Tortoise worm count

Zeldee

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I was told that i should do this just to see the count. She is only 10 months old and for peace of ,ind for myself i have ordered a kit. I see nothing in her poo and she is eating well.

going forward with her i will test on a yearly basis x
 

Toddrickfl1

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I was told that i should do this just to see the count. She is only 10 months old and for peace of ,ind for myself i have ordered a kit. I see nothing in her poo and she is eating well.

going forward with her i will test on a yearly basis x
Completely unnecessary honestly.
 

Helen Ruff

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Hi all.
Do you get a worm count regurarly?

sue x
Great advice on worming.... I too wanted to make sure husbandry, including worming was correct..... called my vets yesterday for advice on submitting a stool sample for each of my 6 torts to check for parasites and worms and was told it would be £110 per tort. I can’t justify £660 when all of them are active, eating well and gaining weight.
I’m going to monitor health, appetite and weight on my wall charts and only address this if I feel any of them are compromised. I have 4 Sulcatas and 2 Aldabras .
 

Zeldee

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Great advice on worming.... I too wanted to make sure husbandry, including worming was correct..... called my vets yesterday for advice on submitting a stool sample for each of my 6 torts to check for parasites and worms and was told it would be £110 per tort. I can’t justify £660 when all of them are active, eating well and gaining weight.
I’m going to monitor health, appetite and weight on my wall charts and only address this if I feel any of them are compromised. I have 4 Sulcatas and 2 Aldabras .

Wow thats expensive. Im being charged £10 per sample with a lab i found online. I rang them and they sent sample collection by post. I did not go to the vets at all.

I think that this sample will be fine But will definately check prior to hibernation which is a few years away.
 

ZEROPILOT

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You must know and remember that it's not unusual for a tortoise to have some worms. It's actually not uncommon.
Most healthy animals can live with them for their whole, very long lives.
Only very heavy infestations require any action at all.
Because the treatment is a poison, you never want to treat as a preventative or for a light infestation.
A LOT of unqualified vets (when it comes to tortoises) will try to sell de worming as a prophylactic treatment. Or warm that they must treat because there was an egg in some poop. This is not good medicine.
A good vet, like mine, will only treat when it is really necessary.
And it is NOT usually necessary.
When and if it is bad enough. And your animals health and well being is in danger, a good vet will prescribe a type of medication and based on the weight and condition of your tortoise. And the type of parasite, the dosage.
Treatment is easy and effective.
Save your money and your sanity.
At one point in my tortoise keeping I was so obsessed with parasites (after a parasitic outbreak in 3 tortoises) that I bought a high powered microscope and slides and I was checking poop every week.
I wish someone back then had told me to chill out a bit.
Now I give every one of my tortoises a check up 3x a year. I weigh them, physically inspect them and almost never need to call my vet.
 

Hutsie B

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I recently got what I am pretty sure is a wild caught adult Russian. His poops were runny and I think I saw a worm. So to be sure I took a sample and him to the reptile vet in town and he said the tortoise has pin worms. He wormed him and sent home 3 more doses of panacur to worm him every 10 days. I do not do that with my long time captive bred turtles.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I recently got what I am pretty sure is a wild caught adult Russian. His poops were runny and I think I saw a worm. So to be sure I took a sample and him to the reptile vet in town and he said the tortoise has pin worms. He wormed him and sent home 3 more doses of panacur to worm him every 10 days. I do not do that with my long time captive bred turtles.
PANACUR is a pretty standard medication and it works well
 

Sleppo

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Unless you are seeing worms in the poop don't worry about it. As long as it's eating and the poop is solid you should be good.
 

Hutsie B

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Are you feeding a lot of watery foods, like melon?
no, but he had pinworms. now his poop is getting more solid since he was wormed. and he is eating more dark leafy greens.
 

Hutsie B

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no, but he had pinworms. now his poop is getting more solid since he was wormed. and he is eating more dark leafy greens.
I don't feed him any melon or watery foods.
 

Maggie3fan

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Looking at a smear under a microscope and counting the worms for dosage
oh you knew...I'm so stupid.
I found an Exotic vet when I moved here. I have kept chelonia for almost 20 years and operated a small special needs turtle and tortoise rescue. Since 2005 I have had literally hundreds of chelonia and only one ever needed worming. That Vet used Panacur and put it in his cloaca. 3 days later, I had to put more in and done. Worms gone and putting the meds up his cloaca was so easy
 

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