Illness/Sickness: Looking for help!parasite in eye! interesting case!

zhanggeer said:

Dear friends,

My friend now are facing a troublesome problem.
He has no account here, so he let me post pic here for help.
parasite in eye！
it can move!
I guess it's something like “pleroceroid”.
Surgery is difficult for this small animal.
medcine?
metronidazole?
I have no exprience in using it.
So may i ask you for help here?

your's sincerely,
zhanggeer

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herpvet said:

Hello,

It looks from the picture like a nematode larva. It does depend on the type of larva (particularly whether a natural amphibian parasite - likeliest - or aberrant infection by a worm with a different natural host) but it is likely that the newt will have more internally. Metronidazole will not affect it directly - you would need a worming drug, but preferably in combination with antibiotic and anti-inflammatory cover. Not sure about the availability of vets or drugs where you are, but ideally consulting a vet would be best. They could then consult a more experienced amphib vet if they wish, and would be in a better position to prescribe appropriate drugs and/or do surgery if it comes to that.

It is worth noting that no medicine is going to get rid of that larva (it may kill it, and conceivably it would break up over time and be absorbed...but it may also form a chronic reaction around it). Removing it would require delicate surgery, and risk damage to the eye, or possibly even enucleation (removing the eye). Whether that is justifiable is arguable - the larva does pose a potential risk of further migration or damage. If you killed it with appropriate medication, you could observe the situation and be prepared for surgery if there are signs of deterioration.
But in the short term assessing the overall parasite load (via faeces sample) would be important, since that could be more of a risk to the newt's health. Any other newts in the same enclosure should be similarly assessed, and if any show parasites then treat all of them.

Hope this helps. I would be interested to hear how he gets on! Good luck.

Best wishes,

Bruce.

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