Strongyle parasite infection

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EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Yes, hopefully the Reptile Vet that they took Iggy to will have some encouraging words and advice for them. I was thinking the exact same thing, the fact that 48 hours has passed is optimistic for Iggy. Either way I'd be making that vet pay big-time for this.

I grew up in a parrot-breeding family, both my grandmother and my mother bred and hend-raised several different species of parrots, as did I for about 20 years total, starting when I was 16 and stopping about 2 years ago. I bred both English and American Budgies, Cockatiels, and Green Cheek Conures. And that's where most of my experience with Ivermectin comes from, and it's been every bit as deadly in the bird world as it has in the reptile world, and for the same reason, they are just too small to properly control the dose. A lot of avian vets use Ivermectin to treat Feather Mites, but there are so many safer medications for treating external mites (and natural/holistic treatments) that I don't know why any veterinarian would even consider using Ivermectin or any of the related poisons. I know that it's used quite often in livestock veterinary medicine, but even so it's not the first Go-To to treat mites in even the largest species of livestock. I would never, ever, ever put Ivermctin in a "Drench", that could certainly end badly for the poor goat/sheep. It's literally a poison that is often added as an ingredient in insecticides!

I still know people who are so worried about fleas/ticks on their dogs that they still use Ivermectin topically on a regular basis on their dogs. Not only should you never, ever, ever buy any flea/tick medication over-the-counter from the "cheap brands" like Hartz, Sargents, Pet Armor, etc., because they have caused literally thousands and thousands of deaths in dogs and cats (just the topical spot treatments, the flea powders and sprays, and the collars), but they cause a continuous and constant convulsion, specifically in cats, that will never stop, the poor cats are forever in a state of seizure, the only thing you can do is euthanize them ASAP. (There's a horrifying website that is nothing but thousands of people posting their stories of how they lost their pets due to using one of these over-the-counter flea/tick treatments that you can buy at the grocery store or at Walmart, it's the saddest website I've ever been on)...and one of the main ingredients in these flea/tick treatments that do this: IVERMECTIN.
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Oh goodness, this is all so extremely concerning ;_; I've already had Iggy's temperatures bumped up at night with a ceramic heating element through its own independent thermostat, so night-time temperatures of around 32-34 *C ambient were already occurring, thankfully. His basking spot during the day is about 37-39 *C with the ambient being around 32-36 *C on the hot-side, where he prefers to be at the moment. The dose of ivermectin given was 0.1 mL of a solution 'straight out of a container'. That's all I know of the dose having being given, sorry. I did think of getting some Gatorade for Iggy, and I might do that today. But I'll be visiting the exotics vet within a few hours.

I can't believe they tortured those wild skinks like that, EllenD :( Was this in a country like China or Russia, with less ethical standards than us developed nations? Thank you so much though for all the help everyone has given me during this horrible event.

EDIT: I do believe Iggy was seizing a little yesterday when I was holding him, I didn't think of it at the time as seizing until now though where I realize what it was. Jesus :(
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Iggy has seen the reptile vet as of today, and she (Terry) was a wonderful lady who very much won the respect of my partner and I ^_^

95175-5456566554.jpg

It was confirmed that he had indeed been poisoned with the ivermectin dose that was given by the other vet and it should not have been done with such a large amount. Terry gave Iggy a large bolus of electrolytes and glucose under the skin which was absorbed over a period of an hour and boy did he improve after that, as he was quite dehydrated beforehand. Baytril was prescribed in a 100 mL vial with orders to give Iggy 0.05 mL of such every two days with food, and to continue doing so for at least several doses. The strongyle create wounds in the intestine tract, apparently, which are at very high risk of infection so until we can confirm the strongyle are gone, he is to take this.

Oh goodness, I can't believe it! He's on my shoulder at the moment and he is almost back to his normal self! He is crawling all over me and I just want to shed a tear. I'm so damned happy. *gasp* He just jumped onto my keyboard, like he used to! This is amazing ^_^

So with regards to feeding, he is not quite eating or drinking on his own yet. What am I to do with that?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
phobosdthorga":20ghsdzw said:
Oh goodness, this is all so extremely concerning ;_; I've already had Iggy's temperatures bumped up at night with a ceramic heating element through its own independent thermostat, so night-time temperatures of around 32-34 *C ambient were already occurring, thankfully. His basking spot during the day is about 37-39 *C with the ambient being around 32-36 *C on the hot-side, where he prefers to be at the moment. The dose of ivermectin given was 0.1 mL of a solution 'straight out of a container'. That's all I know of the dose having being given, sorry. I did think of getting some Gatorade for Iggy, and I might do that today. But I'll be visiting the exotics vet within a few hours.

I can't believe they tortured those wild skinks like that, EllenD :( Was this in a country like China or Russia, with less ethical standards than us developed nations? Thank you so much though for all the help everyone has given me during this horrible event.

EDIT: I do believe Iggy was seizing a little yesterday when I was holding him, I didn't think of it at the time as seizing until now though where I realize what it was. Jesus :(

Expecting some VERY HOT weather here in NSW from tomorrow - 7's weatherman says mid 40s (degC) for most of NSW except maybe 2-3 km from the coast.

HIGH LIKELY Iggy's tank will become excessively hot if you leave the basking lamp on during the day , this heatwave could kill Iggy in her weakened state if you don't turn off the basking globe , please only run the UV tube during these heatwave days that expected for the rest of this week UNLESS your home is airconditioned.

Please don't leave home during the heatwave unless the basking lamp is on a thermostat (switching type that will turn it off automatically if the temperature hits 42 degC). If you have to go out in the heat of the day, because it's too hot for you inside the house, make sure you TURN OFF Iggy's heat while out - less chance of her cooking in her tank while you are out.

Make sure Iggy has access to a very shallow water dish she can sit in to cool off but too shallow for her to drown in too.
She may appreciate a shallow bath on the hottest days to cool her down too.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
phobosdthorga":2vxa7217 said:
Oh goodness, this is all so extremely concerning ;_; I've already had Iggy's temperatures bumped up at night with a ceramic heating element through its own independent thermostat, so night-time temperatures of around 32-34 *C ambient were already occurring, thankfully. His basking spot during the day is about 37-39 *C with the ambient being around 32-36 *C on the hot-side, where he prefers to be at the moment. The dose of ivermectin given was 0.1 mL of a solution 'straight out of a container'. That's all I know of the dose having being given, sorry. I did think of getting some Gatorade for Iggy, and I might do that today. But I'll be visiting the exotics vet within a few hours.

<<<< 0.1ml of Invermectin is WAY TOO MUCH .... should have been no more than small 1 drop of the stuff ( under 0.02 ml).

I can't believe they tortured those wild skinks like that, EllenD :( Was this in a country like China or Russia, with less ethical standards than us developed nations? Thank you so much though for all the help everyone has given me during this horrible event.

EDIT: I do believe Iggy was seizing a little yesterday when I was holding him, I didn't think of it at the time as seizing until now though where I realize what it was. Jesus :(

NEW SOUTH WALES REPTILE VETS - taken from all three Australian Herping MBs . Please do not take Iggy to an EXOTICS VET , they are not sufficiently well trained to deal with reptiles and will do more harm than good.

New South Wales

Sydney Region

Balgownie Veterinary Hospital
Sydney Metropolitan
156 Balgownie Road
Balgownie NSW 2519 Australia
02 4285 5210
http://www.balgownievet.com.au

----------------------

Teri Bellamy
Shop 6
Harden Street & Avoca Road
Canley Heights NSW 2166 Australia
02 9604 9792

----------------------

South Penrith Veterinary Clinic
Robert Johnson
126 Stafford Street
Penrith, N.S.W., Australia
(02) 4721-4796
http://www.reptilevet.com.au/
(BTS.net certified)

----------------------

Mobile Vet Sydney
262 North Rocks Road
North Rocks NSW 2151 Australia
02 9873 1660

----------------------
North Coast NSW Region

Dr Kia Brown - Rose Avenue Vet Hospital,
173 Rose Avenue,Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
(02) 6652 1566

Toormina Road Vet Clinic,
Toormina Mall, 7/5 Minorca Place, Toormina NSW 2452
(02) 6658 1744

Far North NSW Coast Region

Dr Evan Kossack - Lennox Head Veterinary Clinic,
5/48 Ballina Street, Lennox Head NSW 2478
Phone (02) 6687 5123


Newcastle / Lake Macquarie Lower Hunter Valley Region

Sugarloaf Animal Hospital
Dr. Mark Simpson
Carrington Street
West Wallsend NSW 2286 Australia
02 - 49551833

Mt Hutton Animal Hospital
Dr Ray Burton
15 Progress Rd, Mount Hutton NSW 2290
(02) 4947 1311

Wallsend Vetinary Hospital
8 Kemp St, Wallsend NSW 2287
(02) 4951 4222

Irrawang Veterinary Hospital
3/17 Port Stephens St, Raymond Terrace NSW 2324
(02) 4987 1898
----------------------

Wollongong Region

Cannon and Ball Veterinary Surgeons
Mike Cannon
461 Crown Street
West Wollongong NSW 2500
02 4229 8888

Crown Street Veterinary Hospital
424 Crown Street
West Wollongong NSW 2500
02 4228 3777


South Coast NSW Region

Dr Chantel Whitten - South Nowra Veterinary Hospital,
55 Woncor Avenue, Nowra South NSW 2541
Phone (02) 4447 8172 and After Hours 0402 299 972
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
phobosdthorga":3jnu9ifo said:
Iggy has seen the reptile vet as of today, and she (Terry) was a wonderful lady who very much won the respect of my partner and I ^_^

95175-5456566554.jpg

It was confirmed that he had indeed been poisoned with the ivermectin dose that was given by the other vet and it should not have been done with such a large amount. Terry gave Iggy a large bolus of electrolytes and glucose under the skin which was absorbed over a period of an hour and boy did he improve after that, as he was quite dehydrated beforehand. Baytril was prescribed in a 100 mL vial with orders to give Iggy 0.05 mL of such every two days with food, and to continue doing so for at least several doses. The strongyle create wounds in the intestine tract, apparently, which are at very high risk of infection so until we can confirm the strongyle are gone, he is to take this.

<<< Is Terry = Teri Bellamy from the Canley Heights Vet Hospital ?

Oh goodness, I can't believe it! He's on my shoulder at the moment and he is almost back to his normal self! He is crawling all over me and I just want to shed a tear. I'm so damned happy. *gasp* He just jumped onto my keyboard, like he used to! This is amazing ^_^

So with regards to feeding, he is not quite eating or drinking on his own yet. What am I to do with that?

Mix the antibiotics with VetaFarm Critta Care - Reptile or Oxbow Carivore Care (if you were prescribed that) for each dose and give by crop needle and syringe. Better off a few small meals by syringe & crop needle than one big meal IMO.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Well I'm glad he's doing much better, that could have ended very badly. And no, the "wild skink" study came from an American Journal of Herpetology article, so I'm guessing that it was done here. There are species of skinks all over the US, so I'm assuming that they just caught them here. I don't need to know what else has been done to test medicine/poison on helpless animals, it's endless here. Getting better due to testing laws, but still prevelent.

Keep giving him lots of fluids and electrolytes, use either the sugar-free Gatorade or another electrolyte replacement drink, like Pedialyte if they sell it in Australia. And just keep hand feeding him the Oxbow or whatever they gave you, he should start eating on his own again once he starts to get his appetite back, the combination of the parasites and the ivermectin did a number on him, I'm sure. Poor boy.

I can't believe that this vet had you draw .1ml of a solution of ivermectin up and give it to him, and didn't even put the concentration on the bottle. If 0.1ml was just the amount of liquid ivermectin solution you gave, who knows what the actual dose he got was! That's awful...And just irresponsible on the part of that vet. Thank God that didn't go very badly, as that vet would have a world of hurt, though he'll just do it again I suppose, to someone else's pet. I can't believe a doctor who went to medical school would do that...
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":3gftv8zp said:
Expecting some VERY HOT weather here in NSW from tomorrow - 7's weatherman says mid 40s (degC) for most of NSW except maybe 2-3 km from the coast.

HIGH LIKELY Iggy's tank will become excessively hot if you leave the basking lamp on during the day , this heatwave could kill Iggy in her weakened state if you don't turn off the basking globe , please only run the UV tube during these heatwave days that expected for the rest of this week UNLESS your home is airconditioned.

Please don't leave home during the heatwave unless the basking lamp is on a thermostat (switching type that will turn it off automatically if the temperature hits 42 degC). If you have to go out in the heat of the day, because it's too hot for you inside the house, make sure you TURN OFF Iggy's heat while out - less chance of her cooking in her tank while you are out.

Make sure Iggy has access to a very shallow water dish she can sit in to cool off but too shallow for her to drown in too.
She may appreciate a shallow bath on the hottest days to cool her down too.

I do have to leave in the morning on Thursday and Friday to pickup the special painkillers I take for my chronic pain, but that's only from 8-9:30 AM usually. I'll be home all day otherwise. Iggy has a Arcadia Habistat Thermostat but I'll still disconnect his heating element and MVB if need be, just in-case. I do have an airconditioner but it's only one of those little portable ones that cool just yourself, and not the entire room. Thanks for the heads up though, and yes, I'll leave a little water dish in his vivarium for him to soak in if he finds the need to ^ ^ I also bathe Iggy daily anyway, as he greatly enjoys the activity and it's where he gets his drinks from and sometimes does poo afterwards.

kingofnobbys":3gftv8zp said:
<<<< 0.1ml of Invermectin is WAY TOO MUCH .... should have been no more than small 1 drop of the stuff ( under 0.02 ml).

NEW SOUTH WALES REPTILE VETS - taken from all three Australian Herping MBs . Please do not take Iggy to an EXOTICS VET , they are not sufficiently well trained to deal with reptiles and will do more harm than good.

Oh, I just called her an exotics vet because I didn't know there was a difference, sorry ^ ^; Teri is a certified reptile vet though, and yes, she's the one at:

Teri Bellamy
Shop 6
Harden Street & Avoca Road
Canley Heights NSW 2166 Australia
02 9604 9792

She left a very lasting impression on my partner and I, and we were very glad that we had seen her. Teri wishes to see us again though for a follow up when we have a fecal sample ready for her, and just to see how Iggy is doing after a few days. We also weren't prescribed any Oxbow or similar, as I guess she was happy with the 'bug juice' we were making with our food processor. Plus Iggy's appetite is starting to return, albeit very slowly and gradually. The local reptile pet-shop also does not sell this kind of stuff, or at least, refuses to sell this kind of stuff to me.

EllenD":3gftv8zp said:
Well I'm glad he's doing much better, that could have ended very badly. And no, the "wild skink" study came from an American Journal of Herpetology article, so I'm guessing that it was done here. There are species of skinks all over the US, so I'm assuming that they just caught them here. I don't need to know what else has been done to test medicine/poison on helpless animals, it's endless here. Getting better due to testing laws, but still prevelent.

Keep giving him lots of fluids and electrolytes, use either the sugar-free Gatorade or another electrolyte replacement drink, like Pedialyte if they sell it in Australia. And just keep hand feeding him the Oxbow or whatever they gave you, he should start eating on his own again once he starts to get his appetite back, the combination of the parasites and the ivermectin did a number on him, I'm sure. Poor boy.

I can't believe that this vet had you draw .1ml of a solution of ivermectin up and give it to him, and didn't even put the concentration on the bottle. If 0.1ml was just the amount of liquid ivermectin solution you gave, who knows what the actual dose he got was! That's awful...And just irresponsible on the part of that vet. Thank God that didn't go very badly, as that vet would have a world of hurt, though he'll just do it again I suppose, to someone else's pet. I can't believe a doctor who went to medical school would do that...

A few people have mentioned sugar free Gatorade, so I might just have to get some then. My mother has been wanting to call the vet though, and give him a world of abuse... but alas, that'll get no-one anywhere, so I've been thinking of reporting him to the veterinary council of Australia instead. I'm just glad Iggy is returning to his old self ^_^

EDIT: He has eaten half a dozen woodies as of this afternoon, all on his own! I'm so unbelievably happy at this!
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
So I had this 'escape-proof' cockroach bowl in Iggy's vivarium for a few days, and I was so impressed that Iggy was eating the cockroaches on his own terms finally! It seems that the cockroaches were more intelligent than I thought though, as I started to find them as of today throughout the vivarium instead, having escaped obviously >_< It's a good thing Iggy's home was going to have a scheduled clean this weekend anyway, so oh well :)

P.S.
Iggy has been eating the Woodies on his own terms when I'm watching anyway, whenever I put him in the dedicated feeding container with all-you-can-eat 'roaches. I was just using that feeding bowl for a longer period whilst he was recovering. He is slowly eating more and more 'roaches as each day passes, having started doing this as of yesterday. I'm hoping his appetite will return to normal within the week! :)
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
It will be a slow recovery, but it sounds like he's out of the woods. More importantly you found a good Reptile Vet for the future. And yes, I'd report that other vet to whatever organization you can in Australia, as he will most definitely kill the next pet that he prescribes the same to. He has no business treating reptiles at all. He may be a great general vet for dogs and cats, who knows, but not for reptiles or birds, as that was just totally irresponsible because it's quite obvious that he just came up with that treatment on his own, he didn't bother to call a Reptile Specialist to ask how to treat Strongyles, he just figured that Ivermectin works to treat them, but he couldn't properly dose a small lizard, so he came up with trying to mute the dosage by giving it to the roaches he eats first. Sloppy and dangerous, and I'd hate for him to be responsible for killing someone's loved pet.
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
EllenD":285uuuit said:
It will be a slow recovery, but it sounds like he's out of the woods. More importantly you found a good Reptile Vet for the future. And yes, I'd report that other vet to whatever organization you can in Australia, as he will most definitely kill the next pet that he prescribes the same to. He has no business treating reptiles at all. He may be a great general vet for dogs and cats, who knows, but not for reptiles or birds, as that was just totally irresponsible because it's quite obvious that he just came up with that treatment on his own, he didn't bother to call a Reptile Specialist to ask how to treat Strongyles, he just figured that Ivermectin works to treat them, but he couldn't properly dose a small lizard, so he came up with trying to mute the dosage by giving it to the roaches he eats first. Sloppy and dangerous, and I'd hate for him to be responsible for killing someone's loved pet.

I just finished giving Iggy 2.5 mL of a Gatorade-like product, I think it might've been our version of Pedialyte actually, but is that enough for a single day? He is still refusing to drink any water whatsoever on his own terms, like he used to, despite eating the Woodies. It's very difficult giving him the Pedialyte as he squirms and just plain refuses to have any of it unless I were to, say, use the crop needle for instance. But that has its own risks. I also gave him a bath afterwards to wash off any sticky residue, as some got in his eye too. It clearly was painful for him (must be all those electrolytes), as he kept his eye closed for a prolonged period.

I'll definitely report the dodgy vet to the appropriate people in that case, although I doubt it'll go very far in terms of doing anything. Plus he's near retirement age anyway, and that further means he might just not care about anything, really. I know he is pretty good, apparently, when it comes to cats and dogs, so it's kind of my fault for taking a reptile to him. At least I have a burgeoning relationship with Teri now :)
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Give the woodies plenty of nice fresh leafy greens such as buk and puk choi , and carot chunks to nibble on, these will help gut load them and make them very moist and a very good source of hydration for Iggy.
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":2v55aep0 said:
Give the woodies plenty of nice fresh leafy greens such as buk and puk choi , and carot chunks to nibble on, these will help gut load them and make them very moist and a very good source of hydration for Iggy.

I've been giving them mixed veggies as of late that contain boiled carrot, green peas, and corn which were snap frozen for storage :) That alone contains a lot of nutrients and water but okie, I'll give them some endive which I currently have along with fresh carrot that has all been blended ^ ^ The cockroaches really love the food when it's been put in the food processor.

I gave Iggy another 3 mL of Pedialyte today but otherwise, he is pretty much back to normal and is for all accounts and purposes, better than ever :)
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
phobosdthorga":2oxgv2gk said:
kingofnobbys":2oxgv2gk said:
Give the woodies plenty of nice fresh leafy greens such as buk and puk choi , and carot chunks to nibble on, these will help gut load them and make them very moist and a very good source of hydration for Iggy.

I've been giving them mixed veggies as of late that contain boiled carrot, green peas, and corn which were snap frozen for storage :) That alone contains a lot of nutrients and water but okie, I'll give them some endive which I currently have along with fresh carrot that has all been blended ^ ^ The cockroaches really love the food when it's been put in the food processor.

I gave Iggy another 3 mL of Pedialyte today but otherwise, he is pretty much back to normal and is for all accounts and purposes, better than ever :)

Boiling the veg leaches most the nutrients out , it goes down the sink when you wash the pot.
You are better off grating the harder root veg, and chopping the greens while fresh or frozen.

Peas have a poor Ca/P , about 1/4.7.
Carrots have a better Ca/P , about 1/1.7 but are high in VitA.
Yellow corn is pathetic in Ca/P , about 1/13.0 .... so TREATS ONLY.
Endive greens is excellent , Ca/P about 2:1 ...

Data from : http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

Helpful - see Tosney's recipy : http://www.bio.miami.edu/tosney/file/BDcare.html

This is a handy guide - I follow for my beardies : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=236074
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
It's really good to read that he got through thisordeal. I cringed when I read that the vet gave him Ivermectin but it sounds like he is doing well now.

When you offer the gatorade/Pedialyte mix it with equal parts water so he doesn't get so much sugar. And 2.5 ml's is quite a lot, he should be plenty hydrated and not need quite so much or so often, esp. if he's struggling to such a degree.
 
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