hookworms & Giardia - Lisa's parasite issues

Val, he said it was a protozoa. He's prescribing Metro. I know I'll be cleaning with bleach again and have no problem with that.

Giardia is still a parasite, just not a worm parasite .... it depends on the strain (some are very hardy) but normally it takes a bit longer of a treatment regumine with stronger drugs, normally Metronidizole is the drug of choice but sometime its takes a combo to break the cycle, and make sure you follow the vets treatment guideline as Metronidizole does have a toxicity risk to the "host animal".... MAKE SURE TO WASH YOUR HANDS when dealing with the infected animal and its "stuff" as you really dont want Giardia yourself or to spread it around to others...... Again, read the thread about treatment/cleaning protocol as we touch upon Giardia within it......

I have been waiting to post this little update. I spoke with Dr. Spoillers yesterday on the phone and he said it could be tri-trich. He consulted with Dr. Tristan as well. I've heard tri-trich is treatable but not curable. Is the treatment for giardia and Tri-trich the same? He did comment that some strains of giardia are resistant. He also told me that none of them tested positive for giardia even though the papers with the results said giardia positive for all three. I'm a bit confused here. They have it, they don't. We're treating it but they could have Tri-trich instead. Are the two usually confused? He did perform the SNAP test for them. Don't know what that means. I was encouraged to send in a fecal to Zoologix once treatment is finished. Dr. Spillers wants to do another fecal when treatment is done Tuesday. Anyone have any advice for me?

Sounds like they identified swimmers on the float portion of the fecal<s> to me. Its very hard to differentiate Giardia and Trich unless you have high power magnification and most vets dont have high enough magnification on the microscopes "in house". They swim slightly differently as Giardia is more slow, in a straight line and Trich swims faster and more "spermy" or erractic fashion. Probiotics are ESSENTIAL to add into the treatment and in one case where there were positives for simplicamonas (in the tritrich family) one of the cages tested negative after diet change and addition of the probiotics. Consult with your vet about brand of Probiotic and amount to add in but I HIGHLY recommend doing so

Dr. Spillers said Benbac. or Benebac. Dr. Tristan told me it was not really necessary to treat with a probiotic but I really want to with all the gut problems they've been having. Poor babies. They have lost a little weight but not too much. Dr. Tristan told me Tritrich is not too common in gliders. I think he said back when there was a 'breakout' 40 were tested nationwide and only 6 had it. He also assured me it was not a certain death sentence...which is what I was afraid of. The bad mealies did not do this to them. And that nothing I could have done would have caused it. He said just finish the Metronidazole and retest right after. I'm confused, wouldn't that show nothing then being they just came off treatment? He said thats what you want isn't it? Yes, but I don't need to go on false hopes that they are fine when indeed they are not. Has anyone dealt with Giardia here? Any tips other than sterilize and clean and medicate? I got all those .

Lisa I've dealt with giardia. It's been a while and my memory is not the best but I can tell you that yes, sterilizing/cleaning is super important. Wash their pouches, dishes and toys as often as you can. (I washed mine everyday, cage too...but that was just my preference.) Wash your hands after you handle them every time, medicate properly. If it IS giardia and you do these things, they should be ok. Mine were. But I was dilligent with the cleaning rituals especially.

I've added probiotics in the past week. Should or could that help a little with their tummies?

Probiotics do help with their digestive tracts and are actually good to give even if you are not having any health issues.

Good! Thats what I was hoping for.

Took them back for fecals today. The vet said nothing at all is found. I had him check several times as I don't want or need any surprises. He went ahead and dewormed them anyway because one lab tech thought she saw roundworms. He's pretty sure it was the bee pollen though. So, he treated my gliders and tested them at no charge today and said to bring them back in a few weeks for more testing at no charge again. I think he is trying to learn something about these little guys. I'm glad he is looking into becoming more knowledgeable.

Sorry to rain on your parade here, but, its far to soon to be testing and you could very well be getting false negatives, as you stated earlier in the thread that a second round started Aug 13 and after that you said it was Giardia possible Tri-Trich and would be starting Flagyl/Metronidizole which is normally a 10 day course (which testing would put it 30 days AFTER the last day of treatment, well into September and September isnt even here yet)..... Im very confused here... You REALLY need to read/follow the treatment protocol if you are wanting to get on top of your issues and understand them

Might be a dumb question, but how do you de-worm an animal exactly?

Kylah. They doit to cats and dogs all the time. The de-worm that I was referring to was the act of giving them the medicine.

Oh ok.

ChrisR, we did treat with Metronidazole for a week. That was Dr. Tristans instructions to my vet here. I'm following the protocol this vet is giving me. If it is wrong, I need to know thus being why I am here. He will be testing my gliders for parasites from now on free of charge. It was the Strongid we were supposed to restart Aug 13. He and Dr. Tristan said there was no reason as we were treating with Metronidazole. I don't know. All I know is what I've been told by them. They also said that more than likely it was the bad mealies they ate that gave them the giardia. I'm not taking their health lightly. I need guidance. If you know something I need to know or tell the vet, please enlighten me. When I go see him, he often asks where am I getting my information and what do you guys say about this or that. I come here and ask. This isn't just for me.

Most parasites have a 21 day life cycle, which means it's 21 days from hatching from the egg before it is old enough to itself produce eggs, the de-wormers and the antibiotics wipe out the adults but it does nothing to the eggs. That is why you will get false negatives testing to soon, you have wiped out the adults but the eggs still have incubation time and then grow time before they are laying eggs again. The key is to break the cycle. That is why you re-treat after so many days (recommended is 3-4 weeks) and also why you wait at least 3 weeks AFTER the last day of treatment to retest. Anything before that is really just a waste of time/money, especially with Giardia. The shell of the egg is almost bomb proof (bleach does not destroy it in just a simple wipe down, it takes almost autoclave temps/pressure to get through it). Sunlight is your friend, it will destroy Giardia eggs. I, when dealing with Giardia, steam clean my cages and then put them in the sunlight to completely dry/cook, turning every few hours to make sure the sun hits every nook and cranny.

Oh, okay, sounds good. Thank you very much. So steam cleaning is better than cleaning with bleach and water? I was told by another member that she dealt with it by scrubbing the cage with bleach. Rinsing twice to get it off and leaving the cage in the sun pretty much all day. She said she did that the first and last day just wiped down in between. Do you have to do this every day? If not, how do you clean?

No, I dont do it every day unless Im dealing with a very virulent strain, but its pretty quick to wipe down with bleach and then steam them. I only do the "sun baking" every few days, although I would change out pouches daily and make sure to boil them (which I also dry in the sun).

Good advice I'm getting here. I'll wait another 2 weeks for a fecal float and smear and crossing fingers all is still negative but if not, I'm doing what you described. I change out pouches daily now and do a quick wipe down of the cage every other day even though the results were negative...too much honey everywhere.

One more question. When we weighed her yesterday, her weight has shot through the ceiling. She weighs 160grams. Thats a 54g gain since April. I'm just wondering what your take on my theory of this is... I feel since she had parasites obviously that she became accustomed to eating a lot to get the nutrients she needed and once she got the parasites pretty much under control, the habit of eating too much is just that? Not that she needs that much food. Also, she had a Wodent Wheel and I bought the protector for the cross bar. While I know she can't jump like they like to do, We also have a CC and she will not run in that at all. She gets no exercise. I guess it's her choice.

Had another SNAP run yesterday. So far, so good. She's still on the Baytril for her pouch infection. Even though the breeder had said it looked fine. I decided on my own after a little post by Candy on glider gossip that it was a good idea to keep her on it as to not have her build a resistance to it.

I hope you don't mind me just posting a link to my other post on Glider Gossip but I am truly thrilled with the way the boys are looking lately.http://www.sugarglider.com/glidergossip/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=45992

So, wanted to give you all an updated on my babies. They are all doing great and remain parasite free since September. My Kai is now 102 grams! I'm so thrilled he finally broke 100! Before parasite treatment, he was around 79 and never got higher until treatment. Omi is also doing very well. He is maintaining his 123-127gram weight. Gypsy is still a big girl despite my buying her her own wheel to run in. She'll run if I stand by the cage and root her on and tell her how awesome she is but I can't do it all night long. She weighs in at 168grams. I know that isn't giant but she looks pretty chunky. Well, I'll have to post new pics pretty soon.

Glad to hear that!

Got a new little guy that was supposed to be a girl but surprise. I have had him in quarantine since I got him just as I am supposed to. His name is Hermes because he is so fast. Anyway, I took a fecal sample in today asking for a SNAP and all other tests they could run. They said they only had enough for the SNAP and the direct. I get the call. Positive giardia. I made an appointment and they saw him this evening. The vet says he tested negative for giardia. I was confused. Normally thats a good thing, not in this case. No giardia but lots of little swimmers. She thinks its tritrich. We are treating with Panacur and Metronidazole. Panacur for 3 days then 14 days later another 3 days, then Metro for 5 days go back 21 days after that and retest, if he's not clear, retreat. If he is, we'll still continue quarantine and retest in a few week. Then after a third negative maybe he can join the group. I need to send his stool to Zoologix . Petluv told me to do it before the first treatment but I didn't get her message until immediately after his first treatment. I grabbed him and my daughter and I tried to stimulate him to potty but he said nothing doing. Poor little guy. Seems very happy and hungry.How long do I wait until I try for another stool sample for Zoologix?