Pinworm Photos

[TylerStewart]

Wanted to give a special shout out and "thanks" to Dave Weldon for helping me pick my upgraded microscope.... I had been using a single eye piece one the past few years, and using it more and more with tortoises, it was giving me a headache. He lined me up with the same LCD screen one that I think you guys were using at the last So Cal meeting, and it works great. The memory card slot is the best part about it, besides looking at a screen instead of through the eyeholes. I grabbed these photos yesterday of some pinworms in an Indian Star tortoise I knew was guilty of carrying something (I was looking for something else, but found pinworms). Photos turned out nice, I figured I'd make them public. Taken at 100X and 400X.

 

[Syn]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing... I don't think I want to know how much that was.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Thats a cool little scope. Lisa really liked it so we may pick one up. So much easier and takes up almost no room at all.

 

[chamelisa]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing... I don't think I want to know how much that was.

Not much at all!

http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-443..._2?ie=UTF8&s=industrial&qid=1265154956&sr=8-2

 

[Vegas Chad]

I wish we would have got the one with the screen...

 

[nightcrawler]

I rather have an Indian star tortoise.

 

[TylerStewart]

I think I spent as much on my old ghetto scope as this one... $191 shipped. I knew more than anything, I wanted to be able to take photos in case I saw something I couldn't ID, I could save the photos and send to someone who might know. This works great for that; the card goes right into the side of the screen.

I rather have an Indian star tortoise.

They are sexy beasts, that's for sure.

 

[Syn]

Not much at all!

http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-443..._2?ie=UTF8&s=industrial&qid=1265154956&sr=8-2

Wow! That is a LOT less than I was expecting. I just remember when I loved microscopes when I was little, asking my parents for juuust the right one, and them telling me it was $2,000.. Then again that was almost 10 years ago!

 

[Chameron]

I would love to see more of your slides please put more when you come across something interesting =]

 

[xanthoman]

celestron

i have been researching microscopes for some time now and have also been considering upgrading to the celestron 44340 (i am assuming that is the one you have because i saw it in use on a previous post by summoner 12 taken at a sbck meeting), i would be curious to know what you paid if you dont mind my asking? the cheapest price (new) i have found so far is $179.99+ free shipping, i think it offers the biggest bang for the buck

 

[summoner12]

Wow! That is a LOT less than I was expecting. I just remember when I loved microscopes when I was little, asking my parents for juuust the right one, and them telling me it was $2,000.. Then again that was almost 10 years ago!

Aren't you still little?

The price of a microscope is completely dependent on the glass. Sorta like cameras..... nice glass=$$$$$$.


"What cost $2000 in 1998 would cost $2630.41 in 2008."

 

[Syn]

Aren't you still little?

I haven't grown for 5 years, I meant little, literally. Either way I don't see why it matters or how it's relevant to the topic other than to point out my age.

 

[xanthoman]

Wow! That is a LOT less than I was expecting. I just remember when I loved microscopes when I was little, asking my parents for just the right one, and them telling me it was $2,000.. Then again that was almost 10 years ago!

you can stiil get microscopes for $2000. or even $20,000 and above for that matter, but i dont think most chamers want or need a $2000. microscope. ebay has a good selection of really nice microscopes under $300. as you can see the $200 microscope does just fine with lcd viewing screen, built in camera and everything

,

 

[summoner12]

I assume there is some compromise in glass quality in the LCD type microscope because of all the nice electronic gadgetry? Gotta make up for the cost of the toys somewhere....

 

[TylerStewart]

I assume there is some compromise in glass quality in the LCD type microscope because of all the nice electronic gadgetry? Gotta make up for the cost of the toys somewhere....

I agree to an extent.... Technology always gets cheaper with time, and on this one, the two eye pieces aren't there at all, which I figure makes up some of the cost of the LCD screen. I spent $800 on my camera because I wanted a nice one, and it shows. But in this case, for an occasional fecal check, it would have been completely unneeded. A clearer photo wouldn't have changed anything, and I was impressed by how good the pictures looked that I got from it.

For me, it came down to "if I can replace my old scope and stay around the $200 range, I will do it." I could, so I did and I am glad I did. It came with a nice rigid case also, as well as a half dozen sample slides (housefly leg, etc). That wasn't small enough for me, so I slaughtered a fruit fly first thing and threw it in there.

 

[ChamOh]

any links on performing your own fecal exam to check for parasites, etc.?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy All,

When this LCD microscope first came out on the market it wasn't much lower in cost than the "fancier" trinocular ones, even after adding a 1.3MP video camera. Now that it is down almost to half the intro price, that makes it a pretty good deal for the average chameleon keeper's needs . 40X, 100X and 400X final magnification along with survivable optical resolution means that we can identify the usual suspects. When you need to see the tiny details of a parasite to make full identification, it can often require finer resolution (not just magnification) than either of these microscope's optics can deliver. There is a reason why a single 100X objective lens can easily cost more than the cost of these two microscopes combined .

I think there are probably a 100 keepers who might shell-out ~$200 for a useable LCD microscope and maybe 10 who would go for the fancier ~$350 setup .

 

[ijmccollum]

you can stiil get microscopes for $2000. or even $20,000 and above for that matter, but i dont think most chamers want or need a $2000. microscope. ebay has a good selection of really nice microscopes under $300. as you can see the $200 microscope does just fine with lcd viewing screen, built in camera and everything

,

Yeah, I have 'scope that cost `85K. I don't get to take it home though. Bummers.

 

[Syn]

you can stiil get microscopes for $2000. or even $20,000 and above for that matter, but i dont think most chamers want or need a $2000. microscope. ebay has a good selection of really nice microscopes under $300. as you can see the $200 microscope does just fine with lcd viewing screen, built in camera and everything

,

Yeah, of course, but I was thinking because it could go 400x it would have cost more. I am not up to date on things like this, unfortunately.

I am seriously thinking about getting one of these now, just to save money on fecals (of course I would have a lot of serious reading to do), but if anything I could always post the pictures on here!

 

[TylerStewart]

Checking back today, this scope's price has dropped. It's now $179 shipped. Just an FYI.

http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-443..._1?ie=UTF8&s=industrial&qid=1267049136&sr=8-1