Worms!!! Please help

just giving a little soak to one of our pancakes today. When I picked him up I noticed he was already pooping so I let him do his thing. I then noticed his poo looked mostly white and upon more inspection saw this. I know some worms are normal but for this little guy.... I'm thinking there is a problem. Suggestions? Advice?

Not sure the type, but a vet can do a screen id for you. Mammal pin worms don't impact tortoises, but reptile pin worms do.

Cowboy_Ken said:

Not sure the type, but a vet can do a screen id for you. Mammal pin worms don't impact tortoises, but reptile pin worms do.

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Not sure we have a vet in town that knows a lot about reptiles, but I will look around. Thank you

This is kinda weird but i have a really big fear of worms, that picture scares me.

A vet shouldn't have to know about reptiles to know how to do a stool sample test for worms and to know the kind of worms he has. Now, when they give you meds to treat, that's where we hope they know what they are doing. I would come back here and ask about the meds you would be given, before treating. There are many here that would be able to help you like, Yvonne G, and Tortadise,

Ewwwwwwwwww! Get a stool sample to a vet and meds, ewwwwwwwwww! D:

When I found this post i was eating.....

Holy Cow! I've never seen that many worms in one feces deposit. Be sure that when you get the de-worming medication you don't use a full dose for the first couple times. If you kill ALL the parasites at once the dead parasites sometimes clog up the tortoise and he might die. You want to kill them a small number at a time. Of course, in this fashion, you have to de-worm more often than just the normal two times.

Wow I don't have that many earth worms in my hole back yard !


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Sorry for the amount of gross out this caused, just concerned for the little guy.
Thank you everyone for assuring me how scary this is! He pooped a little after this and it was a lot less so I'm not sure what that means, but I have separated him from the misses so she hopefully doesn't get any.

Sorry to say but the other tortoise you kept him with probably has some too. Do a stool sample on her too.

wow that's a lot of worms.

If the tort(s) is acting fine..then do not TOTALLY freak out....get it tested and then proceed from there...

Never seen so many.let us know the out come. Would love to know.good luck.

Were you able to take that sample to the vet?

They have both had them before but very little. They are not harmful to them. He hadn't popped in a few days so they think that's why there were so many. They won't go anywhere but outside or whole they are being soaked. Both cakes are eating fine and they both poop. Worms are still present but in the usual, very little, amount. Thanks

Just a note of explanation for you...when tortoise have a normal parasite load you never see them in the feces. When you start seeing the parasites, that means the tortoise has quite a tremendous load of them. This can be very harmful to the tortoise, causing holes in the intestines, etc. Please go to a vet and take that picture with you. Your tortoise is at risk.

Yvonne G said:

Just a note of explanation for you...when tortoise have a normal parasite load you never see them in the feces. When you start seeing the parasites, that means the tortoise has quite a tremendous load of them. This can be very harmful to the tortoise, causing holes in the intestines, etc. Please go to a vet and take that picture with you. Your tortoise is at risk.

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That is what the vet told me.

That isn't a normal parasite. Load. I just had new pancakes screened and came back with a slightly high pin worm count and nothing was visible to the eye. Three days of panacur should have done the job.

We are currently giving them medicine. They have had a week and still have them.