Treating parasites (pinworms)

[indyana]

A little update on this: My vet did indeed prescribe fenbendazole. The lesson on administering the stuff was hilarious (at least until I have to do it myself next week...); wish I'd recorded it. Amoré did this big, open-mouthed head shake when it was all over, as though he were saying, "Blech!"

They're on a dose every week for the next month, then they'll get another fecal test done a week after that. I think the hardest part of all this is that I have to do a full cage cleaning every week of the process. Amoré isn't that bad, but my skink's cage is a major project! Decided I need to order some plastic hides. The rock formations are really difficult to clean, and doing them every week during this would take way too much time...

So far so good. Nobody seems to be losing their appetite or looking stressed.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I got some flavored stuff and my geckos actually seem to like it or at least not to mind it. It takes a bit longer the way I do it but I just put a drop on the side of their mouth and they lick it off. After they lick the first drop they seem to lick more up faster so I assume it's not horrid tasting to them. May be worth it to switch to paper towels or something for the month. Good luck getting rid of the worms!

 

[indyana]

Thanks, Lisa!

My Leo's on paper with a poop tile, so he's easy to clean already. The skink's on aspen shavings though, and I couldn't bear looking at a sad skink who can't burrow for a month. XD I'll just get some hides that are easier to disinfect and deal with going through a bale of shavings...

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Maybe give him a bin of shavings to burrow in and leave the rest of the tank bare? At least then you'll waste less if he poops in the shaving and score an easy clean if he decides to poo elsewhere Good luck getting rid of them!

 

[indyana]

Just an update, managed to get most of the medicine down on Monday. Gah, the leopard gecko's a little terror. Every time he felt the slightest bit of liquid, he'd do a head whip and try to fling it out. I hope I'm going to get better at this... but then again, only two more weeks. The skink wasn't happy about it, but he's so docile that he just huffs a bit and drinks it up anyway.

I'm hoping my new hides from LLLReptile come in this weekend, because disinfecting and then baking all the rock hides in my skink cage is getting old.

 

[indyana]

Oh, forgot to mention, instead of losing their appetites, my lizards both seem to have increased appetites. They are both out begging for food every couple days! Not sure if that's linked to the medicine or just a natural seasonal cycle, but I'm glad they aren't getting all stressed out and refusing food.

 

[indyana]

Whew, week three down!

This time, I dripped a little of the medicine along my Leopard Gecko's lips, and he eventually licked it off. After he'd started, it was easy to keep feeding drops along the side of his mouth and letting him lick them off. He seemed a lot less stressed than when I tried to get the syringe tip into his mouth, although he still squirmed something fierce.

This same trick did not, however, work with my skink, who pulled a stone face and wasn't about to lick the stuff. I had to do him the old fashion way and stick the syringe tip into his mouth.

 

[indyana]

Week 4 done! Yesterday was the last dose of meds and other big cleaning. I have to do a final cleaning next Monday, and then, it's time for the Fecal Samples of Truth...

 

[rothsauce]

Hope everything goes smoothly!

Will be taking my girls in this Thurs for their first ever checkup.
Grimm is a porker and eating/storing fat nicely.
Ere doesn't seem to be gaining much weight, but isn't losing any since her tail is (very) slowly increasing. Her belly is a little... chubby, and she has been having some stinky poos. Not horrible, doesn't stink up the entire apartment or anything, but it's noticeable even after some them dry out. Otherwise her poos have seemed normal and she has been eating well. Even had a nice fat calciworm and a few mealies not too long ago.

Hopefully Ere is just a shy girl and it might be a bit of stress, or maybe she might just be a stinky gift giver. Better safe than troubled animal!

If pinworms become a reality, and neither gecko feel like being angels with their meds, what might be the easiest way to force feed them? I'm sure it's nothing like having to give my cat her pills.

 

[indyana]

Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned injecting the meds into insects as a less stressful way for the animal.

I really didn't want to go that route unless it seemed impossible with mine (mostly because injecting bugs seemed pretty difficult). While he's definitely not pleased, I've been able to get the medicine down by wrapping in a small towel on a flat surface like a table, keeping a very firm grip around his shoulders, and doing tiny drips along the front of the mouth once he stops shaking his head around. He licks the medicine off. The way my vet showed me was to actually get him to open his mouth and put the tip of the syringe in there, but the gecko got really stressed out with that.

What I did was ask for a demo. I took the lizards down, and the vet demonstrated giving the first doses for me.

 

[sausage]

my geckos did not like the worming stuff one bit. sausage did the same head flicking and even managed to blow bubbles of the stuff out his nose. poor thing lol

 

[indyana]

Woohoo! A sample collected from my Leo this week came back negative!

I just managed to get a sample from my skink today and send that off, so keeping my fingers crossed that his is negative too...

 

[indyana]

Arg, Lilo the skink still has worms...

Well, at least Amoré, the Leopard Gecko, is clean now. I'll just have to be hyper-aware of preventing contamination between their cages (not that I habitually do that).

Back to the vet today for a second type of medicine for another round of treatment. Also, I'm going to have to take out the aspen shavings and keep him on paper for a while. He will NOT be happy, but reinfection is one of the real possibilities for the first round failing. While I tried to spot clean rigorously between weekly cleanings, sometimes he poos and then burrows through it and spreads stuff everywhere... so paper it is.

 

[rothsauce]

Pouty skink glares.
I'm sure he'll be a brat and shred as much paper as he can, but it's all for the better!

 

[indyana]

I just finished the first dose of the new medicine and cleaned everything again. Right now, he's just lying in the middle of the cage... I think he's in shock. Or just confused as to whether this is indeed his cage.

But you're right, I'll walk in there tomorrow and find as much mess as he can possibly make with what remains in his cage...

 

[indyana]

Poor skink...

 

[indyana]

FINALLY, Lilo the BTS is clear on pinworms! Only took half the summer... lol He will be very glad to get back his aspen shavings, wood jungle gym, and fake fern.

 

[mcwendle]

Awesome!!