Saving poo for a fecal
- Thread starter Dunnigan
- Start date
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
The fresher the sample, the better the test results. Anything that is stored more than overnight in the fridge is not going to give you a complete picture.
You dont usually need an appointment to drop off a fresh fecal sample, at least Ive never needed an appointment (and thats spanning three different vet places over the years now). A tech is usually on staff and it takes not long to do the fecal review. So instead of making an appointment and hoping to have a fresh poopie that morning, perhaps just wait until you get the fresh sample then take it that day to the vet. THey want it fresh, and they want your money.
You dont usually need an appointment to drop off a fresh fecal sample, at least Ive never needed an appointment (and thats spanning three different vet places over the years now). A tech is usually on staff and it takes not long to do the fecal review. So instead of making an appointment and hoping to have a fresh poopie that morning, perhaps just wait until you get the fresh sample then take it that day to the vet. THey want it fresh, and they want your money.
Dunnigan
New Member
Agreed! Its just that a good vet is going to be going floats at the repticon in Orlando Saturday for $10 and i figured "Hey while I'm there..."
Chameleon Company
Avid Member
Dunnigan,
The one that you have could work just fine, kept sealed in a baggie and refrigerated, moist paper towel not needed. The best sample is one taken just before your visit. However, the chameleon may not cooperate. So, as you have done, and for all who may eventually take fecals in for a float, start saving about 4 days out, replacing with fresher samples (if gotten) as the day draws near. As noted by Sandra, the freshest is the best, and your vet may take fecal drop-offs without an appointment. For you and others, ask about it, and where possible, avail yourself of that option.
The one that you have could work just fine, kept sealed in a baggie and refrigerated, moist paper towel not needed. The best sample is one taken just before your visit. However, the chameleon may not cooperate. So, as you have done, and for all who may eventually take fecals in for a float, start saving about 4 days out, replacing with fresher samples (if gotten) as the day draws near. As noted by Sandra, the freshest is the best, and your vet may take fecal drop-offs without an appointment. For you and others, ask about it, and where possible, avail yourself of that option.
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Good vet........let me correct you that's the greatest chameleon vet ever!!!!!
Dunnigan
New Member
Dave Weldon
Avid Member
Howdy Matt,
Like Jim said, just keep rotating old poop samples out when new ones show-up. Maybe you'll get lucky and have a nice steaming one for the Vet
.
So long as the sample didn't dry-out, the Vet will still be able to spot all of the usual suspects like Coccidia, and the various worms along their eggs, weeks after the sample was stored in a moistened zip-loc bag. The ones that are harder to detect unless the poop is really fresh (hours old) are goodies like Giardia, Amoebas, Flagellates etc. which are easier to spot when they are alive and swimming around in the saline-diluted slide smear. If you have a sample that is going to be delivered within ~24 hours, I suspect that you are better-off not refrigerating it since that might kill some of the swimmers, if there are any. The trade-off is that you might erroneously increase the bacterial count in the sample. The other method; fecal floatation, essentially kills swimmers but is great at concentrating things like worm eggs and Coccidia for easy detection. Yummy.
My video example of some fecal smear swimmers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BvzjySnL0s
Fecal float of Coccidia:
Pinworm egg:
Like Jim said, just keep rotating old poop samples out when new ones show-up. Maybe you'll get lucky and have a nice steaming one for the Vet
.So long as the sample didn't dry-out, the Vet will still be able to spot all of the usual suspects like Coccidia, and the various worms along their eggs, weeks after the sample was stored in a moistened zip-loc bag. The ones that are harder to detect unless the poop is really fresh (hours old) are goodies like Giardia, Amoebas, Flagellates etc. which are easier to spot when they are alive and swimming around in the saline-diluted slide smear. If you have a sample that is going to be delivered within ~24 hours, I suspect that you are better-off not refrigerating it since that might kill some of the swimmers, if there are any. The trade-off is that you might erroneously increase the bacterial count in the sample. The other method; fecal floatation, essentially kills swimmers but is great at concentrating things like worm eggs and Coccidia for easy detection. Yummy
.My video example of some fecal smear swimmers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BvzjySnL0s
Fecal float of Coccidia:
Pinworm egg:
