Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a very high grade microscope that was used for my sons biology class. I do have various stains, slide the works. There must be a site somewhere that could tell me what to look for. Im just curious. My animals are not sick or anything, I just wondered if this was possible and if there were a step by step instructions on how to go about it somewhere? Thanks
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2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0 Western Hognose
0.1 Cornsnake
0.2 Bearded dragons
1.1 leos
2.0 dogs
1.0 cat
0.1 ferret
1.3.? rats

Yes. It's entirely possible. I do it all the time. I would recommend getting the book "Understanding Reptile Parasites" and the accompanying indentification chart by Klingenberg. It's available from the Bean Farm www.beanfarm.com. It's rather basic and it's not a be-all-end-all, but it's a good starting point.

oldherper...is this to say that all parasities can be visually detected without the aid of a microscope?

Nope. Cee4 has a microscope according to the post. Some can be detected without a microscope if you find whole worms or segments in the stool. Most are detected by finding ova or oocysts in the stool using a microscope to examine a fecal floatation or direct smear.

mm

Thank you so much. I think this will be very interesting to try my hand at and maybe my 11yo who is very interested in reps. will learn a bit too.Thanks again, Im sure I might have some more questions as things progress.-Cee
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2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0 Western Hognose
0.1 Cornsnake
0.2 Bearded dragons
1.1 leos
0.1 Rosehair T.
2.0 dogs
1.0 cat
0.1 ferret
1.3.? rats