Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A good vet (friend of mine) has sayed to me that very recently has been discovered (also by dr.Frye !) that Panacur is effective against Coccidia.
Did you have also notice of this ?

Thanks

Ruggero

I have noticed NO effectiveness of Panacur against Coccians, specifically Eimeria and Isospora sp. I have found it to be effective against other protozoans, such as Giardia sp. Some of the smaller Coccidians, such as Cryptosporidia seem unaffected by ANY medication (experimental treatments using Hyperimmune Bovine Colostrum are being presently evaluated for Cryptospridium). As a matter of fact, one Drymarchon corais melanurus that I was treating for Ascarids and Oxyurids using Fenbendazole (Panacur) actually showed an INCREASED Coccidian load during treatment with Fenbendazole. I treated the Coccidians after the elimination of the nematodes because I didn't want to mix Fenbendazole in large doses with large doses of Sulfadimethoxine (Albon) which was used to treat the Coccidia after the elimination of the nematodes. It actually took seven treatments with Sulfadimethoxine over a period of 3 weeks to bring the Coccidian load under control. This treatment was 50 mg/kg Sulfadimethoxine QD po via French catheter for 4 days, then after two weeks 50 mg/kg QD po via French catheter for 3 more days. The Coccidians were Eimeria sp.

My Spilotes is still very weak after almost 2 monthts from the therapy, and the fecals (flotation) are "almost" totally free of oocysts of Eimeria (it had in the past 3-5 oocysts x microscope field).
But: 1 oocyst x slide-glass (I mean in the total fecal sample) is still present !
I mean really 1 or 2 oocyst every fecal sample (even if a small sample, because it eats very small meals), not x field !

My question is:
- is the snake probably free from Coccidia and the very few oocysts that I see are still in the gut from the previous infection and must be simply eliminated from the gut with time and other meals ?

or
- are still in my snake some infected gut cells that continue to produce oocysts ?

What would you do in this case, Oldherper ?
The animal is so weak that I don't think to make other therapies: at first it should be alert and active again, hopefully !

Ruggero

I wouldn't even consider treating for 1 oocyst in an entire fecal sample, especially in an animal that is in a weakened condition already. 3 to 5 oocysts x 1 microscope field is a pretty heavy load, I would treat for that. Even if there are a few coccidia left, it's not a heavy enough load to be problematic and the medication could have worse effects than those few coccidia. I would just excercise rigorous cage sanitation and keep an eye on hydration and use supportive therapy if needed in the form of SC fluids/electrolytes. If the animal is feeding and drinking on it's own, I think it will eventually recover. Then you might do another float and see if the coccidian load is increasing or maintaining present levels after the animal is healthy again. With no re-infection path, the coccidia will likely be self-limiting over time anyway.

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