Ongoing Giardia

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BeginnerChinLover

The Chin Shopaholic
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Messages
86
Location
Oshawa, Ontario
Hey guys...I'm really hoping someone can help me with this! :hair:

My girl, Lilo, was in for a filing in December and they did a fecal. It came back positive for giardia. I've been battling it ever since, positive fecal after positive fecal. She's been on Panacur (0.3ml) for 5 days on, 3 days off, 5 days on, or 5 days on, 2 weeks off, 5 days on, or whatever else I have read hoping that it would work. The last two rounds she was on Panacur and Metronidazole (0.12ml) to try and seriously get rid of it for good. The result? Still a positive result. :cry3: Previously, she was just on 0.3ml of Panacur.

I bleach her cage every day or every other day when she's on meds and for the days in between, her fleece gets changed daily, her bowls, chiller, and water bottle get cleaned with her cage, and her toys are either hanging or get thrown out every morning! I don't know what else I can do to get rid of this or what I'm missing.

This is either round 6 or round 8 of meds that I just finished. I lost count forever ago. She is in the lower level of a FN 142, and Zoey (on top) has had 2 negative fecals. It's just super chin Lilo that keeps coming up with positive results.

My only guess would be she's had it since I got her in November 2010. She has never shown ANY symptoms of giardia - diarrhea, losing weight, etc. She is always either staying steady in terms of weight or she is gaining. The only time that she lost weight was when I changed her food from pet store junk, but after a few months she has put on more weight and has surpassed her weight from when I brought her home. Her poop has always been dark brown and only slightly changes to a slightly lighter brown when she is on meds.

She always had a hearty appetite for pellets and hay, until she needed her first filing in December, and she is going in again tomorrow so she has cut back a lot and I have been handfeeding her. She would destroy a Super Pet carrot dish FULL of hay once or twice per day.

Does anyone have any ideas on what my next step should be - besides go completely insane? I can't believe that two different meds didn't work...

Any insight would be super.

Thanks in advance!
 
Have you washed her hanging toys? They can still carry the disease. Lilo could have stepped on a poop and then touched the toy. Hanging toys can be washed in warm water, rinsed, and then baked to dry them.

Also, what kind of water do you give her?

It does sound very frustrating. I went through giardia recently and was given panacur plus another medication, and it seemed to clear it up.
 
When she's on meds I don't usually leave her hanging toys up. Sorry, should have clarified that.

She gets water from the Brita complete system that filters out giardia and another thing that starts with a c (and is crazy long).

I've just asked to have a "riser" made for her tray. My hope is that the riser keeps her away from her feces and it falls between the wires so it will (hopefully) reduce her chance of reinfection.

The vet just called and said they are going to get the lab to try and get a count and to narrow down what strand of giardia it is. Since she's going in for a filing tomorrow at another vet, she asked for me to get him to send over notes so they can see if her points are related to giardia or not (although, I am somewhat skeptical on how they would tell...whatever makes them happy!)
 
Chinchillas will eat their poop right as it comes out of the anus. You will never stop her from reinfecting herself. If she is healthy and showed no signs of infection than I wouldn't keep giving her all these meds. This is what leads to all the resistance issues.
 
I guess I would be okay with leaving her if I didn't have other chins. I can vaccuum all I want in between playtimes, but if I miss one little poo and the others find it then I have to deal with it all over again, so if possible I am looking to get rid of it.
 
If they are healthy as well, then low numbers like it sounds like you have should not affect them.

The only med left that I can think of would be something with febantel in it. Febantel is a precursor to fenbendazole (panacur) so probably won't make much of a difference.

Are you using a quaternary ammonium disinfectant? or Bleach? Are you wiping up all the dirt first (dirt inactivates most disinfectants) and letting the disinfectant sit until it is dry?
 
The vet is calling the lab tomorrow to get them to do a count...so hopefully numbers will be low!

I've been using bleach. I bring the entire metal tray up to the shower, rinse it, pour some bleach in and squish it around, let it sit for a few minutes. then scrub it. I rinse it with hot water afterwards as I thought the harsh smell would stick around if I didn't rinse it off.
 
The *ideal* for giardia is a quaternary ammonium disinfectant. Wipe away all the organic matter, then spray on in the appropriate dilution per instructions. Then let that sit for 10-30 minutes. Then you can rinse it off.

Something to consider.
 
Oh, also. Are you diluting the bleach per instructions? Most people think stronger is better, but if it isn't diluted out there isn't enough free "stuff" to attack the bad organisms.
 
My only guess would be she's had it since I got her in November 2010. She has never shown ANY symptoms of giardia - diarrhea, losing weight, etc
Your guess is correct, it is well known that some herds carry strains. It is not openly discussed. Since many of them also wholesale it spreads around.

The only problem it will cause is an infection in a herd that has not built up an immunity. That herd will lose chins and the survivors and future offspring will build up a resistance. They become so tolerant you won't see anything unless you do a fecal culture.
 
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