Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How many people actually do their own fecals? What power of microscope is needed to perform acurate fecals? Thanks for any help that you can give. Another thing: Will someone post pictures of a clean fecal and one infested with parasites? Thanks.

The microscope that you would need starts out at about $100 and the supplies to do the fecals are a little spendy when you first start out because of the quantities you have to buy. I've spent over $200 so far. You'll need some type of fecal float egg separator device like the Fecalyzer, a good parasite book, a floatation medium like Fecasol, slides, and coverslips. The microscope is the big purchase. You need one that will have powers of 10x, 40x, 400x. A student/college grade microscope woult work just fine. Any more power than 400x is a bonus but not really needed.

Since I have all the supplies to do fecal exams, I was thinking about putting a package together for those interested in doing their own fecals but don't want to foot the big bill of getting a ton of supplies. Of course I don't have extra microscopes on hand, but they don't take long to order.

Here is a photo of a good fecal.

Sorry I don't have a photo of a poo that is infested with parasites. I'll get one soon though. I've got a beardie with coccidia and pinworms and I'll get a good photo over the weekend.

If you have any other questions let me know.

Veronica
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Beautiful Dragons

Where did you find/buy your supplies from?

What age dragon was that and with what kind of diet?

Ours is close to 3 months old, and we still haven't gotten the digestion down to a regular thing yet, I don't believe. We've only had him 2 weeks now, but only goes when we bathe him so it's harder to tell what it looks like, but I do know that it is much drier than that, and lighter in color. He also doesn't go everyday, but don't let him go more than every other day.

What is the white? Mine does the white and it has yellow on one end, then the darker poo. He has a diet of crix and greens, some days he eats more greens than others. Mustard greens, parsley, spinach (which I've now read not to give too much of), with a fruit and Can o'Crickets crix to top the salad daily. It is sprayed with vitamins, the crickets are dusted one feeding a day, and he drinks water out of a bowl and licks it off our fingers and the rocks when we mist/spray.

Everything I've read says we're doing the right things, he's active, curious.. temps are right, lighting, etc.

I'm just curious as to why mine might not be doing as well with digesting. One major difference is his setup.. previous owner/breeder had him on sand and I have him on paper towels at the moment until we decide what to go with.

Any input would be appreciated, thanks!

Denise, The Mom Half
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Denise (Mom) and/or Jared (son)
Take care!