one would find this bacteria used heavily in the production of dairy products. However there are other strains of lactobacillus that are found in the flora of the human and animal intestinal tracts and women's vaginas.

Lactobacillus is the general form of the name (or its genus) and acidophilus is the strain, or species, of bacterium. So the bacteria we are concerned with in this case would be lactobacillus acidophilus. Lactobacillus acidophilus helps reduce the levels of harmful bacteria and yeasts in the small intestine and also produces lactase, an enzyme which is important in the digestion of milk. L. Acidophilus is also involved in the production of B vitamins (niacin, folic acid, and pyridoxine) during the digestive process. In short, that is what L. acidophilus is and what it does. So why does L. acidophilus help dragons overcome anorexic periods? From the research I have done I have come up with a few possible reasons. Just like in humans, dragons have trillions of bacterium in the digestive tract, mostly found in the large intestine, due to the fact that stomach acid kills bacteria pretty well. When an animal has either 1) gone on antibiotics for whatever reason or 2) become ill due to a bacterial infection, a few things can happen. Bacteria can be very determined little creatures and will fight for space and receptor sites. Also while antibiotics are pretty good at killing off bacteria, they don't touch yeast. Yeasts are then able to grow in the intestinal tract easily, without the presence of bacteria in their way to stop them from spreading all over. One of the major problems with yeast, other than throwing off the natural balance of things in the gut, is when it is able to grow so quickly and spread so rapidly the yeasts may convert to the more invasive form and actually embed in the lining of the gut. For yeast to embed in the intestinal lining it must secrete a digestive enzyme that will help it attach to the wall of the intestine. During this process the digestive enzyme can literally eat a hole in the wall of the intestine. . Just for information, some of the enzymes that yeast secretes during this process are catalase coagulatse hospholipase A2, acid and alkaline phosphases, keratinase, and secretor aspartate protease (15-17). An interesting point to this is that some people who have had this problem, (it is called leaky gut syndrome) end up with food allergies because undigested food is able to leak out and the body views it an invader and sends the immune system out to get it. So once the holes are repaired, which happens when the yeast is put back into its normal low concentration numbers, the stomach wall heals itself, food stops leaking out and the body stops producing the antibodies against the particular food and there is no longer a food reaction.

A few conclusions that I have drawn from the research thus far are listed below:

1. After antibiotics are taken, some forms of bad bacteria and yeast are able to grow at astounding rates, taking up space and causing damage to stomach and intestines. Since dragons don't eat food in captivity that may contain the bacterium they need to get the digestive tract back in order, we have to give them the bacteria that they need. The question is do they use the same bacteria that we do as humans or at least can we introduce a bacterium that works just as well. I think the answers to both these questions are yes. We would not see the benefits from using them if lactobacillus was not either naturally found in the stomach of dragons or at least work as well as whatever form of bacteria they had before we wiped it out with antibiotics.
2. Could the dragon experience a food allergy do to leaky gut syndrome and that's why it doesn't want to eat the greens and crickets we feed them after treatments or yeast infections? Unlike humans, dragons have a pretty limited amount of food items to eat - basically, greens and crickets. Once we reestablish good bacteria in the stomach lining it fixes itself via cell division of the specific epithelial cells found in the intestinal lining and the allergy goes away in part or all together. When an allergy to the food is diminished the dragon readily accepts food given to it again.
3. Should we use other forms of good bacteria such as Bifidobacteria? I say yes, and I think this form of bacteria is probably just as important as lactobacillus for the reason that Bifidobacteria thrive on vegetable fiber and on the complex sugars that occur in certain vegetables. Since a large portion of the adult bearded dragon's diet should consist of vegetables, these bacteria should be easily cultured in the dragon's intestine. These complex sugars, known as fructooligosaccharides, encourage the growth of Bifidobacteria and discourage the growth of most undesirable bacterial species. By lowering the concentration of toxic bacterial enzymes such as beta-glucuronidase and glycholate hydrolase, it limits the amount of normal stool contents from food or bile that can be converted into carcinogens. Carcinogens are chemicals many scientists believe can cause cancer.

Just recently, I had a Bearded Dragon that I now believe was suffering from a mealworm impaction that was compounded by a misunderstanding about the temperature readings on the basking site. I had started giving this dragon AcidophiLiz+ a few days before he showed any symptoms because I felt that this product was a worthwhile supplement to the overall health of the animals in my care. Then a misunderstanding of how to measure basking temps via a temperature gun prompted me to lower my basking temps by some 20°F. This was a devastating mistake. Not only was he unable to digest any of his food, he continued to eat large amounts of crickets (in excess of 70) while bloating up twice his normal size. I realized right then there was a problem. I had already given him his daily dose of AcidophiLiz+ when he projectile vomited up ½ of the food left in his stomach. At this point this dragon was truly near death - listless, heavy labored breathing and closed eyes. I forced some fluids in him and gave him another dose of AcidophiLiz+. What followed just minutes later was amazing. With too low a basking temp and mealworm impaction, the rest of his stomach contents were voided in a large runny stool. One day later this dragon was back to his normal 90+ crickets and greens- eating juvenile self. I strongly believe that had I not started this dragon on AcidophiLiz+ supplementation he surely would not have survived, as the product was able to aid his digestion even without sufficient heat to digest his food.

AcidophiLiz+ can be found in most large pet stores and online at various places. While I have not actually viewed through the microscope the live culture of bacteria, I feel it is plentiful. At this time this is the only brand I have used and thus the only one I recommend. It is my intention to view many other forms of L. acidophilus and record culture amounts as well as how long they are able to survive. It may be that in the future I will find an alternative to the brand name AcidophiLiz+ that is cheaper and more readily available, but until such time I will continue to use AcidophiLiz+ with the hopes that I can report back that other forms, via your local grocer, can be used and are as good as or better than AcidophiLiz+.

The product comes with an eye dropper, but I would caution the use of one eye dropper on more than one reptile. I recommend pouring a little out in a container and then using individual eye droppers to administer 3 to 4 drops of the liquid. By each animal having its own eye dropper and container you will never cross-contaminate your animals via the eye dropper. To administer this product, simply drop one drop at a time on the animal's snout and he will lick it off. It may take a while before they take it readily and they may even thrash a bit because it makes them fearful at first, but they will soon take it easily. The ones who have problems can be lifted out of their enclosure and the eye dropper can be gently pushed in the side of their lips where the drops can be administered.

Note that hopefully in the future, antibiotics will be a thing of the past. Scientists are trying to develop strains of virus that will attack and kill bacteria. Bacteriophages, as they are called, seek out bacteria and destroy them, attacking only the bacteria they are programmed to and leaving all other forms of bacteria alone. This research has been fought hard by drug companies who stand to lose trillions of dollars in revenue since their antibiotics will no longer be needed and will become a thing of the past.

One of the concerns I have at this stage of my research is the possibility that by introducing this bacteria (L. acidophilus) it will grow and push out other forms of bacteria in the dragon gut that are also beneficial. I don't know if that is even a possibility but I would like to start looking into exactly what species of bacteria live inside the dragon gut and if they are the same as ours and other animals'.

In my opinion, at this point giving dragons probiotics is pretty safe and seems to, for the reasons above, promote good digestive health.

More to come on this subject as I delve deeper into this,
Mat Price

A picture of the bacteria we are talking here is L. acidophilus courtesy D. kunkel

This article is copyright Mat Price, and has been reproduced with permission.