Opinions on treating parasites?

[Xelda]

Would you treat your herps if they have had completely normal stools (solid, no mucous, no foul smell), normal behavior, normal weight gain, and normal appetite for months, yet still have parasites turn up in their fecal tests?

The list continues to grow... up to this point, I have dealt with pinworms, hookworms, coccidia, giardia, flagellates, clostridial bacteria, and spirocysts (I think that's what the receptionist was trying to say) identified in my gecko's stools. However, for most of my geckos, none of these parasites are obvious. You would think coccidia and giardia would present the most problems, but the geckos that had them have never once had a runny stool (only one presented serious malnutrition, but that's because he also had hookworms).

I'm stressing out now, because some of these parasites were discovered upon fecal smears, but I've only had smears (in addition to floats) done on roughly half of my animals. I still worry that inconsistency of not having both flotations and smears performed could mean inaccurate results, which makes me want to just shotgun all my animals with Flagyl and Panacur just to be safe.

Or am I just worrying too much? I can't be the only person dealing with parasites. I only find out about this stuff because every animal that comes into my (modest) collection gets tested. I wash my hands before and after handling any animal. I remove poop and provide fresh water daily. Is that why they don't show any symptoms?

I guess my main concern is.. Is it actually helping my animals to give them medicine? Given how easy it is for reptiles to contract parasites through feeder insects, veggies the feeders eat, water that they drink, should I constantly be worrying about parasites? Should I constantly be monitoring their stools, or should I shotgun them all with treatment?

I am switching to a new vet, by the way. The previous one was too expensive for not being much help.

 

[robin d.]

in my opinion... all fecals that test foor anything should be treated, i would suspect in the wild the geckos ptolly dont have much of a prlbme but cince we keep them in confined quater near their own poop blah blah blah parasites even the most common like pins can get to be very much a probl;em. if you shotgun anything do it with the help of your vet for correct dosages... cocidia i belive is treated with albon.. pins with panacure, ivermec treats a few things including tapes them then you have flagyl. panacure is RELATIVELY safe but anything in too large wuantities can be harm full,,, ivermec and flagyl can be down right deadly if improperly dosed and the more common antibiotuics like albon,gentamiacin and bautril need to be dosed correctly and administered correctly... some are IM, some SUB-Q... lots to think about

 

[Xelda]

Thanks for the reply. I do have a more helpful vet now to help me with all this stuff. She's awesome, and I'm really excited to be working with her.

 

[robin d.]

sorry for HORRIBLY butchering the english language up that bad..... i posted that after taking my night time sleepy meds... cant see as it is but it makes it worse LOL and kinda makes me a tad goofier .... apparantly it disables my fingers as well

 

[CheriS]

Depends on the species you have. Many researchers and vets are stating that unless the reptile is showing signs of illness or distress not to treat them because a fecal shows some parasites or worms. They recommend good cleaning and diet and rechecks to see if they in fact do not decrease left on their own.

Reptiles do not care for their young, most do not anyway, and they have to build their own immune system over time since they can not get it from their parents. The only way they can do that is by being exposed to something and letting their system develop to deal with the problem. An otherwise healthy reptile can do that given the time and support with good diet and cleanliness like you are doing.

Coccidia and some worms are considered to be a part of the natural gut fauna of reptiles and by treating them we are actually causing the animals more problems and their ability to deal with things later on. And of course meds do not only effect the bad parasites, it also destroys many healthy bacteria that are needed by the animal for digestion and this can start a cycle of on going problems.

Univ of Bristol and Iowa are conducting studies and their theory is that pinworms actually prevent the development of other diseases such are diabetes and gut syndrome problems

NOTE: anytime a reptile is showing signs of illness or his health is compromised, they should be treated by a professional.