Fecal Exams

With the latest conversations revolving around fecal matter/samples I became curious if "regular" meaning non-exotic vets would be trained to look at reptile matter and diagnose possible parasites? Now there is an exotic vet close enough; however, I'd prefer to stay closer to home. Any thoughts?

Normally, if you bring in a fecal to the vet, the vet tech is going to be the one running fecals and putting medications together to treat the animal. If they have questions, they can ask the vet or use a parasitology book(which I find easier because sometimes the vets are twits, LOL).

If it's a tiny clinic, the vet may be the one doing the fecals. There's no need for them to send it off to a lab or what have you, looking at poop is not difficult. Most parasite eggs look the same(some coccidia can be smaller or larger depending on the species it is infecting), regardless of the species(notice I said most), so if they find coccidia, roundworms, tapeworms, etc, then they will know how to treat them accordingly.

Shouldn't cost you more than $15-$25, and they may have to add on an exam fee if that is what they require for them to do a fecal.

If you have a lot of animals it is cheaper to learn how to do it yourself. There is a website that sells kits and identification charts. Just do a google search. The most expensive part is the microscope. They can be very expensive for a good one. I got a steal on the used one I bought for $100.

What you want is a fecal floatation. Not a smear. Floatation seperates the parasite eggs from other material (poop).

For floatations you need the following.
Good Microscope (at least 400x)
Fecalyzer Test Kits
Fecasol Solution
Slides and Slide Covers

Also this is a good book: "Understanding Reptile Parasites" by Roger J. Klingenberg

Flotations don't always separate the eggs. For larger eggs like roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, the flotation works. But for some types like tapeworm eggs, coccidia, giardia(which is what you see most in snakes and reptiles), you want to do a direct smear or a centrifuge. Tapeworm sections are heavy and will normally sink anyway, and you also have to break them up to see the eggs.

If someone doesn't have $1,000 or more to blow, then a $20 fecal at the vet will do. I do ALOT of fecals, but I would rather take it to the vet or do it myself at the facility(we have a lab down here I can use). Even sending it off to the lab(which is only around $30 or less) would be cheaper than buying all of the equipment if you're only going to do one or two fecals a year.

How should you store a fecal sample before taking it to the vet, and how long does it "keep"?

I just put the sample in a plastic baggie and put it in the refrigerator. Freezing destroys cells, and when thawed out, they burst. So your eggs are then destroyed and not really identifiable.

As far as sample amount, you usually want a teaspoon or something around there, but sometimes I grab the whole thing as I want to get samples from different "areas" in the poo :)

If you keep it in the fridge, it should be fine for a good 24 hours, maybe 48, but that's stretching it. Try to get it to the vet as soon as possible.

Sooooo... regardless of the species any vet tech *should* be able to look at any poop specimen and tell if parasites are present.


My local dog/cat vet told me that b/c no one there has training with reptiles that they wouldn't be able to determine parasitic presence. Just curious, as it saves me gas money to have my snake poop examined by locals than to take the 45 min. drive. Any other critical problem I'd take to the specialist.

As a tech, we learned about every parasite, how to treat it, what the intermediate hosts were(if there were any), how the animal got the parasite, how to properly identify that parasite, etc.

You can always say it's from one of your cats/dogs, and if they find parasites, then take another sample to the specialist. If they don't find parasites, then no worries unless the snake is behaving abnormally or is having diarrhea/anorexia/dehydration, etc.

I thought about doing just that and passing off snake poop as cat poop, but It felt so dishonest after teaching a lesson on making wise decisions and showing good character:D

I agreee with SatanicIntention about the cost. If you only need to do one or two a year don't bother buying anything. My vet charges $18, which I feel is reasonable. I only got into doing it myself because I am a nerd.

Hey, SatanicIntention, I have a question. With tapeworms, aren't you usually aware based on the consistency and visual appearance of the fecal matter? I need as much info as I can absorb. So far, I am teaching myself with books and charts.