well poo i bet its from the peas i have been giving them. im guilty of not washing them off man i feel bad.. but ill do whatever it takes to get rid of this. no kaid is fine so far. i got both of them checked out and a nail trim today. i just got two new cage sets so ill go ahead and put one in there. thanks for all the help. ill keep everyone updated. off to get this taken care of..


Lacy
n tha babies

ya ya rita lol. nibbler is almost 4 i have had her 3years and she came from some crazy man at target lol. he didnt know much about them so yeah.. kadi i got her off southeast texas.com its a classified add thing for around here. i dont know to much about the owners but i have the email address to the lady if i need to ask anything. she is about...a year. i got her at 9 months and i joined gg when i got her so you can do the math.

I know she's had Nibbler for a while, but Kadi came later on (I think in August). I don't know from where though.

btw kadi didnt come from a breeder just a lady with babies :) im really gettin off here for the night

Giardia in a nutshell - per my research.

Giardia is a parasite that is common in both humans and animals. There arent always "symptoms" present. You or your animal can be a carrier and not know it. Yes - we can get giardia, too.

Some of the symptoms to look for are:

**diarrhea - sometimes very foul smelling and/or orangey or brown in
color
**decreased appetite and weight loss
**lethargy
**pain - which means the glider could self-mutilate it's cloacal area.
(giradia should be the first thing to check for it a glider is SMing
their cloaca)
**Please note that not all gliders will have all of the above symptoms.

Some ways of getting giardia is thru our water systems. This parasite has a protective shell it can close, which enables it to survive pretty much anything. They can also come on our fresh fruits and vegetables. Or touching anything an infected person or animal has been - "poop to mouth" contact.

Giardia can lie dormant as cysts for a very long time as long as they are kept moist - even in cold or heat. If the glider has giardia cysts - stress releases a chemical reaction that can bring giardia out of dormancy. Giardia gets it nutrients from attaching itself to the walls of the small intestine.

While using flagyl - dont be surprised if your gliders go off their food shortly after starting the medication. This shouldnt last more than 24 hours. Just make certain they are drinking by offering them pedialyte thru a syringe. You might want to call your vet to see what other possible side effects could happen. One other that Im aware of it not to take them out into the sunlight while on flagyl.

Clean cages daily with water and a 10% bleach solution - removing and washing all toys. It is easier if most items are removed from the cage until the glider is deemed parasite free. Wash all pouches and bedding daily with a small amount of bleach. Give only bottled water.

Wash your hands immediately after touching anything the glider has come in contact with. It is best to also change your clothes right after the daily cleaning.

Ok - Im sure Ive missed something - but this is a start.

NIBBLER PLEASE READ

I AM HOPING I HAVE MISREAD THE DOSAGE YOU ARE GIVING IF NOT STOP USING THE FLAGYL AT THE DOSAGE YOU SAID - 50ML TWICE A DAY
FLAGYL IS GIVEN A 50ML PER KILO, OVER DOSING CAN MAKE THEM SERIOUSLY ILL
VOMITING ATAXIA COLLAPSE,
UNLESS THE VET HAS DILUTED IT YOU WOULD GIVE FOR EXAMPLE IF YOUR GLIDER WEIGHED FOR INSTANCE 130G YOU WOULD ONLY GIVE .2ML

PEDILYTE AND SIMILAR PRODUCTS LIKE GASTROLYTE

Do not heat this product or mix it with water or other liquids.
Do not drink fruit juices or eat foods with added salt while taking this product
pedilyte should only be given if the animal is NOT drinking water or IS dehydrated.
YOu can actually muck up the electrocytes etc in the body by using these when they are not needed.
If you were to get a urine sample of an animal given too much it would show they have high glucose levels in thier wee as you could expect with diabetes, once the animal is rehydrated the body can not absorb all the extra salts and sugars used in things like pedialyte and gastrolyte.
Also in some cases the high sugar content in these products may actually make diarrhea worse. So these products should ONLY be used on a needed basis not as a precautionary treatment.

Rach.. i wrote what the bottle said when i posted the first post. but the vet showed me where to fill it up to. she said to fill it up to the 6th line. or one line above the first dark black line. so i believe thats fine right????

Rita.. thanks so much for all the research your awesome. nibblers poo is super smelly
she does seem a little less fat

**pain - which means the glider could self-mutilate it's cloacal area.
(giradia should be the first thing to check for it a glider is SMing
their cloaca)

do you know of where i could see what that would look like?? i have not noticed anything so far i dont think..

so i should let them drink bottle water now?

last night i gave them their meds and took everything out of the cage and left it out. they were so sad.. kadi stayed sitting in the wheel and nibbler just hung to the cage :( it was so sad. i didnt clean the cage with the bleach water yet. i did wipe it all down though. they seemed to eat peretty good last night too... anything else i should do?

Thanks for that Nibbler it sounds like she has given .6ml,
I would rather have checked than to have your babies die from an overdose. Sometimes it can be confusing when vets tell you things especially if your under stress.

I know I wrote in capitals, but i wanted you to read it just in case the dose was wrong.
Like Rita said cleanliness is very important, make sure you wash before and after handling them.
Also wash your pouches in HOT water.

Can you leave some toys in the cage at night hen wash them in the morning, stress is a factor that brings giardia out, you want to keep thier routine fairly normal so not to stress them any further.

I had a glider that had giardia when I got them, the fact you have got them on meds etc they should recover no worries,

Rach..
no no thanks you so much. i really appreciate your concern. thats why i love this site so much . everyone cares about everyones babies as if they were their own. i really dont know what id ever do without yall.. but anyways. i shouldnt give the PEDILYTE unless they are dehydrated? sorry i keep repeating things. but i want to make sure i completly understand everything im told .. i have never had to deal with them being sick... the only reason i took everything out is i thought thats what rita was saying. of course ill wash them and let them play. i hate to see them sad. the pouches they are in are new/never used. i have a few that havent been used so thats a good thing. what about the sheet i have over the cage. should i be washing it as well?

Yes. Also u can put toys in just put plastic ones in. Then the next day clean them real good. Don't put alot in just enough to keep them busy.

what about the bottle water.. should i be using it?

I would leave one bottle of water and one of the pedi, but that is me.

i mean actual bottled water or just out of the sink.

also yall say wash pouches with bleach in the water. can i use the color safe bleach??

Till there better I would us the bottled water. Can't say for sure with the bleach, but I don't see why not.

any bleach is fine, but let the machine go thru another cycle without any bleach just water, this ill minmise any residue left that may irritate your gliders skin etc

okie dokie. reason i ask is because my babies pouches have color and id hate to mess them up

do yall think the fruit flys i was having problems with could have caused this?

I honestly don't know if they carry anything transmittable or not, but my bet is on some kind of fresh food that came from the grocery.

Or she could have had the dormant cysts all along and for some reason - they came out of dormancy.

I think at this point in time, its useless to try to focus on where it came from - and just focus on getting rid of it.

Remember - right now the "poop to mouth" factor is going to be high.

And you will need to do periodic check-ups for the next year. After you get a clean bill of health - take a sample every 3 months for the next year just to make certain all is gone.

This is a very stubborn parasite and you will need to be very diligent in your cleaning - but you caught it in its early stage - so she should make a 100% recovery.

Oh - give her bottled water until she gets a clean bill of health.

If you do some reading on parasites - you will be amazed how many of us are carriers of these nasty things and dont even know it.

so after were done with the meds should i go in again?

Yes - take her back and have them do another fecal. A follow up vet visit is very important.

Then take a stool sample in 3 months later to have it check again.

yes mam i shall. thanks for the help :) ill keep up on the updates though

All the cleaning and giving glider meds is stressful on you. Hope everything is going well. Keep reminding yourself its just for a short time period - it wont last forever.

yeah i know. i just got done cleaning it again. wiped it down with the clorox wipes then again with a wet wash cloth. i put a few new toys in there to keep them busy. nibbler seems all excited so that makes me feel better. im cleaning water bottle now about to put bottled water in there. i need to know how much pedialyte do i give? should i put another water bottle with it in the cage or just give some in the medicine dropper??

It would be best to give them the Pedialyte by hand if you have the time. If not - then fill a water bottle full. Since they have giardia, all water bottles will need to be cleaned and disenfected with bleach every day.

When cleaning the cages - be sure to leave the clorox on for at least 30 seconds so it can do its job. You actually dont have to rinse it. After it is dry, it is not harmful.

ill give it to them after their meds. what measurement should i give by hand i have time to help my baby :)
hmm i figured that the wipes would be harmful. thanks ill just leave it in themornin when i wipe things down.

They will let you know when they've had enough Pedialyte to drink. If its a flavored kind - they should really like it and want to drink.

Sorry - you had asked me yesterday about their cloaca. Here is what a normal cloaca (male and female) should look like. Click on the picture to enlarge it for a better view.

http://www.glidersuncensored.com

okay thanks so much ill check that out