Fecal - I need more poop

[laurie]

Yes I know how it sounds, but I just bought a microscope, and am doing fecals on everyone. My two transvaalense are just too small to provide an amount I can do a fecal on. Does anyone have any ideas? These chams are 8 months but are a small species.

 

[camimom]

what about collecting several samples and combining them?

 

[Hoj]

Hmmm well I have lots of Poop, but it wount help your problem.

 

[clarkrw3]

My understanding is, if you are doing a float than as long as it is mashed up you will still get everything you are looking for floating up to the cover slide. The key is to make sure you have ruptured the film "package" of the poop before putting it into the vile and agitating.

 

[laurie]

My understanding is, if you are doing a float than as long as it is mashed up you will still get everything you are looking for floating up to the cover slide. The key is to make sure you have ruptured the film "package" of the poop before putting it into the vile and agitating.

Thanks, I will give that a try. Do you do your own fecals? If I send a picture from my scope will you take a look? I need reassurance.

 

[clarkrw3]

Yes, I do my own and get them spot checked by my Vet Dr. Driggers. I am happy to look at them for you but I am far from am expert. I feel like I meddle through them. But I always seem to find what the vet finds.

 

[laurie]

Well if you look and I can find another person to look, I might have a chance at getting it right. I don't really have anyone here. The only person who could do a reliable fecal at the vets office just quit.

 

[Alexl]

You can do a simple native preparation even of really tiny fecals. Just take some saline solution and the fecal, mix it up on the slide, put a cover slip on the top and you'll have a first impression. A flotation can be well done in an Eppendorf cup with small amounts of material. A Bradypodion juvenile is not too small for a fecal!

 

[laurie]

Alexl thanks for your help. I just want to be able to know my chams are parasite free. Without a reptile vet close, closest is 5 hours each way, I need to be as self sufficient as I can. I work hard to make sure I take proper care of my chams, so anything I can do, I feel the need to learn it and do it for my chams.

 

[Alexl]

Did you have a look at this small book? It's a nice overview of common parasites in lizards with lots of pictures. I see it's quite expensive in the US, I buyed it for half price here last year. Do you have any vet helping you or correct your work? Will be much more difficult to learn on your own. I remember my first lessons in parasitology, every little piece of dirt seemed to be a new parasite and pollen were the "parasite eggs" I got my tutors confused about .