Parasites...

[Arconna]

Well, one of my new girls was acting a little strange, her stool a little different. So I took her into the vet and my hunch was correct. She's got some sort of parasitic worm (vet said it looked like hookworm). So I get the fun part of deworming all my lizzies...with something called Panacur (I think I spelled that right)...

Should be exciting I suppose...grr...parasites suck

 

[beachqueen]

just curious . . . what did the stool look like? I called the vet for my girl today. Waiting for a call back. She has a brownish liquid coming out, won't eat and is losing weight plus she just sleeps and sleeps.

 

[Arconna]

It wasn't nearly like that. It was abnormally colored (brighter than her stool should have been) and was sort of mushier than normal. If it is liquid coming out, that's probably a heavier load of parasites than what I am dealing with. Get yours in ASAP and get some medicine. That's all bad indicators. I caught mine rather early, she's still eating. I only really noticed from her stool and because she was doing a little more laying than normal. But she's still eating and is a big girl anyway. I am just concerned the parasites got into some of my other animals, so I am going to be de-worming all my animals at once.

But get yours in right away. That's not a good sign.

 

[PaulSage]

Well, one of my new girls was acting a little strange, her stool a little different. So I took her into the vet and my hunch was correct. She's got some sort of parasitic worm (vet said it looked like hookworm). So I get the fun part of deworming all my lizzies...with something called Panacur (I think I spelled that right)...

Should be exciting I suppose...grr...parasites suck

If the Panacur doesn't work to treat the hookworms, ask your vet about Flagyl.

just curious . . . what did the stool look like? I called the vet for my girl today. Waiting for a call back. She has a brownish liquid coming out, won't eat and is losing weight plus she just sleeps and sleeps.

The brownish liquid may be dead blood coming out, which is not uncommon with hookworm infestations.

 

[Arconna]

Will do. Hopefully Panacur works though.

Is Flagyl just another brand that has the same effect or is it a tougher medicine?

 

[PaulSage]

Flagyl is a common name for Metronidazole. It's not the same as Panacur (Fenbendazole) but I have heard/read that it can be more effective than Panacur when treating hookworms in reptiles.

 

[beachqueen]

Hi there - okay sorry for being MIA but I took my gecko to the only vet open to exotic animals. I had to drive about an hour only to find out that not one doctor there knew anything about geckos. I found out more from the assistant that owns a bearded dragon. That really didn't do any good. So tomorrow taking my gecko to the only Vet in town that hopefully knows about geckos. However - they never called me back today so we will see. Thanks for the tips and i'll keep you posted.

 

[Arconna]

Even if your vet doesn't know about geckos, if they are a herp vet at all they should still have been able to do a fecal and told you what was wrong...

Good luck at the other place...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

If the vet is familiar with fecal floats/smears, they should be able to identify most common parasites.

 

[beachqueen]

Update on Angel - I took her to a vet this morning. He seemed very familiar with geckos. He said her problem is that she is full of eggs and that is causing her not to eat. He said her color is good, no signs of parasites but she is weak b/c she won't eat. He told me to change her home from the sand I got a Petco! He said that she has sand in her digestive tract making her not lay her eggs. He gave me some medicine: Neocal and Baytril and a small jar of chicken gerber baby food (to dilute with water). He gave me the medicine for parasites just in case b/c she has never been to a vet but really saw no signs.
So any concerns here?

 

[Arconna]

Well, if you hold your gecko up and look at her belly in the light do you see any white masses in there? That would be eggs if there are. I think one of my females might be carrying eggs, she got really fat all of a sudden...

But it's good that he's given you all this medicine and food and what not. I'm not as familiar with vet medicine as a lot of others who have been dealing with leo's for longer. It sounds good to me though.

 

[beachqueen]

i was reading some of the quotes on here - should i have a place for her to lay her eggs? would that help? i'm not breeding her. i didn't ask that at the vet.

 

[Arconna]

Yes you should. They'll likely be infertile, but it's best to have a laying box for her so she can pass those eggs.

 

[beachqueen]

Oh - this is so horrible. i feel so bad that she is in pain. she acts like she is constipated. she pushes and nothing. tomorrow i'm going to go buy perilite and some peatmoss for her area. hopefully this will help.

 

[Arconna]

...I'm losing my mind right now...my entire herp collection has internal parasites (a.k.a. worms of some form, hook probably)...every single one of them is now showing stool signs that are abnormal. My little runt one, that really gorgeous girl, is the worst of all now . God someone please who has dealt with worms come in here and tell me that they'll be okay...just reassure me...I've got that Panacur medicine, almost all of them are still eating (some didn't eat today, but that might not mean anything). Just, like someone tell me that this worm thing is bad, but not like that crypto or anything...I need reassurance...make me feel better :'(

 

[Grinning Geckos]

I highly suggest the you talk with Marcia. I'm fairly sure she had to treat all of her geckos for worms a few years back. From what I can remember of the story, it was a lot of work and a serious interruption to her season, but everything turned out A-OK. Don't stress. Just keep those tubs sparking clean, and give them the meds like you're suppose to. Marcia's one of the best people to talk to about anything gecko...she's been around a long time and knows what she's talking about!

 

[Jeanne]

Just keep those tubs sparking clean, and give them the meds like you're suppose to.

This is probably the best advice. Especially about keeping the tubs clean. If you keep the cages clean, give them to meds when you are supposed to, and keep a very close eye on them, you should be fine. If you see any of them losing weight, or not eating for a couple days, call your vet and let them know.

 

[Arconna]

I change the papertowels practically every day and change the tubs for those in tubs every other day and then spray them down and soak them with soap and water for a few hours.
I guess I will start doing teh same with the 3 lizzies that are in glass cages too...

 

[Grinning Geckos]

Generally speaking (it varys depending on what you're treating for), you want to clean out their home every day and disinfect with something like Nolvusan. It's a pain in the butt, but it prevents them from re-infecting themselves. Once the treatment is done and everyone is parasite free, your cleaning schedule is more than enough.

 

[Arconna]

Okay, I will start doing that. Where can I acquire some decent disenfectant? Like is there a particular brand that I can get that is like the stuff you mentioned at the grocery store? I've never heard of Nolvusan :S.