First time with parasites

[Juliaf3]

So I decided to try my hand at a fecal- I just bought my son a microscope and he was more then willing to look at poop through it. unfortunately- we have parasites. They have never had them before - we always got a clean bill of health from the vet. Glad I decided to check him out. Just curious- what all type of parasites are there?

 

[Juliaf3]

I'm now wondering- do I throw all his feeders away and start fresh?

 

[kinyonga]

What did they look like?

There are many kinds if parasites such as nematodes (roundworms, bloodworms, lungworms), trematodes (tapeworms) and protazoa/one-celled parasites (coccidia, flagellates) and various treatments required depending on the parasite species involved.

Nematodes include such worms as ascarids, strongyloides, pentastomides.

 

[shmeenakoz]

It is very difficult to diagnose cysts, eggs and trophs in feces. The actual worms are easier to see but often can be misidentified. You really need to know what you are looking at to correctly identify them. There is soooo much junk in poop. Did you decontaminate the specimen first or are you looking at the poo directly? The best way to examine is to use a flotation and sedimentation method. If just using a fresh wet prep you still should use a trichrome and iron-hematoxylin stain to confirm. What power are you using and what is the size of what you are seeing? Is there anyway you can take a pic of what you saw? The iPhone can actually take really good microscope pics! We used to use it often to prove our professors wrong on exam Q's Id love to see what you found in there!

 

[deerharvester]

Me 2, if you could post a picture it would be very helpful. For most parasites a fecal float is the best method but for some such as giardia a direct smear is the way to go. Im sure there are folks on here much more experienced then i am. But, if you could get some pics it would be extremely helpful.

Scott

 

[Juliaf3]

You're right I have no idea what I'm looking at or doing lol I just seen worms and knew we had a problem, he goes to the vet tomorrow morning. Both chams are going actually. Just to be safe, because I guarantee both have them. In fact- I'm thinking all four have them. My friend and I have four chams. Two each- and we constantly trade bugs. As for how strong A microscope I was looking through - my sons five. Very into bugs, science- you know the works. Typical boy stuff which I love because I am not your typical woman. The microscope is from toys r us. I wasn't expecting to see anything for several reasons. My chams have always had clean fecals from my vet here by my house. I live in a farm town, this vet doesn't treat reptiles, but will do my fecals. If anything shows up I make an hour drive to the reptile vet. Which after owning one chameleon for a year I'm doing for the first time tomorrow.

Basically this is how it went down. We (my son and I) were breaking his new microscope in. Using basically all our feeders as specimens. Cricket legs, shed from the chameleons. We ran out of things to look at and I said hey! You wanna do a fecal?! He said what's that? I said it's chameleon poop. Being a five year old boy he was more then willing to check out poop. I found a nice fresh sample. Really fresh. Like fresh from my panther. I lucked out he was mid poop when we went down to see if we could find a fresh sample. I used some tweezers that came with his kit and we took a little piece and put it on the slide, used this little round the and pushed it over it. Kind of smashed it a little. Then I focused it in. Didn't see anything at first but I moved the slide around a bit and found some worms. After consulting with a friend of mine on here (jannb) we think it may be pinworms. I'll know for sure some time after the vet visit. I'll get back to y'all. I'm way into this though. I'm definitely getting a microscope for my birthday from my husband (November 17) and I'm going to learn how to do fecals properly. It's just way cool! So as for getting y'all pictures, I don't know that I can with my sons microscope because it's just a little kid one know what I mean?

 

[shmeenakoz]

You're right I have no idea what I'm looking at or doing lol I just seen worms and knew we had a problem, he goes to the vet tomorrow morning. Both chams are going actually. Just to be safe, because I guarantee both have them. In fact- I'm thinking all four have them. My friend and I have four chams. Two each- and we constantly trade bugs. As for how strong A microscope I was looking through - my sons five. Very into bugs, science- you know the works. Typical boy stuff which I love because I am not your typical woman. The microscope is from toys r us. I wasn't expecting to see anything for several reasons. My chams have always had clean fecals from my vet here by my house. I live in a farm town, this vet doesn't treat reptiles, but will do my fecals. If anything shows up I make an hour drive to the reptile vet. Which after owning one chameleon for a year I'm doing for the first time tomorrow.

Basically this is how it went down. We (my son and I) were breaking his new microscope in. Using basically all our feeders as specimens. Cricket legs, shed from the chameleons. We ran out of things to look at and I said hey! You wanna do a fecal?! He said what's that? I said it's chameleon poop. Being a five year old boy he was more then willing to check out poop. I found a nice fresh sample. Really fresh. Like fresh from my panther. I lucked out he was mid poop when we went down to see if we could find a fresh sample. I used some tweezers that came with his kit and we took a little piece and put it on the slide, used this little round the and pushed it over it. Kind of smashed it a little. Then I focused it in. Didn't see anything at first but I moved the slide around a bit and found some worms. After consulting with a friend of mine on here (jannb) we think it may be pinworms. I'll know for sure some time after the vet visit. I'll get back to y'all. I'm way into this though. I'm definitely getting a microscope for my birthday from my husband (November 17) and I'm going to learn how to do fecals properly. It's just way cool! So as for getting y'all pictures, I don't know that I can with my sons microscope because it's just a little kid one know what I mean?

Any word yet on the fecal?!
Thats super cool you and your son are into that! However…there really is so much junk and debris in poop! I honestly wouldn't be surprised if what you were seeing was actually a fiber (hair, cellulose from a plant-very common misidentification in human samples). I know I am a kill joy right now. I swear my microbiology instructors got such a laugh out of all of us. Here we would be looking at poop and so hopeful to find worms and our faces would light up with our big discovery, and then the crushing blow, "Nope, not a worm. Its a fiber."
If it is indeed pin-worms then you wouldn't necessarily need the scope. Adults are 2-13mm in length depending on M/F, and eggs are rarely found in feces due to adults laying eggs in the perianal regions.
What scope are you getting?! I want one so bad so I can do my own blood labs at home and the occasional O&P's (vets charge outrageously for them). If you want to see anything I would suggest a 10, 40, 100x light microscope and make sure you get oil for your 100x. I use Nikon and Olympus, both are lovely
As for identification, we used the lab book "Photographic Atlas for the Microbiology Lab 4th Ed." (can probably get it on B&N cheap!).

 

[jannb]

Any word yet on the fecal?!
Thats super cool you and your son are into that! However…there really is so much junk and debris in poop! I honestly wouldn't be surprised if what you were seeing was actually a fiber (hair, cellulose from a plant-very common misidentification in human samples). I know I am a kill joy right now. I swear my microbiology instructors got such a laugh out of all of us. Here we would be looking at poop and so hopeful to find worms and our faces would light up with our big discovery, and then the crushing blow, "Nope, not a worm. Its a fiber."
If it is indeed pin-worms then you wouldn't necessarily need the scope. Adults are 2-13mm in length depending on M/F, and eggs are rarely found in feces due to adults laying eggs in the perianal regions.
What scope are you getting?! I want one so bad so I can do my own blood labs at home and the occasional O&P's (vets charge outrageously for them). If you want to see anything I would suggest a 10, 40, 100x light microscope and make sure you get oil for your 100x. I use Nikon and Olympus, both are lovely
As for identification, we used the lab book "Photographic Atlas for the Microbiology Lab 4th Ed." (can probably get it on B&N cheap!).

I use the one Dez recommends in the video below.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/dez/810-how-do-your-own-fecal-float-video.html

 

[shmeenakoz]

Jannb that is a nice little home kit! Much easier than the human testing ! I did wonder also if that book was worth buying, so I guess I have another one to add to my list. Glad to see it shows good pictures (and hopefully good descriptions) of the parasites and how to ID.

 

[jannb]

Jannb that is a nice little home kit! Much easier than the human testing ! I did wonder also if that book was worth buying, so I guess I have another one to add to my list. Glad to see it shows good pictures (and hopefully good descriptions) of the parasites and how to ID.

The book and the poster are both great. When I see something, I make a picture and email it to my vet. He confirms my findings or corrects me and prescribes me the correct meds and dose for my guys.

 

[shmeenakoz]

The book and the poster are both great. When I see something, I make a picture and email it to my vet. He confirms my findings or corrects me and prescribes me the correct meds and dose for my guys.

So lucky you have an awesome vet like that!! I swear Im going to base my next move on location of a GREAT Cham vet. They really do rule our lives

 

[Juliaf3]

Ok I just got out of the vet. Literally. I'm sitting in my car updating y'all haha well we have round worms. Green scorpion (jackson chameleon) has a nasty case of them. Mookie Joe not so bad. Poor green scorpion is down to 72 grams. He should be in the 90s. Mookie Joe weighs 110 grams. My jackson is getting 4 cc once daily for 10 days. Mookie joe 5 cc once daily for 3 days. Panacur. Suppose to come back in in 4 days for mookie joe and 11 days for green scorpion.

He said aside from their parasites- they look amazing. Some of the healthiest chameleons he's ever seen parasites and all. Said he could tell they were very loved which made me really happy.


Green scorpion obviously is not feeling well- mookie joe however was having a good ole time at the vet. Being very friendly. Dr. Williams was enjoying him thoroughly.

JannB does this sound right? The doses?

 

[Juliaf3]

Any word yet on the fecal?!
Thats super cool you and your son are into that! However…there really is so much junk and debris in poop! I honestly wouldn't be surprised if what you were seeing was actually a fiber (hair, cellulose from a plant-very common misidentification in human samples). I know I am a kill joy right now. I swear my microbiology instructors got such a laugh out of all of us. Here we would be looking at poop and so hopeful to find worms and our faces would light up with our big discovery, and then the crushing blow, "Nope, not a worm. Its a fiber."
If it is indeed pin-worms then you wouldn't necessarily need the scope. Adults are 2-13mm in length depending on M/F, and eggs are rarely found in feces due to adults laying eggs in the perianal regions.
What scope are you getting?! I want one so bad so I can do my own blood labs at home and the occasional O&P's (vets charge outrageously for them). If you want to see anything I would suggest a 10, 40, 100x light microscope and make sure you get oil for your 100x. I use Nikon and Olympus, both are lovely
As for identification, we used the lab book "Photographic Atlas for the Microbiology Lab 4th Ed." (can probably get it on B&N cheap!).

Btw I definitely knew he had parasites. I watched them swim around in that poo for 20 minutes. My son kept calling them snakes lol

 

[Juliaf3]

Who's going to give me some helpful panacur administering tips ?!?!

 

[kinyonga]

How do you know panacur will kill the parasite you saw?

 

[jannb]

I have used Panacur many times to treat parasites. My vet recommends using Panacur for 3 days, then skip 2 weeks, then repeat 3 more days and then wait 2 weeks and get another fecal to make sure the cham is clean.

 

[Juliaf3]

How do you know panacur will kill the parasite you saw?

I took both to the vet, a very respected reptile vet in my area, brought some feces with me from both chams. He did a flotation and swabbed their vents. Found the parasites I was seeing, identified them- then gave me panacur for the treatment. I am trusting that he knows what he is doing so i guess is how I know it will work.

 

[Juliaf3]

I have used Panacur many times to treat parasites. My vet recommends using Panacur for 3 days, then skip 2 weeks, then repeat 3 more days and then wait 2 weeks and get another fecal to make sure the cham is clean.

So the ten days is over kill you think? Even if they are really bad?