Hookworms

[pac]

I probably order if all Amazon but for right im good

[Lija]

I'm trying right now very hard not to say anything I will regret........ I'd say polite way - please don't experiment with a frog, not now, not ever!

go to a vet, any vet, and ask for panacur, every single vet in a city would have it. it is used very widely in every practice for every single animal, just different dosage. Or email Dr. Frye and get exactly what you need for your frog instead of ordering from amazon or elsewhere. I believe his clinic ships anywhere in US to be delivered in a matter of days.

[Mentat]

...it is used very widely in every practice for every single animal, just different dosage. Or email Dr. Frye and get exactly what you need for your frog instead of ordering from amazon or elsewhere. I believe his clinic ships anywhere in US to be delivered in a matter of days.

Hi Lija! Tried to find Dr. Frye webpage or email and both forum searches or Google searches turned negative. Do you have a website address or can provide his full business email? Also, what is the dosage in the veterinary products you refer to? Is that the same for liquid version Locascio refered to in his earlier post or do Vet's also have the granular form and in what strength/dosage? Thank you !

[Sunshine]

Here you go! Milan Area Animal Hospital, David M. Frye, DVM, Veterinary services in Milan, MI, Home page

[Lija]

Also, what is the dosage in the veterinary products you refer to? Is that the same for liquid version Locascio refered to in his earlier post or do Vet's also have the granular form and in what strength/dosage? Thank you !

dosage is 50mg/kg then it is math: weight of a frog in grams x 0.0005 ( 50mg/kg) = panacur dose for your frog.
if liquid you need to know how much of actual meds are in there ( mg/ml) and recalculate accordingly.

repeat treatment for 3-5 days and after 14-21 day. some vets prefer however use single dosage and then repeat in 7 days.

note - all of the above doesn't replace a vet visit or advise.

[Mentat]

Since the parasite we are talking about is frog hookworms (a nematode) I was wondering what is it's life cycle? In particular; how long will it take for hookworm eggs to hatch once laid in feces, can they go dormant and for how long, and how long after eggs hatch will the larvae survive without a host?

My train of thought is as follows. Once you know the life cycle of a parasite, you can apply the medication at the right time and interval. There is a variation of dosage intervals across the board from what I read. With fish you have to hit the nematodes once a week for 4 consecutive weeks and that is independent of medication or it's dosage; it's based on fish nematodes life cycles. So what is the correct one for frogs ?

I did search in the net, but did not found the answer needed to go forward, so will try to search in the EDU domains next week. Would appreciate if anyone has any info to share about the frog hookworm life cycle, thank you !

[Mentat]

Found some more hookworm information; but first want to ask Bruce how are Bertha and Clyde'? By the way Bruce, if my hookworm discussion feels the smallest bit of derailment to you, just let me know and I'll start another thread. One thing to point out is to make sure and wear gloves when handling cleaning duties with those guys, reason follows.

Reading on subject found out that some species of pet hookworms can infect humans. So then visited the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page and got me some hookworm life cycle info . Although the pets mentioned are dogs and cats; nematodes are nematodes and the numbers do match the current veterinary practice being passed around for frogs.

So... after wondering who came in first (the egg or the nematode ) decided to start with the egg. No seriously... I can get lost thinking about who came first... the egg or the egg layer... crazy . Anyways, back to nematodes! So the eggs get laid inside our frogs' intestinal track and are passed in the frog stool. Then under favorable conditions (moisture, warmth, shade) which we provide in our habitats; the larvae hatch in 1 to 2 days. The released early stage larvae (rhabditiform) then grows and molts once in the feces and/or the soil. After 5 to 10 days (and two molts) they become filariform (third-stage) larvae that are infective. These infective larvae can survive 3 to 4 weeks in favorable environmental conditions. At this time those larvae can reinfect our frogs or maybe also us depending on the species (at least dog hookworms can). The larvae reach the small intestine, where they reside and mature into adults. Adult worms live in the lumen of the small intestine, where they attach to the intestinal wall with resultant blood loss by the host. Most adult worms are eliminated in 1 to 2 years, but the longevity may reach several years.

OK, so from the above we got that the adult worms can live several years; that infected feces should be removed (with substrate around them) ASAP before they hatch. Also, after treatment, we should clean habitat, and retreat (in 2, 5, 10 days, 3 weeks and 4 weeks). Now that is a lots of treatments and habitat cleaning! OK, lets deal with cleaning first! From the above it's easy to see where the "hospital habitat" is of great value. Take all decor out, sterilize what you can and dispose of what you can't. Then keep frogs in humid paper towels disposed of every day for length of treatment.

And here is where the Vet available treatments become superior! A vet can give the frog a more concentrated treatment that will wipe out all the intestinal nematodes at once. They repeat that in 7 days and you are done! Note that a frog with a large number of hookworms suddenly dying inside could go into septic shock. Doing this kind of treatment at home is a big risk and not recommended.

The second alternative is to use the off the shelf Panacur and then treat on day 1, 3-5, 7, 14, and 21. This schedule is twice as long as previous one and I would observe frogs in hospital set-up to ensure they do not stress out too much. If so; you could add substrate on day 7; but then would have to dispose of it on day 14 and sterilize habitat again, and repeat on day 21. So not as convenient as with veterinary treatment; but maybe it's the only choice available to some of us. Done correctly the results should be the same and your frogs will be rid of nematodes and any other present worms (as long as you do not re-introduce them).

As you see, this is not a simple parasite to eradicate and something to undertake without testing your frog feces first. Nematodes are very sneaky and hard to get rid off. From looking at some of the treatment schedules available in forum, appear some hobbyists just do a periodic treatment to flush parasites off frog without dealing with enclosure. If frog gets reinfected (and it will); in a few months time (and hopefully before parasite population becomes a problem) they will retreat and flush again. I prefer to get rid of the evil nematodes once and for all !

If interested in reading more about hookworms and human infection here is link to CDC: CDC - Zoonotic Hookworm . Have a nice weekend and good luck !