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!