Weird News from the Vet Today

[d_virginiana]

So I took Harley to the vet today because of her continued skin issues. The person who saw her seemed convinced it was Thiaminase poisoning, and wanted to give her a B1 injection. She said their bodies would just process the extra, but haven't there been some instances on here where people have had their snakes go into seizures after unneeded B1 injections? They also said that all fish contain Thiaminase; is this the case?

Regardless, I didn't want them to do the injection, because I really think Thiaminase isn't the problem here. Glad I did too, because they got some really bizarre results from her fecal exam. Apparently she had Strongyloides; which are normally mammalian parasites that cause skin and hair issues. So she got treated for those and is going back in 2 weeks for another treatment, then another 2 weeks after that.
Hopefully this'll get her back to normal.

The only thing I can think of that may have been a source of those parasites would be the mice I've been using. They are from a local petstore and I think they raise and freeze them there... I mean, I guess they COULD be from the dog, but that just doesn't seem likely since he really has no close contact with the reptiles.

[guidofatherof5]

All fish DO NOT contain thiaminase.
What are they treating her with. Water soluble B1 is much safer.
From what I've heard and read water soluble can't be overdosed.

[d_virginiana]

All fish DO NOT contain thiaminase.
What are they treating her with. Water soluble B1 is much safer.
From what I've heard and read water soluble can't be overdosed.

That's what I thought. They're treating her with a de-wormer only right now. If that doesn't show improvement they may try something else. I really didn't know what kind of B1 they were talking about, as my husband had to be the one to take her, so I was having a phone conversation with the vet while in the bathroom at work.

[Selkielass]

Strongyloides stercoralis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When I was very young, I recall kids getting pinworm, ringworm and other contagious skin problems. They seem to be much reduced these days, but kids have much reduced contact w animals. (There were far more back yard ponies, goats etc, and many more 'outside' dogs who had families, but probably never saw a vet.

Kudos for catching this unusual case- I hope she responds quickly to treatment.

[d_virginiana]

Kudos for catching this unusual case- I hope she responds quickly to treatment.

Thanks, it's too early to tell whether I'm just being optimistic or if there's actually a change, but her skin looks and feels more like normal this morning than it has in awhile. Like... For the first time it looks like she's producing oils again instead of just weird papery skin.

[chris-uk]

How sure are you that there wasn't some cross-contamination at the vets? Just suggesting that a more likely explanation of parasites which are usually mammalian and not known to affect reptiles may be cross-contamination between your sample and a dig/cat that had been in the surgery.

That said, if the squiggler is looking better for the treatment it's a good thing.

[d_virginiana]

How sure are you that there wasn't some cross-contamination at the vets? Just suggesting that a more likely explanation of parasites which are usually mammalian and not known to affect reptiles may be cross-contamination between your sample and a dig/cat that had been in the surgery.

That said, if the squiggler is looking better for the treatment it's a good thing.

If there was cross-contamination it couldn't have been from a dog/cat. This office caters solely to exotics. I guess there's a possibility it came from a sugar glider or miniature pig, but not the typical dogs/cats running around that you'd see at a normal vet office.

I believe that the parasite could be from some pinkies I had been buying at a local petstore. They breed their own in-store, and I'm not sure now how well I trust their freezing continuity; like if they get to a low enough temperature and stay there long enough before being sold. That did coincide roughly with the beginning of these problems.

As of today, she seems to be doing what looks like another 'emergency shed' where some of the scales are starting to flake off again. I'm putting a shed box in, and I've been kind of gently scrubbing with a wet paper towel over the worst areas to try and get the excess dried skin off. She should be due for a real shed here in another month or so though...

[chris-uk]

If there was cross-contamination it couldn't have been from a dog/cat. This office caters solely to exotics. I guess there's a possibility it came from a sugar glider or miniature pig, but not the typical dogs/cats running around that you'd see at a normal vet office.

I believe that the parasite could be from some pinkies I had been buying at a local petstore. They breed their own in-store, and I'm not sure now how well I trust their freezing continuity; like if they get to a low enough temperature and stay there long enough before being sold. That did coincide roughly with the beginning of these problems.

.....

Sounds like the unusual parasites are more likely then. If it was a regular vet I'd have been questioning their aseptic technique, but in this case cross-contamination would seem less likely.