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Whipworms
As the name suggest, whipworms have an
appearance of a whip and they are around two to three inches in
length. The adult worms live
in the cecum, the first part of the large intestine. The worm firmly attaches itself to
the cecal wall. Here the
female lays eggs that are shed out with the feces of the animal. The female whipworm lays fewer eggs
than other worms. This makes
detection of the eggs in feces difficult and often several fecal
examinations are needed for the detection of whipworms.
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The shed eggs are very resistant to environmental
factors and undergo a six week development stage. These mature whipworm eggs are then ingested in the
animal where they mature into adult worms in around five weeks. Infected animals may have chronic
diarrhea and weight loss, but many will show no signs at all. Therefore, it is important to have
routine fecal examinations done for all dogs in areas where whipworm
infections are common and have your dog dewormed regularly.
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