Nematodes Confirmed, how do I protect the rest of my collection?

My favorite T, an Avic Avic had been restless and losing weight over a month now (About 3 now that I think about it), but never exhibited any other issues. Today she was on the bottom of her enclosure, and when I moved her to ICU, I finally saw the telltale sign of white, sticky stuff all over her mouthparts.

I know she's beyond saving, but what steps do I need to go through to be sure the rest of my pets stay safe (5 other Ts) Would a simple mass bedding change and thorough tank cleaning be best? Should I isolate the other one I'm concerned about (A Haplo-something or other) that had been acting 'twitchy' but still doing well?

Forgive me if I sound a bit strange, I'm still in something of a fuss about the very soon loss of my favorite T.

that white sticky stuff is not definitive proof of nematodes!


if you take a small amount of that goop and put it in a bit of alcohol and swirl it around you should be able to see evidence of the actual nematodes... either seeing the worms or the er, shapes the bend into light going through the container. do it in a small, round container to have some built in magnification

cacoseraph said:

that white sticky stuff is not definitive proof of nematodes!


if you take a small amount of that goop and put it in a bit of alcohol and swirl it around you should be able to see evidence of the actual nematodes... either seeing the worms or the er, shapes the bend into light going through the container. do it in a small, round container to have some built in magnification

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I was also going on the fact she had not been eating, rapidly losing weight, had her palps fully tucked almost perpetually and was very prone to 'staggering' in how she walked, but I will definitely do what you said just to be 100%!

Yeah, white goopy stuff coming from the mouth can also be a yeast infection. Probably the same grim outlook as with nematodes but without the risk of cross contamination.

Not everything that happens is nematodes That thread gave allot of people a scare lol. Just swap some of the white stuff and put it in alcohol. If you see allot of little things swiming around then those are nematodes.

Sorry about the panic, it was more or less a "Sick T, not sure what's wrong with it" and my brain jumped to worst case scenario as soon as it had something it could put together. I'll try the alcohol test as soon as I can.

Katronmaster said:

Sorry about the panic, it was more or less a "Sick T, not sure what's wrong with it" and my brain jumped to worst case scenario as soon as it had something it could put together. I'll try the alcohol test as soon as I can.

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I think most of us do that lol

also, i hate to say it... but not seeing the todes in the alcohol doesn't guarantee they aren't there... you can't prove something but a lack of proof, generally


i got a todey spider and noticed it on the way home... so i went to my brother's house (who i don't think had pet bugs at the time) to do the alcohol test (actually i just dunked the whole spider and swirled that and saw the todes that way). the nematodes are freaking SMALL... it is entirely possible to miss them