Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone here do their own? I just got all the supplies to start except a decent microscope which will be coming shortly.

I was just wondering if anyone does their own.

And for those that don't, what's your usual health check consist of?

I generally visually check the snake for external parasites and feel along the length of the snake for masses. I listen for wheezing during respiration and watch their stools. Unless something stands out with those checks I usually think all is well.

i do my own, but usually only for wild-caught specimens. i've never had a problem with hatchlings from reputable breeders. i have run into issues with adult snakes from a couple folks. but nothing that flagyl didn't take care of.

matt

Generally you can coax some fecal material out and place on a slide. If high in liquid no additional fluid is needed though adding some helps to flatten things out with a cover slip. If protozoans are present you'll see a lot of zig zag random movement and they'll run in directions divergent from the ebb and flow of the solution. Many reptiles can carry them asymptomatically so treatment may not neccesarily be required unless the population is so dense as to cause regurgitation. As the last writer alluded to Flagyl (a brand name for metronidazole)is the drug of choice but don't rush in to fix a "problem" that isn't affecting the reptile to some discernable degree. A vet can supply liquid flagyl or you can generally find it in tablet form in fish medication displays at pet stores. A sugar syrup including metronidazole is sold over the counter in Mexico (Tastes nasty!)and other countries. It is generally used in those cases for diarhea caused by bad water or contaminated foodstuffs. It acts as a anaerobic antibiotic and is commonly used for such things as clamydia in humans. Human dosage is generally in the realm of 250mg three times a day for a week. Good hunting...

Very informative post. Thank you.

My motivation for the post was to get a discussion going on how everyone concludes that more rigorous examination is required.

I have liquid flagyl ordered from an international source and am working
With a local vet (although I have yet to provide stool samples). I've never done my own floats but I'm pretty sure it's something I could and should master.

I'm currently waiting on the samples and ill report back what I find. I just got a decent microscope today.

Thanks for the human ghono dosage. Are you trying to say something? Lol

Ok I definitely need a better microscope. I tried to go cheap. lol

Ive found a bunch of lab style microscopes on CL. Im gonna wait for one of those because I definitely cant see anything on the two hobby type ones Ive bought.

In the short term why not drop off a sample at your favorite vet? You could literally supply a wet sample in the waiting room by expressing material from the vent. This can be made even easier by introducing a small amount of water inward to the anterior side of the vent.

That's not how you do a fecal float. Just google it for instructions. You need to do a fecal float to have parasite ova(eggs)float to the top of the solution. Then you can id the ova as to source of parasite. Using a microscope is a valuable tool. I do fecals on most of my new arrivals. And I only have captive born animals come here. I have had animals come in on Tuesday, did fecals, identified something I did not like, and sent the animals back to seller on Wed..............Get yourself a decent microscope. Buy some good books on Reptile Parasites like Klinginbergs. Learn how to use t. You can learn a lot online these days. You will gain a valuable friend that will help you immensely. But do not stop using a good reptile vet. The are also invaluable. Mike Bodner's Thayeri

Mike Bodner's Thayeri

Got a decent 400X microscope, float solution, slides, covers etc. Just went through all my larger pits and found one with definite coccidia. He had just started having runny stools too.

So I'm really glad I was able to ID at least something, but it sucks that he had it. He's on day 2 of 50ml/kg Albon and then 3 days off followed up by another 3 day round. Then I'll check again.

The coccidia was instantly apparent as a parasite. It had a cell wall with 2 or 3 smaller "cells" inside of it. It jumped right out as being different.

My concern now is that every single bubble I see will cause me to become overly paranoid. lol

I'm glad I invested in the equipment. Now I need to start making my own float solution. lol