# parasite checking



## Basketbreaker (Sep 30, 2005)

is there anyway to check for parasites without going to a vet?


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## Lucidblue (Jul 23, 2004)

You could get your own microscope and run your own fecals. But you would have to know what you're looking for...


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

You can send fecals to Dr. Frye at $15 per tank. http://www.fryebrothersfrogs.com

Luke


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## lacerta (Aug 27, 2004)

I have been doing my own fecals for some time now. You'll need a good microscope with at least a 10X objective (100X magnification). I start off doing a smear by placing a small amount of fecal material into a drop or two of saline solution (soft contact lens saline works in a pinch) and place a coverslip over the sample. The smear is used to check for coccidia oocysts or motile flagellates. Some of these guys are normal part of intestinal biota (Colpoda sp. for example) and are not necessarily reason to be alarmed. The next procedure is a fecal floatation. I use Fecalyzer capsules available over the internet from several vet sources (approx $20 for 50 capsules). A fecal sample is mixed in the capsule with a sodium nitrate flotation solution (also available from internet vet sources) and allowed to stand for 20 minutes. The osmotic gradient will float eggs, oocysts, and nematodes to the surface where they can be picked up on the bottom of a coverslip floating on the miniscus. Some people have good luck using a concentrated sugar solution though I have not tried it myself. The floatation will concentrate the parasite eggs and worms that often easily overlooked in a small smear. The eggs will identify the type of parasite. Helminthic eggs such as pinworms (Oxyurida), Rhabdias, Trichostrongyles, hookworm, and tapeworm are distinctive looking though identification of exact species may not be that easy. Juvenile worms passed in feces are usually Trichostrongyles or Hookworm. Rhabdias and Pins are passed as eggs that later hatch. These can be placed in a petri dish with a little water and normally hatch out within 72 hours. For you students of biology, this a fascinating method for observing the development of the egg from morula to blastula to larval worm within the translucent hyaline eggshell. Nematodes of the genus Rhabdias are very common in frogs. Many of these guys have a heterogonic lifecycle whereas they can alternate parasitic generations within a host with single or multiple freeliving generations in the soil. Most are nonpathogenic, however a superinfection in a sick or weakened animal may be a problem in a closed system such as a vivarium where the potential of continual reinfection is greatest. The freeliving generations can persist in the soil feeding on bacteria and when conditions are right (not fully understood) they can revert back into a parasitic form. Inside the frog the adult Rhabdias worms live in the lungs and eggs are passed into the trachea where they are swallowed and passed in feces. In the research I have done with both wild toads and tortoises, I have yet to find an animal that did not carry a substantial load, suprisingly with no ill effects. There is much we still don't know about frog parasites. Most appear to be quite normal occupants, and in the case of many vertebrates are very often benign or even mutualistic with the host. 
George


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

What would be a good site with pictures of these parasites and eggs? Also, could these tests be done with a reflected light microscope? I've got access to those at school (up to 1000x), but not biological scopes.



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## lacerta (Aug 27, 2004)

A reflected light microscope is quite adequate. The optics of even older 'scopes can be quite good. Nematode eggs are typically 50-80 microns in length. They can easily be seen even with a 4x objective (40X magnification) but higher magnification is needed to resolve greater detail. 
As a general rule hookworms and Trichostrongylids are passed as eggs in fresh feces. Unlike fluke or ascarid roundworms, the eggs are incased in a thin transparent shell. Rhabdias usually hatch on the way out and are seen as eggs with motile larval worms within the egg or newly hatched juveniles. 
Here at a few links that may be helpful:
http://www.cvm.okstate.edu/~users/jcfox ... /chart.htm
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/scien ... bhome.html
George


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