parasites

[Jessicap]

Are there any routines that need to be done with a tortoise/turtle, such as worming to keep them parasite free? And when receiving a new tortise would you recommend some sort of treatment to make sure they are parasite free? How about bedding, are there concerns with the bedding. And how often do you need to totally change all bedding in the enclosure?

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I de-worm some of my tortoises twice a year - not all of them. The big kids that have access to wet grass - where the sprinklers keep poop from drying up, and any that I see actually eating poop - like my Cherries. I always de-worm newcomers as well. I change bedding as needed, but at least once a season. Hope that was helpful!

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Many advocate quarrantining new torts/turts for a while, saome suggest 3 months, some 6. At least 30 days, anyway, even if the tort looks to be in optimal health.

This would be a good time to treat for parasites, as well as initial vet visits.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I moved into this house four and a half years ago and my box turtles are still on the same substrate. I take out any poop I see, I add new substrate from time to time and I keep it pretty wet...It doesn't smell and I'd hate to lose the bugs and worms that live in with the box turtles...Well, they live until they are found by a turtle. I love to watch the turtles dig for bugs and worms and see how proud they are when they find something...[/i]

 

[moswen]

substrate concerns:
sand is bad, hay is bad, any type of pellets are bad. you want to keep any turtle/tortoise on a substrate that can keep humidity and is resistant to molding. a dirt/leaf mixture, a dirt/coconut coir mixture, plain coconut coir, and i use cypress mulch. this i buy in large bags from wlamart or lowe's. i also change mine once a month, but i have 3 sullies living together so i think it needs it. my spiders get changed every 2 months.

parasites:
some parasites are good, they do help your tortoise digest it's food. i also personally have some beliefs about necessary parasites, but they are only my opinion and theory, i have absolutely no scientific evidence to back that up. every tort in the wild has parasites, and they are fine. the problem with parasites is the concern that if a tortoise gets stressed, the parasites get a chance to run amuck and too many parasites are bad. you can deworm your tortoise at the vet, or give them a spoonful of ground-up pumpkin seeds once a month to HELP with parasites, sort of like a precaution, like monthly heart-worm medicine for dogs. but ground up pumpkin is NOT a cure for overloads of parasites, so you should take a fecal to the vet with any new tortoise and just find out what their parasite situation is!

did that cover everything?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

We found that alot of imported wild adults have parasites and we have always given them three rounds of flagal and panacure as a precautionary measure. We also pick up all poop and provide fresh clean water on a daily basis to avoid any further contamination if any is present. We have never had any issue with our aldabras, however had some terrible experiences with several other species that we have gotten from other breeders. We also feel that it is very important not to mix two species together. A simple lab test at the vet will show any possible issues and if treated will usually be resolved after three rounds.
Note: We have found most wild imported tortoises are usually infected and parasite get out of control due to the stress on the torotise.

 

[Jessicap]

I de-worm some of my tortoises twice a year - not all of them. The big kids that have access to wet grass - where the sprinklers keep poop from drying up, and any that I see actually eating poop - like my Cherries. I always de-worm newcomers as well. I change bedding as needed, but at least once a season. Hope that was helpful!

What do you use to de-worm them with? And how much do you use? amt/weight

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very helpful.. thank you everyone. Many mentioned only having one breed together. I was planning on only one tortiose. Do they seem to be social or do they do okay alone?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

I de-worm some of my tortoises twice a year - not all of them. The big kids that have access to wet grass - where the sprinklers keep poop from drying up, and any that I see actually eating poop - like my Cherries. I always de-worm newcomers as well. I change bedding as needed, but at least once a season. Hope that was helpful!

What do you use to de-worm them with? And how much do you use? amt/weight

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very helpful.. thank you everyone. Many mentioned only having one breed together. I was planning on only one tortiose. Do they seem to be social or do they do okay alone?

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Flagal and Panacure. One torotise is fine, they are not social. I have always been told by many experts and vets that mixing different species of tortoises together is unhealthy. My understanding is that one species are capable of naturally handling one type of parasite/bug/etc. and onother species is not and vise a versa. Therefore by mixing them up causes the parasite/bug/etc. to transfer and from one another causing imune compromise and septic issues, causing serious illness/death, that would never naturally happen from there native environment. Maybe some of our more medical oriented members can put a more clear explanation to this. I just know that most species should not be mixed and that some have higher tolerance levels based on where they originate. I always explaned it to others like this, we get colds from the northerners that come down to florida because their strains we have not built up an immunity too, because that strain is from a different part of the country.

 

[Jessicap]

I de-worm some of my tortoises twice a year - not all of them. The big kids that have access to wet grass - where the sprinklers keep poop from drying up, and any that I see actually eating poop - like my Cherries. I always de-worm newcomers as well. I change bedding as needed, but at least once a season. Hope that was helpful!

What do you use to de-worm them with? And how much do you use? amt/weight

---

very helpful.. thank you everyone. Many mentioned only having one breed together. I was planning on only one tortiose. Do they seem to be social or do they do okay alone?

---

Flagal and Panacure. One torotise is fine, they are not social. I have always been told by many experts and vets that mixing different species of tortoises together is unhealthy. My understanding is that one species are capable of naturally handling one type of parasite/bug/etc. and onother species is not and vise a versa. Therefore by mixing them up causes the parasite/bug/etc. to transfer and from one another causing imune compromise and septic issues, causing serious illness/death, that would never naturally happen from there native environment. Maybe some of our more medical oriented members can put a more clear explanation to this. I just know that most species should not be mixed and that some have higher tolerance levels based on where they originate. I always explaned it to others like this, we get colds from the northerners that come down to florida because their strains we have not built up an immunity too, because that strain is from a different part of the country.

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Great info. Thanks