Please help..new tortoise owner and my tortoise has worms

[Markw84]

The vet prescribed profender- one dose(which was 2 weeks ago now) and then another 4 weeks after the first dose and then after another 4 weeks the vet wants a poo sample.

I’ve been cleaning the enclosure daily and giving daily soaks as well as lots of food. I’ve heard carrot is meant to be good worming but he’s not interested in it.

Otherwise he seems to be eating fine and only appeared to be lethargic in the last couple of days, I’m not sure if this is a side effect of the treatment or if he’s just had a lazy couple of days.

Thanks

IS this a reptile vet? I have never heard of anyone prescribing emodepside/ praziquantel for pinworms and using for reptiles. With Panacur, (or a mebendazole or albendazole) so effective and with such a high margin of safety, could you ask why your vet chose profender? Perhaps we can learn something.

Bathing won't help the parasite issue but it will prevent any more problems such as dehydration which is common with torts that have parasites. Increasing temps will just help your tort get through this in general

Bathing is a very effective first line of defense controlling a pinworm type infestation. Cleanliness is paramount. The problem is reinfecting itself and building loads. Keeping an enclosure clean, and picking up feces is most important. With bathing - most of the feces ends up in the bath water and not in the enclosure. The best way to ensure a direct cycle parasite load does not build up.

 

[Ben02]

I've learnt something today thank you mark

 

[Kelly.324]

IS this a reptile vet? I have never heard of anyone prescribing emodepside/ praziquantel for pinworms and using for reptiles. With Panacur, (or a mebendazole or albendazole) so effective and with such a high margin of safety, could you ask why your vet chose profender? Perhaps we can learn something.



Bathing is a very effective first line of defense controlling a pinworm type infestation. Cleanliness is paramount. The problem is reinfecting itself and building loads. Keeping an enclosure clean, and picking up feces is most important. With bathing - most of the feces ends up in the bath water and not in the enclosure. The best way to ensure a direct cycle parasite load does not build up.

Hi she is and she keeps tortoises herself. However some of her recommendations aren’t recommended on this forum so I’ve had some contradictory advice and not sure what to follow, eg she recommended sand and hay for substrate and bedding as well as other stuff but both those things are not recommended on here.
She recommended the profender because she said she’s found it to be more effective on her own tortoise when she took it in.
Should I stop using it and ask the vet to switch to Panacur? He’s half way through his treatment and seems fine, still eating, active etc and the worms in his poo seem to have gone, although I know they’ll reappear as they’re cyclical.

I’m bathing him each day but he doesn’t go to the toilet when having a bath that much, seems to do it right after I’ve cleaned the table haha!. I’ve covered the table in newspaper which is changed each day, usually more than once and is always changed straight after he poos/wees.

I’m feeding him basically as much as he wants to eat and haven’t controlled portions or anything, is this ok? I figured since the worms might make him feel hungry the more he eats the better?

Thanks

 

[Ben02]

That's good he's eating, torts can go a long time without food.

 

[Kelly.324]

That's good he's eating, torts can go a long time without food.

I think he’d eat constantly if I let him, he always seems hungry. The only things he won’t eat are the expensive dried weeds and wildflowers I bought to get through winter, typical haha!

 

[Kelly.324]

Hi she is and she keeps tortoises herself. However some of her recommendations aren’t recommended on this forum so I’ve had some contradictory advice and not sure what to follow, eg she recommended sand and hay for substrate and bedding as well as other stuff but both those things are not recommended on here.
She recommended the profender because she said she’s found it to be more effective on her own tortoise when she took it in.
Should I stop using it and ask the vet to switch to Panacur? He’s half way through his treatment and seems fine, still eating, active etc and the worms in his poo seem to have gone, although I know they’ll reappear as they’re cyclical.

I’m bathing him each day but he doesn’t go to the toilet when having a bath that much, seems to do it right after I’ve cleaned the table haha!. I’ve covered the table in newspaper which is changed each day, usually more than once and is always changed straight after he poos/wees.

I’m feeding him basically as much as he wants to eat and haven’t controlled portions or anything, is this ok? I figured since the worms might make him feel hungry the more he eats the better?

Thanks

I forgot to say, I’m also using a reptile safe cleaning spray and reptile safe anti bag wipes, wiping it all down with water and drying it every other day whilst Sebastian has a soak.
So I think I’m doing it right, I just want to make sure I’m doing all I can to get him better.

 

[TammyJ]

Hi she is and she keeps tortoises herself. However some of her recommendations aren’t recommended on this forum so I’ve had some contradictory advice and not sure what to follow, eg she recommended sand and hay for substrate and bedding as well as other stuff but both those things are not recommended on here.
She recommended the profender because she said she’s found it to be more effective on her own tortoise when she took it in.
Should I stop using it and ask the vet to switch to Panacur? He’s half way through his treatment and seems fine, still eating, active etc and the worms in his poo seem to have gone, although I know they’ll reappear as they’re cyclical.

I’m bathing him each day but he doesn’t go to the toilet when having a bath that much, seems to do it right after I’ve cleaned the table haha!. I’ve covered the table in newspaper which is changed each day, usually more than once and is always changed straight after he poos/wees.

I’m feeding him basically as much as he wants to eat and haven’t controlled portions or anything, is this ok? I figured since the worms might make him feel hungry the more he eats the better?

Thanks

I would not ask the vet to switch to anything else half way through the treatment at all, if the tortoise seems to be improving and getting over the problem OK. It is important to complete a course of medicine and not stop half way, if it is doing its job, for a number of reasons. After the treatment is finished with the present medication, maybe we can move on to using a more highly recommended medicine (like Panacur?) next time and for the future. Just watch the progress and ensure that all is going well and the tortoise is tolerating and benefiting from the present treatment.

 

[Kelly.324]

I would not ask the vet to switch to anything else half way through the treatment at all, if the tortoise seems to be improving and getting over the problem OK. It is important to complete a course of medicine and not stop half way, if it is doing its job, for a number of reasons. After the treatment is finished with the present medication, maybe we can move on to using a more highly recommended medicine (like Panacur?) next time and for the future. Just watch the progress and ensure that all is going well and the tortoise is tolerating and benefiting from the present treatment.

Thank you, I’m hoping once they’ve gone he’ll just need to stick to a once a year worming treatment (which I’ve read is recommended for tortoises?) and I’ll ask the vet to stick with panacur then.

He does seem to be on the mend, as I’ve said he’s eating loads and is quite active and is hydrated now.

I had read that panacur was recommended for tortoises before taking him to the vet but I just thought, her being a vet, that I should take her advice, I’ll definitely ask more questions in future.

Thanks

 

[Kelly.324]

Hi again,

Thanks you all so much for your replies

My tortoise has now has his second (and final) dose of treatment, 4 days ago, but he hasn’t pooed now for 3 days. I’ve given him twice daily baths and 95-100 F. He seems to be eating normally but is a little lethargic.
Should I take him back to the vet or is this to be expected when he’s been wormed?

Thank you

 

[Kelly.324]

Hi again,

He has started pooing normally again now thank goodness, but I am still noticing some worms in his poo, is this normal?

Thanks

 

[TardisMyTortoise]

I am also new to tortoise keeping- is it standard practice to need to deworm a tort? I have horses so we have the vet check for internal parasites every 4-8 weeks ... is this something I will need to also do as my hatchling gets older?

 

[Ben02]

Are the worms alive in the poo??

 

[Kelly.324]

Are the worms alive in the poo??

It’s a bit difficult to tell but I don’t think, I’ve not seen them move.

 

[Yvonne G]

I've always used Panacur for the parasites you can see and Flagyl for the microscopic parasites. The usual treatment is now, then again in 10 days.

 

[TriciaStringer]

Thank you, I’m hoping once they’ve gone he’ll just need to stick to a once a year worming treatment (which I’ve read is recommended for tortoises?) and I’ll ask the vet to stick with panacur then.

He does seem to be on the mend, as I’ve said he’s eating loads and is quite active and is hydrated now.

I had read that panacur was recommended for tortoises before taking him to the vet but I just thought, her being a vet, that I should take her advice, I’ll definitely ask more questions in future.

Thanks

A once a year worming is usually not necessary. Many vets will allow you to bring in a poop sample once a year for them to check. I’ve had my tortoise for nine years and he’s never been wormed (with me). All his samples have come up negative for parasites. I don’t get them tested every year but some people do.

 

[Markw84]

A once a year worming is usually not necessary. Many vets will allow you to bring in a poop sample once a year for them to check. I’ve had my tortoise for nine years and he’s never been wormed (with me). All his samples have come up negative for parasites. I don’t get them tested every year but some people do.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, Panacur is used almost universally for most Nematodes - worms. Very effective and very wide safety margin - I think of great value. Flagyl is fairly universal as the drug of choice for some the more commonly seen protozoans like flagellates. Not sure, as mentioned before, why your (@Kelly.324 ) vet did not go with Panacur. You should not still see worms after 4 weeks if the treatment was effective. Any left over eggs in the system should have hatched within 2 weeks and died with 2nd course. If you still see more worms, I would think a fecal exam would be in order.

I do regular fecal exams of my tortoises, but have the equipment to do that. I also take fecal samples in to my vet about once a year. She charges $35 for a fecal as she's already seen a representative sample of my "herd" to develop a relationship. So a nice double check on my findings. I don't prophylactically treat. Some with large collections where many tortoise live in higher concentration do. I only treat if fecal exam shows abnormally high loads as some of the common (pinworm and flagellates) types are considered by many as normal gut flora. Seeing worms in the feces is an indication of higher load. Persistent diarrhea can also be a sign worth checking.