Posted by:
oldherper
at Mon Nov 22 07:45:39 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by oldherper ]
The first slides are rodent hair. The nematode is definitely Strongyloids. You should normally see embryonated ova when you find the worms in a float or smear. However, they can be hard to see without some staining. In your post where you describe your floatation technique, you don't mention staining. The best things I have found for staining fecal floats is either Methylene Blue, Crystal Violet, or Lugol's Solution. The Blue and Violet stains work better on some things than others. The Lugol's Solution seems to do the best job out of the three. There are others you can use, but they tend to be harder for the non-Veterinarian person to find and acquire. Before you agitate your sample, simply add 4 or 5 drops of Lugol's to the sample, then float it. Or, for a direct smear, just add a drop or two to the sample when you mix it with the Fecasol ( I always add a few drops of Fecasol to a smear to thin it a little), then smear the slide. You can also just use Saline for thinning the smear.
The smaller oval shaped items appear to me to be Coccidian oocysts (probably Eimeria sp. Staining with Lugol's will make those show better detail also.
By the way, Lugol's should be available from a Pharmacy. They may have to order it and it may be listed simply as "Strong Iodine Solution". As with any staining agent, don't get it on anything you don't want to examine...it doesn't come out. ----- We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson
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