Poo Questions?

[TeeRiddle]

I finally got a (very large) stool from Orion this morning. It was soft, but not as runny as before. I called the vet as soon as they opened and took the stool in for an exam. I should found out the results Tuesday.

Fingers crossed that everything comes back normal!

[GrifTheGreat]

I finally got a (very large) stool from Orion this morning. It was soft, but not as runny as before. I called the vet as soon as they opened and took the stool in for an exam. I should found out the results Tuesday.

Fingers crossed that everything comes back normal!

Be sure and let us know.

[TeeRiddle]

Be sure and let us know.

Thanks Grif. I'll update as soon as I get the results.

On a side note - Orion's colors are much more vibrant after the big poo. He was very dark in color the past couple days. Could this be a sign that he was backed up or just a coincidence?

[GrifTheGreat]

Thanks Grif. I'll update as soon as I get the results.

On a side note - Orion's colors are much more vibrant after the big poo. He was very dark in color the past couple days. Could this be a sign that he was backed up or just a coincidence?

Probably stress from being constipated and uncomfortable. Their colors can be used to determine stress levels and mood. Even illness.

[TeeRiddle]

I got the results back from the fecal exam this past Tuesday (8/28) and it wasn't good news.

Unfortunately Grif, you were spot on - Orion has parasites.

I haven't had the chance to speak to the vet directly as we have been playing phone tag the entire week, but he left me a voice mail saying they found two different types of intestinal parasites.

I'm calling his office first thing in the morning to set up an appointment. It figures since this has been found my work kicked into major overtime so finding the time to take him in will be a challenge. I'm sure I'll catch (you know what) for taking off early to take a frog to the doc lol.

I have a ton of questions for the vet, but I would like to also express some of those questions here, if that's ok.

First, I'm almost pretty sure that he probably contracted the parasites after I brought him home. I say that because his first two stools were solid (the first two weeks I had him), while all the ones after that have been much softer.

I'm assuming he contracted the parasites via food, so something I've fed him must have been contaminated. The problem is I don't know the source as I've purchased feeders (crickets, night crawlers, and occasional hornworms) from various pet stores in my area. Because of this I can't really pinpoint where the "bad" feeders came from.

So, once he's treated and hopefully parasite-free, how do I prevent this from happening again? I could get him all well just for him to get parasites again from contaminated feeders. I would not want to continually need to keep putting him through a treatment process every 3 - 6 months because he continually becomes infected, ya know?

He's still acting normally - appetite is good, activity is good, and no signs of any sickness. I have been watching his weight closely and it seems fine. Hopefully he will be okay for a couple more days until I can get him in to the vet.

Grif, I really appreciate the heads up on the possibility of parasites, which lead me to have the fecal exam performed. Without your advice I would have never thought of parasites as the problem.

[GrifTheGreat]

I got the results back from the fecal exam this past Tuesday (8/28) and it wasn't good news.

Unfortunately Grif, you were spot on - Orion has parasites.

I haven't had the chance to speak to the vet directly as we have been playing phone tag the entire week, but he left me a voice mail saying they found two different types of intestinal parasites.

I'm calling his office first thing in the morning to set up an appointment. It figures since this has been found my work kicked into major overtime so finding the time to take him in will be a challenge. I'm sure I'll catch (you know what) for taking off early to take a frog to the doc lol.

I have a ton of questions for the vet, but I would like to also express some of those questions here, if that's ok.

First, I'm almost pretty sure that he probably contracted the parasites after I brought him home. I say that because his first two stools were solid (the first two weeks I had him), while all the ones after that have been much softer.

I'm assuming he contracted the parasites via food, so something I've fed him must have been contaminated. The problem is I don't know the source as I've purchased feeders (crickets, night crawlers, and occasional hornworms) from various pet stores in my area. Because of this I can't really pinpoint where the "bad" feeders came from.

So, once he's treated and hopefully parasite-free, how do I prevent this from happening again? I could get him all well just for him to get parasites again from contaminated feeders. I would not want to continually need to keep putting him through a treatment process every 3 - 6 months because he continually becomes infected, ya know?

He's still acting normally - appetite is good, activity is good, and no signs of any sickness. I have been watching his weight closely and it seems fine. Hopefully he will be okay for a couple more days until I can get him in to the vet.

Grif, I really appreciate the heads up on the possibility of parasites, which lead me to have the fecal exam performed. Without your advice I would have never thought of parasites as the problem.

You're very welcome and knowing these symptoms will help catch any future infections if they occur.

More than likely he contracted the Parasites from the crickets, but he may have had them all along and just now has begun to show the symptoms as the infection grows. Crickets are dirty feeders no matter how clean their culture is kept. about 1 out of 10 will contain some sort of parasite, but perhaps fewer. Pinworms being one of the most common they carry.

If he has protozoa than that came from dirty water. Water should be changed no less that every 2 days whether the frog uses it or not. Stagnant water breeds bacteria and protozoa as well as Amoeba.

Hopefully you'll get it cleared up quickly.

[TeeRiddle]

You're very welcome and knowing these symptoms will help catch any future infections if they occur.

More than likely he contracted the Parasites from the crickets, but he may have had them all along and just now has begun to show the symptoms as the infection grows. Crickets are dirty feeders no matter how clean their culture is kept. about 1 out of 10 will contain some sort of parasite, but perhaps fewer. Pinworms being one of the most common they carry.

If he has protozoa than that came from dirty water. Water should be changed no less that every 2 days whether the frog uses it or not. Stagnant water breeds bacteria and protozoa as well as Amoeba.

Hopefully you'll get it cleared up quickly.

Thanks, Grif. I hope to get it cleared up quickly, too.

I don't know yet what parasites Orion has. The vet just said two different kinds of intestinal parasites and that he would email me the results. I never received them and called to verify they have the correct email address, but still haven't received it.

He doesn't eat crickets any more because since getting a taste for night crawlers and hornworms he really doesn't care much for them. I did feed him crickets at first because that's what the pet store fed him, so I continued the practice the first couple weeks I had him.

I change his water about three times a week if he doesn't soil it. If he does soil the water I change it as soon as I find it. I think I'll start changing the water every day from here on out whether it needs it or not.