# new tortoise indoors but has worms HELP!



## skulldilocks (Aug 17, 2013)

I have had my little 6 month hermann home a week. He has been indoors in a tortoise table, with top soil as a substrate and fed dandelon leaves from the garden (thoroughly washed).

He had done a couple of solid healthy looking poos but today I came home to him tipped over in his water  Luckily he's okay now and wondering around happily but i noticed he has done a lot of what looks like diahorrea from stress I assume. There are literally hundreds of little thin worms now in the water. I have cleaned it out and will get him to the vet next week, but I want to prevent him getting infected again - substrate, food etc?

Please help, I want to give him the best life ever.


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## Team Gomberg (Aug 17, 2013)

*Re: RE: new tortoise indoors but has worms HELP!*

A few questions for you that can get you better help:

How do you know the tort is 6 months old? Did you buy it from a breeder with a known hatch date, buy it from a pet store and this was the age guessed or a just a personal guess based on shell size? 
I ask because a lot of the wild caught adults sold in pets stores do have parasite over loads that need to be treated. They are commonly way off on the ages. I would be surprised if this truly was a 6mo old from captivity with a heavy load of worms.

What type of water dish are you using? A lot of the deep dishes sold at pet stores are flip hazards for torts. Using a shallow tray or a terra cotta saucer are the safest. 

Can you describe the worms?

At your vet next week take a fecal sample to be tested.

If you end up treating your tort for parasites with meds, you can keep your tort on paper towels temporarily to prevent re infecting himself.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

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## skulldilocks (Aug 17, 2013)

Team Gomberg said:


> A few questions for you that can get you better help:
> 
> How do you know the tort is 6 months old? Did you buy it from a breeder with a known hatch date, buy it from a pet store and this was the age guessed or a just a personal guess based on shell size?
> I ask because a lot of the wild caught adults sold in pets stores do have parasite over loads that need to be treated. They are commonly way off on the ages. I would be surprised if this truly was a 6mo old from captivity with a heavy load of worms.
> ...



Thanks for your response Heather. He was bought from an exotic pet centre and on further research his certifocate said hatched 2011! And origin Macedonia. Hrbwss advertised as 6mo though. 

We use a shallow steel serving plate for his water but were going to change to avoid tipping.
Attached is a picture of the worms in the water. Hopefully you can see them.

Do you think he came with the worms as there were so many (as you can see in pic and that isn't all of them) it isn't the topsoil is it?


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## ILoveTortoises2 (Aug 17, 2013)

I would clean his WHOLE tank out top to bottom. EVERYTHING throw in a dishwasher so the the hot water kills EVERYTHING that is on the dishes.


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## Team Gomberg (Aug 17, 2013)

Since you've had him one week, he probably came with them. Where was he living since 2011, at the exotic pet center the whole time?

It can be normal for them to have worms or parasites. When you start to see them expelled it means they are out of balance. 
Take a stool sample to the vet so they can confirm what he has and give you a treatment plan.
Maybe contact the seller and see if they cover worm treatment in a warranty.

Btw, I didn't see a picture.

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## SANDRA_MEISSNEST (Aug 17, 2013)

Can we see a pic of the wormd? How long are they

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## skulldilocks (Aug 18, 2013)

Sorry I'll try the attachment again, maybe it's because I'm new. Just rang the centre, do not cover vet bills and say he would've come from the breeder with them. Surely they should check! Said I should feed pumpkin and.carrot as a natural de wormer but surely if he has that many he's better off with.meds?


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## SANDRA_MEISSNEST (Aug 18, 2013)

Probably. they can be hundreds of them, try the pumpkin and see if it works

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the picture with help to see what kind of worm it is

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## skulldilocks (Aug 19, 2013)

Update: I spoke to the manager at the centre I bought Chuck from as apparently he is the tortoise expert there. He said that when they get all tortoises in they give them some worming treatment and that this treatment can take a couple of weeks to come into effect. When it does, it expels all the worms from the inside of the tortoise (this sounds plausible after the amount that came out the other day). They offered that I could replace the tortoise (no chance I am already so attached!) Or they could offer another treatment but would have to keep him there for 7 days. I would still have to pay, so I think I am just going to take him to the vet tomorrow for a consultation anyway and take a poo sample as well. I just want to check everything else about him is in good working order.

He was out for the longest he's been so far and was very bright and energetic. Today is the first time I have left him on his own since we got him, so Im just praying he doesn't tip himself over.

Thanks for your kind advice everyone  x


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## SANDRA_MEISSNEST (Aug 19, 2013)

let me ask you have you ever seen anyone after that one time? 
also were they a life when you saw them or dead? after they come up it takes about 1 or 2 minutes for them to die when they exposed to air

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## skulldilocks (Aug 20, 2013)

We returned home to the large mass of worms so I have no idea how long they were there for but obviously when we got there they were dead.
Since then he has done one poo and only a couple came out and they were alive. 
Since then he hasn't pooped, has eaten some carrot which apparently works as a natural dewormer and we're taking him to the vets today but we don't have a faeces sample as both poos have been in his water lol!
x


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## peasinapod (Aug 20, 2013)

I heard that deworming treatments need to be repeated after 2 weeks or so, to kill any worms that may have hatched, as the dewormer doesn't kill eggs. So I think that going to the vet is the right choice. I heard that keeping your tort on newspaper or something similiar during the treatment helps prevent reinfection, as you can clean it easily. You may want to talk about what to do exactly with your vet.


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## skulldilocks (Aug 20, 2013)

Thanks, that's what I had heard. hopefully he can offer the treatment and we can be done with this for now! Dreading how much this will all cost D: Just bought a house bad timing! haha


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## SANDRA_MEISSNEST (Aug 20, 2013)

yup in two weeks u have to do it again and you probably have roundworms

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I'm wondering if you could use the same stuff what you give a dog like a little pill can you google it maybe? 

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