hookworms & Giardia - Lisa's parasite issues

Gypsy had a moist poop this morning and I took her to the vet. She has hookworms. Not an infestation, but she does have them. He gave us Strongid for all three. The dose is 0.05cc 1Xdaily for 5 days. He didn't know what else to say like where it would have come from or what else I needed to do. Do I clean the cage daily? Change pouches daily? I need to know these things and I knew I could ask you guys because you know and this forum is the medical forum for gliders. Help, please!

The treatment protocol for hookworm is not different than any other parasite.
Here is that info:
https://thesweetspot.forumotion.net/t295-proper-protocol-to-effectively-treat-a-parasite-infestation

Hookworm, like many other parasites, is pretty much everywhere. It could have been dormant in her system for a while or could have come from any place that you or your other pets have been and brought into the house on your shoes, clothing or by your other pets.

Thanks Val. I was checking up on it online (reliable source, yeah, I know) and it said that it could be from fruits and veggies, soil etc. Well, I bought them some red lettuce and being that everything goes bad before I can use it, I bought the one with the root in the container. The root has dirt on it, of course. I wonder if that may be where she got it? I had her tested twice before, Val, when I first got her and before intros. Kai was tested last week but nothing at all showed up. She's been doing fine just had a couple of semi-loose stools today. I grabbed one and ran it to the vet. I don't need my Kai getting anymore problems. So, I clean the cage and give them a new pouch every day during the treatment, I was told that by another member on GG. I just wanted to post here because I know you are the 'go to gal' on stuff. Thanks, Heres to hoping for a speedy de-worming.

Okay, update. I took the gliders to Corpus to see Dr. Tristan. He is a wonderful vet! He did bloodwork on Kai. Liver, kidneys, everything is just fine. Kai just doesn't groom very well. He did a fecal and nothing was found. So, he said we could stop the Strongid and just retest in a few weeks or sooner if the loose poops don't stop. I have such peace of mind now. I'm certainly glad I drove those 2 1/2 hours to a vet that knows what he's doing.

He didn't want you to do the full 5 day treatment? I don't know anything about that medication, but is it anything like antibiotics where even if it's ok, you should still finish the course?

Kylah, he is a glider knowledgeable vet and didn't see anything in the fecal. I asked if he thought he needed to do a C&S and he said it would be pointless because there is nothing there. He did mention they may have seen 'pseudo-parasites'. Maybe to the untrained eye, bee pollen looks like hookworms? I don't know but Dr. Tristan knows his stuff and knows what they are on and I feel confident in what he has told me.

I wasn't questioning his judgement, I know who he is. I was asking about the course of medication compared to antibiotics.

Here are my thoughts on the issue:

IF one vet told me that they saw parasites and then several days later another did not, I would take the road of caution. We ALL know that false negatives are pretty high in parasite testing. If you have a sample in which no cysts or adults are shed, then you get a negative. The next sample may be full of parasites. This is why we tell people that they are not "in the clear" until they have had two or three negative fecal exams.
So, I would have finished the course of treatment out of caution.

It is not a matter of a vet's competence in reading the sample, it is a matter of the nature of parasitic cycles.

Having said that, It is wonderful that Lisa has finally found a vet that she trusts. Maybe now she can stop worrying so much and just enjoy her babies.

So, his theory of 'pseudo parasites' should just be tossed aside and "I should finish the meds? I still have them.

IMO the course of meds. will not harm your gliders as where parasite's can be very bad. If there is suspicion of them then I would errored on the side of precaution and would have given the meds. As Val said if they are in between cycles you might get a false negative. Retesting as Val said is important at this point.
You interupted the treatment period so not sure if you would have to restart the entire treatment or not? Val what is your opinion on this please.

Glad you found a Vet you are comfortable with.

Yes, she would need to wait 7 days and restart the meds.

Lisa, as I have told you many times in the past, YOU have to make your own decisions. We are here, as the title of this board says, to give information. You cannot make an INFORMED decision without information. So, we give it- for you and for others following this thread. In this case, I am sharing with you what *I* would have done based upon information that was not shared in this thread thus far (and my experiences, of course). There is no reason for you to get defensive or to turn it into any thing other than information sharing. Just take the information that is given, learn from it, think it through, and make a decision for you and your gliders.

Val, why ever would you think I'd get defensive? If you'd told me in the first place that you personally would wait and restart the meds in 7 days, I'd have thought okay, that makes sense. But you didn't until your last post. It does make sense and I will do that for sure. I trust your advice. I just don't understand why you feel it necessary to assume I'm not going to follow your advice and basically make me look like an idiot. I come here for information I need and what information did I share with others and not you? I'm seriously contemplating not returning because of the tone. Good Job Val. I know this is basically/strictly a learning forum and I respect that but if someone gets a diagnosis and comes to this forum wanting/needing some kind of support and someone to say, "Hey, it's going to be okay or whatever. I personally feel it might be nice to receive that here as well. Once again I understand your advice and will follow it. I guess I got my hopes up too fast. It does make sense that the first dose killed the adults but I have to wait and treat again to kill the babies born that were eggs.

You just proved my point, Lisa.

I didn't tell you that I would have waited and restarted the meds in 7 days. I never would have stopped them in the first place.
What I said was since you did stop them, you should wait to re-start them, IF you decide that you are going to do that.

I would caution you against taking any sort of tone with me here. I have not been unkind to you or used any "tone" with you. I have just shared information. We did not know that you had stopped the meds until you told us. That is what caused people to start asking questions about that. I gave the information about false negatives for others who might come along and read this thread later on. I don't tell you to restart the meds or not to. I just tell you what *I* would have done. I would not have stopped them to begin with. Again, that is me sharing my experiences and knowledge.

We don't advise anyone to go against their vet's instructions here. We give information and encourage them to bring it back to their vet and discuss it with him/her.


As for your need for attention/encouragement, I have explained to you repeatedly that you are better off seeking that elsewhere. Keep your comments and posts in this medical forum relevant and appropriate to the subject.

Val, I am not defensive. I'm keeping my cool about this. I get it that in my situation, you'd do this and that. And I did say I'd follow your advice. I know you did not say to disregard Dr. Tristans orders or advice. I don't need attention. So, all this aside, what to do now? Wait the week and restart the meds? Restart now? Keep cleaning the cage and everything they touch daily now? I'm asking your advice. Often times Dr.s and medical professionals give advice on how to do things but seeing as I thought all was good until this, I'm asking you because I now you won't steer me wrong. I don't want to get into a squabble with you over words. It isn't worth it. This is about my babies. Not me so lets start anew shall we?

Okay, Dr. Tristan said they didn't have hookworms and commented it could be pseudo parasites. I'm coming to you guys to see what you think. I'm trying to not make this sound like it's about me here. Since the boys can't get on the computer and type out their concerns, I'm asking. What now? What would you do in my situation?

Discuss your concerns with your vet. If he/she approves, then:

Wait 7 days from the day you stopped the medication and then re-start everything(meds and sterilization routine) as if they do have a parasite. Treat for 5 days.

30 days after that, re-test (be sure you are doing all fecal tests and not just one).

Then, 30 days after that, re-test again.

That is what *I* would do in this situation.

To ease your mind a little bit, both Strongid and Panacur have little to no risk of toxicity to your gliders... Its made to be ingested orally by the host animal (glider) and not to be digested into the hosts system, while it is passing through the intestines of the host, the adult parasites "eat it" and it kills them, what is left passes "out the other side" of the animal. It does nothing to the eggs, they are tucked safely in their almost bombproof shell, that is why testing prior to 21 days from the end of treatment (or shortly after starting a round of treatment) will commonly give false negatives as a fecal float sees the eggs and not the adult parasites (in most cases but def in the case of hookworms) and most parasites have a 21 day life cycle.... Its aprox 21 days from the time of hatching before the parasite is mature enough to produce its own eggs... Low load counts and catching them inbetween cycles causes false negatives

I've heard of Strongid used in cats and dogs and I was just a bit worried when he gave it but, you guys say it is okay so it's okay. I liken it to the lifecycle of a flea or even lice. I understand how the medicine works. I just don't know what to do now seeing as one vet saw them and one did not. Dr. Manning (the first vet that tested them) will ask why we stopped. If I call Dr. Tristan and ask him how to restart, he'll probably tell me I don't need to. We are in a rock and a hard place and I appreciate any feedback I can get here. I'm starting them back on it next Friday which will be 7 days. Start sanitizing, all the good stuff and what at the end of 5 days retest? If all is good take them back 7 days later? Until we hit 21 days? Wish I had never stopped because we'll have so many lifecycles going at once it'll be hard to irradicate them. Thank you so much for your help. My babies will be healthy and happy.

Read the link that Val posted to you.... retesting to soon will give you false negatives... strongid is an over the counter medicine... If you are needing more you can always go to a vet supply store, farm store etc and get more to dose, although I would follow the treatment protocol that your first vet set up and do an entire round (the 5 days) when you restart..... then wait at least 21 days from the last day of that round and retest

will do. That was my plan.

So, they've all been back on the Strongid for 3 days. All was going well but earlier Kai had an abnormal poo. It looked mucousy and looked to have some blood in it. Can't be sure as they ate a lot of watermelon last night. Can these meds upset their tummies? He's acting fine and eating fine. Actually lately he's the first to the plate which is not normal for him but maybe he likes the HPW he wants to be there first or he's tired of being low man on the totem pole and eating leftovers. Any thoughts on the strange poo?

Here is an update that I hope you guys are happy with because I certainly am. After I finished my posting here, I went ahead and started them all back on the Strongid for three days and cleaned the cage like I was supposed to and everything else daily, including pouches. Result, I weighed them today and I have to say Omi and Kais weights have dramatically gone up. Just 3 weeks ago, Omi was 120g...he is now 130g and looks much better than before. Kai is up from 79-80g to 89g. Of course, Gypsy gained some weight but it wasn't much. She is a stocky 144g from 142g . They are all looking better and eat so much better as well. So, I was wrong about wanting to stop it all together. I guess now that we are really working on those nasty hookworms, they aren't able to leech off my boys anymore. So, next round starts back August 13. I'm ready.

That's great!!!

Awesome!!

My gliders have giardia. What now? This vet didn't say anything. He wants to consult another vet but I am afraid waiting on him will make it worse.

Lisa - giardia is a parasite. Just like the last parasite that we linked you the info for. The medication regime is a bit different, but the cleaning is the same. Your vet will prescribe an appropriate medication.