I understand you can make a float medium out of concentrated sugar water, too.
A good microscope is of course crucial. So is this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-...1192963&sr=1-6

This book is absolutely fantastic, can't recommend it enough.

The process of making a slide really isn't that difficult--understanding what you see on the slide takes a bit more practice, but that book shows you exactly what to look for. I see no reason why people couldn't be doing their own fecal exams on their animals, if they have the equipment for it. Of course if you find something, you want to have a vet confirm it and administer the correct medication--for one thing, most of the necessary meds can't be found over the counter, and for another, I know _I_ would not want to try measuring out the right dose of horse paste for small snake...
Bean Farm used to carry flagyl powder AND powdered panacur wormer, but neither were intended for use in reptiles. Using the Panacur would have been a test of anyone's ability to count particles smaller than the size of sand grains...approximately 3 of them for an animal the size of a bearded dragon, lol...not exactly precise measuring.