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Fecal Exams

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  • 09-18-2007, 10:44 AM
    ivylea77
    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?
  • 09-18-2007, 01:37 PM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Fecal Exams
    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.
  • 09-18-2007, 01:57 PM
    chimpkin
    Re: Fecal Exams
    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
  • 09-18-2007, 02:06 PM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Fecal Exams
    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.
  • 09-18-2007, 02:10 PM
    xdeus
    Re: Fecal Exams
    How should you store a fecal sample before taking it to the vet, and how long does it "keep"?
  • 09-18-2007, 02:15 PM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Fecal Exams
    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.
  • 09-18-2007, 02:33 PM
    ivylea77
    Re: Fecal Exams
    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.
  • 09-18-2007, 02:38 PM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Fecal Exams
    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.
  • 09-18-2007, 02:41 PM
    ivylea77
    Re: Fecal Exams
    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
  • 09-18-2007, 02:45 PM
    chimpkin
    Re: Fecal Exams
    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.
  • 09-18-2007, 02:52 PM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Fecal Exams
    No, sometimes the animal won't even show signs until they are highly infested. If they start passing proglottids(the little rice looking sections that contain eggs), then you know they have tapeworms. If they don't, then you may need to do multiple fecals(the direct smear works best for this, at least for me, as well as the centrifuge because it takes all of the eggs down to the bottom of the vial, so you can get an accurate sample of the parasite load).

    I have a really good book somewhere that shows life cycles and whatnot for every parasite, mammals, reptiles, avians, even sea mammals/fish. It's kind of neon green and is a paper-back with a plastic ringed binding. I'll see if I can't find it and get you the name of it. It's an easy book to learn out of.
  • 09-18-2007, 02:56 PM
    mlededee
    Re: Fecal Exams
    my bp that has tapeworms never showed any signs and her feces looked no different from any other snake poo until she passed the glob of worms. only then did i know i had a problem.
  • 09-18-2007, 02:59 PM
    SatanicIntention
    Re: Fecal Exams
    Did she ever show signs of failure to thrive other than being small for her age?
  • 09-18-2007, 03:23 PM
    mlededee
    Re: Fecal Exams
    just being small but eating ravenously. i honestly thought she was on 06 girl because she is about the size of a late 06 snake. it just slipped my mind completely that she is actually an 05 until i went back through some old e-mails. when i saw that i nearly died and felt SO bad for not realizing just how small she is sooner. :(
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