Proper protocol to effectively treat a parasite infestation

Excluding Giardia in this little conversation as Giardia treatment is much longer and intensive than say roundworm or hookworm treatments although same sanitary techniques will be needed....

Let me start by saying that today's parasites are much harder to treat than those of yester-years due to parasites building immunities/resistance to those long standing de-wormers/anti-parasitics, more often than not it will take a combination of drugs used consecutively to effectively treat the parasites

This topic will mainly deal with 2 of the most common anti-parasitic drugs.....Panacur (Fenbendazole) and Strongid (Pyrental Paomate)

Both Panacur and Strongid have a VERY LOW risk of toxicity to the host animal (i.e. the parasite infested glider). This is due to the fact that these drugs are not made to be absorbed by the host animal, they pass safely through the host and while in the intestines are ingested by the adult parasite thus killing the parasite...

Dewormers/Anti-Parasitic drugs DO NOT KILL THE OVA/EGGS!!!! The eggs are safely tucked within their almost bomb proof outer shell awaiting proper "conditions" to hatch. This is why proper treatment requires 2 or more treatment doses 3 weeks apart to effectively treat, you must wait for all of the eggs to hatch, become larva (worms) and then ingest the anti-parasitic

Both Panacur and Strongid will need to be dosed in 3 consecutive day treatments regimens to be effective in killing all adult parasites. This is due in part to the fact that parasites do not always eat every day, most times eating every other day or every third day....

Most parasites have a 21 day cycle. Meaning its an average of 21 days from the point of hatching until the adult parasite will start to lay eggs. This is why re-treatment is commonly done 21 days from the last day of the initial treatment. The key is to break the cycle, to get treatment to the newly hatched parasite before it matures enough to start laying more eggs....

As I said above the parasite ova/eggs outer shell is almost bomb proof. Most take boiling water temperatures to effectively kill it. They are also very "sticky" and will adhere to almost anything (shoes, hands, pouches, toys etc etc etc). And as we are talking microscopic eggs (you cant see them by the naked eye) hand washing paying special attention to the under fingernail area for the ENTIRE twinkle, twinkle little star song is IMPERITIVE between cages if you have a positive fecal or even suspect that you have a parasite issue so not to cross contaminate amongst your gliders and/or other animals in the household...REMEMBER humans can and will contract parasites from their infected animals and vise- versa.

I would advise that if you have a positive fecal in one of your animals that all animals in your household be treated for parasites as cross contamination is a frequent problem.


PROPER PROTOCOL FOR PARASITE INFESTATION


1. Positive Fecal = start first 3 day anti-parasitic drug regumine, after the 3rd day your 21 day countdown to re-treatment starts. If you are using a drug combo regimen (i.e. 3 days of strongid followed by 3 days of panacur or vice-versa) the 21 day countdown starts after the last day of oral drug regimen....

2. All cages, toys, pouches etc that have come in contact with the infected animal<s> will need to be sterilized DAILY during the entire treatment regimen, including the 21 days wait time in between drug treatment and 21 days wait time before 2nd fecal is done. Simply throwing your pouches into a washing machine will do nothing but spread eggs around throughout the load and subsequent loads. You will need to boil for a full 10 minutes anything that is boilable and all wheels,toys etc will need a 30 minute soaking in a boiling water and bleach bath afterward left to air dry completely before re-introduction into cage. All cages will also require a daily cleansing with a strong bleach and water at the very least (steam cleaners will cut your cleaning time down immensely) REMEMBER TO WASH HANDS IN BETWEEN CAGES AND AFTER DEALING WITH ANY AND ALL POSSIBLY "CONTAMINATED" ITEMS!

3. 21 days after the last day of the first anti-parasitic drug regimen starts the next round of drug regimen.

4. 3 weeks to a month after the 2nd drug regimen/treatment is when a 2nd fecal is called for. Any fecals done before this can and will possibly result in a false negative test result as fecals require eggs being produced by adult parasites in a significant number to show positive. If 2nd fecal shows negative (clear) the daily cleaning/sterilization ends but this 2nd fecal if negative does not mean you are parasite free, not until you have had 2 negative fecals 3 weeks apart AND with the first negative 3 weeks after last day of drug treatment are you "all clear"

5. 3 weeks to a month after 1st negative fecal a 2nd fecal will need to be done. 2nd negative fecal = all clear, your done!! YEAH!!!

If at any point in the above 5 step treatment regimen that drug treatment goes over or under a 3-4 week interval or positive fecal results YOU MUST START AGAIN FROM STEP 1

If you suspect your animal has parasites and a normal fecal float comes back as negative. I would advise waiting a short time and re-doing the fecal but as a centrafugal fecal float. All that is different from a normal fecal float is that the fecalizer solution is added to the fecal sample and then it is spun in a centrafuge to seperate the eggs/ova from the matter. Eggs float once seperated from the matter they are "stuck" to while the matter is forced to the bottom of the tube, making for a more accurate reading.

So will you please also post the giardia treatment protocol, Chris? The one above is awesome! Thanks!

If you take your dog to dog parks or to socialize or walk where other dogs socialize or walk, you might wash your shoes and your dog's feet before going into your house and wash hands once inside - be careful what you touch and remember that worm eggs are very possibly now on your car seats, etc.

Dee.... with Giardia<s> main treatment drug being that of Metronidazole (Flagyl) and with this particular drug there is a HIGH RISK of toxicity along with the numerous dosage sizes and lengths of usage to get to max dosage use to be effective without causing toxicity issues.....I dont feel "comfortable" talking in open forum about it. I am however completely available by phone to discuss a needed time frame protocol according to the vets way of treatment etc...

According to the vets initial dosage to treatment (norm is 6-10 days initially) is how you would establish the rest of the treatment time frame protocol needed to "rid" the animal<s> of Giardia..The 21 day wait period timing after last day of treatment is just pushed back, so we are talking a more extented overall time frame.

Giardia has become very resistant to just Metronidazole alone and is often times treated in a drug combination with Panacur and/or Strongid and often times requires more than the initial 2 rounds of treatment...

I think that the most important thing you said is that giardia is often requiring metronidazole and panacur in multiple courses.

Also, as you have said in the past, a SNAP test is the one to have to diagnose giardia and to check on follow-up.

I would also like to add that there may be no change in the way the poo looks and smells or even any diarrhea in an infected glider. So perfectly normal "looking" poos may be infected. Test your gliders often, especially if you feed fresh fruits/veggies. Many feed frozen fruits and veggies which is safer.

Cora..... Its the protozoa (non-worm parasites) like Giardia and Coccidia that are the parasites that are really known to cause diarrhea and the "stinkies"...The diarrhea is more with a severe infestation. The "mucus" poo is the hosts body trying to, hmmm soothe, for lack of a better word, the irritated bowel/intestine

Other signs/symptoms that are caused by parasites are.....

1. Increased appetite with weight loss...this is due to the fact that the parasites are eating all the host animals nutrients before those nutrients are able to be absorbed by the host animal

2. "Cracked" fur lacking in luster/sheen

3. Anemia and/or "anemic" looking membranes ..ie pale to whitish gums/tongue

4. Decreased activity levels/lethargy


There are more but I cant think of them right now!

I know of a glider with none of those above symptoms but stlll has hookworms.

Cora....Yes, you can certainly have a parasite issue without symptoms...Sometimes it takes a stressor to become symptomatic...The hosts body with a sufficient immune system will fight any "invasion" be it by a parasite, a virus, a foreign body..More often than not, the bodies immune system is able to keep these numbers low/unmeasurable by continually "attacking" it...That is why you see that the gliders that are symptomatic are the joeys (immune system building but not mature yet), the old and the infirm..Because their immune systems just arent sufficient enough to "battle" off when you add in a stressor (ie...transport/move, some other infection, being pulled from parents and or loss of cage mate etc etc etc)....

That is why it is so important to have fecals done AT LEAST once a year on all your animals! Parasites can/will/do kill their hosts (at least start the chain of events that lead to the death of the animal esp in those already "compromised")

And ewwwww hookworms are nasty little buggies....Ever see the movie Tremors with Kevin Bacon? The nasty under the ground worm thingy that is all sharp teeth? That worm thingy with all those teeth is what I would liken a hookworm to. Except with a hookworm its this huge mouth of curved needle like teeth that they use to actually attach themselves onto the side of the intestine with...

With severe hookworm infestation you would see the mucousy possibly bloody stool (bm,poo) and an anemic animal because a hookworm actually lives off the hosts intestines

So coccidia and Giardia are treated the same or is it all protozoa? Just saw it linked with it.

And I LOVED the tremor movies.

Coccidia and Giardia are in the parasite genis....but they are non-worm parasites...otherwise known as protozoa

I wonder if the repeated dosing of my glider with Flagyl is why I have so many with liver damage :(

Just wanted to add that some parasites (coccidia in particular) are treatable with sulfa drugs (TMPS). If treating with a sulfa drug, the treatment protocol will likely last much longer than the 3 day on/ 3 day off protocol listed above. Often, vets will prescribe 10-21 days of medication for treating in this manner.

Cora wrote:

I would also like to add that there may be no change in the way the poo looks and smells or even any diarrhea in an infected glider. So perfectly normal "looking" poos may be infected. Test your gliders often, especially if you feed fresh fruits/veggies. Many feed frozen fruits and veggies which is safer.

Great point. I had a pair of boys test positive for Coccidia with no changes or signs/symptoms of the parasite- Caught it on a routine fecal check.

yep, you just never know. I have 4 fecals to get done on friday.....oh boy!

Coccidia can be treated with several different drugs. Tetracycline is used in other species and can be effective but hard on caecal bacteria. Sulfamethazine is also used in other species. I don't know if Albon is used in gliders but is commonly used in livestock.

Sometimes I think vets use dog and cat medications rather than considering some of the livestock meds for various conditions. Perhaps they bear considering. Just a thought. I am certainly no vet.