baby tortoises to the vet?

[teq1]

So about 2 weeks ago or so I took both my older egyptians (1 1/2 to 2 years old) to the vet. When they were soaking, I noticed little white worms in their poo. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a sample to take to the vet. But since these were older torts, my vet gave me a dewormer for both of them. I have 2 baby egyptians and today when I soaked them, one of them had the same worms :0

So.....well since I found out the 2 older ones had them, I separated them. I put the two older ones together since I was treating them. And I put the two babies in a separate area. So now here's the deal. Might the older torts passed these on to the babies since previously they were all housed together? I didn't see a total overload in the babie's poo, but I could clearly see the worms moving around slowly. I was thinking about taking both babies to the vet with the poo samples I saved so my vet can do a fecal test.

The thing is, they are all acting normally. From the point when I got them until now, they are acting exactly the same. I just rather go to a vet and get peace of mind and have them do the fecal test to see what kind of worms they are, and if it is necessary to deworm them. They're only about 4 months old! What do do?! I've been keeping their area as clean as possible and tomorrow I'm expecting to receive a ton of shredded aspen in the mail and I am going to completely clean the entire enclosure once again.

Any suggestions as to why this happens? I try to care for them as best I know and I just want the best for them. I know parasites are normal, but I'm guessing the vet will tell me how much is too much? Is it normal to see worms in the poo and the tort still be okay? How and where do I store the poo I collect?

Sorry for all the questions lol I just want to get as much info as I can. I'm a worried tort owner! I have anxiety as it is and I'm always worrying especially with things like this! :shy:

 

[Scooter]

Store the poo in the frig till you go to the vet. Pumpkin seeds act as a natural dewormer. Though you have to crush the seeds up, a blender or food processor would be the best bet for crushing them. They could have gotten them from the older ones and it can't hurt to have them check. Good luck!

 

[teq1]

Store the poo in the frig till you go to the vet. Pumpkin seeds act as a natural dewormer. Though you have to crush the seeds up, a blender or food processor would be the best bet for crushing them. They could have gotten them from the older ones and it can't hurt to have them check. Good luck!

I didn't know about the pumpkin seeds, thanks! We learn something new everyday

How often can pumpkin seeds be given? I'm sure since egyptians don't eat much fruit, sparingly would work. Does anyone know maybe an estimate of how many times I should give crushed seeds to them? And I have an awesome blender that crushes just about anything which definitely comes in handy when chopping their greens and now the pumpkin seeds

I have another question. After a dewormer is given, how long is it until I see no worms in the poo? Or will there always be worms...? This thursday I'm giving the second dose to my older egyptians and the one that pood today still had some worms in there. So I was just curious.

 

[teq1]

Would it be best to maybe leave them all on newspaper to keep them as clean as possible? Or should I just keep them on their substrate? I'm using shredded aspen. I try to get their poo out of there as soon as I see it, but I'm scared what if worms somehow crawl out and get in the aspen, so...the torts just walk right on and it's just a big cycle. Which would be best?

 

[Jacqui]

I would have them on paper towels or something I can change out easily/quickly/often, until all of them have been wormed and gotten a clean bill of health. I would clean and disinfect everything in their current cage also both now and once the course of treatment is over.

Your correct to think that one tortoise could have given them to another one and that there may be more eggs within the environment to reinfest them.

Now pumpkin does have some ability to help with worms, but how much is questionable. It is most effective as a possible prevention help, NOT to actually eliminate worms once they have a serious load of them (which yours appear to be heading towards).

Pumpkin is also something which is good with early stages of renal failure and to flush the tortoise system before hibernation as it has diuretic value, too. Which also means too much can cause loose stools.

 

[teq1]

Thanks Jacqui!

So I headed over to Petsmart, and I found this disinfectant spray to use for their enclosure. It's by Zoo Med and it's called Wipe Out 1 I think. I'll try to see if I can find a bigger bottle online, or maybe even another type of disinfectant. Any suggestions to any disinfectants that are safe to use in tort enclosures?

Also, the vet wasn't in today so I'm actually taking them early tomorrow. So....we'll see how that goes. I'll disinfect their table tonight so it has time to ventilate and stuff, and tomorrow I'll set it up on paper towels or something after we come back from the vet. This way, they start out with everything super clean.

 

[Jacqui]

I guess I tend to be old fashioned on this, I just use the diluted clorox bleach and then rinse very very well. Then I rinse again.

 

[Scooter]

I'm with Jacqui on the diluted bleach and lots of rinsing. Let us know what the vet says.

 

[teq1]

I was thinking of using bleach...the only thing I was worried about was that...I don't know how it would affect the wood. Their enclosure is just wood, and I don't know if the bleach will linger on there and cause the torts harm. Plus, I'm doing this over night so it can dry, so that by tomorrow it's clean for them when I bring them back from the vets. And it's in my room....so yeah lol talk about getting poisoned lol.

I guess I'll try the disinfectant I bought for now, because it's an emergency. But I will definitely do bleach when I have more time. This table is huge and heavy and the legs need to be unscrewed in order for it to MAYBE fit through my door lol. I'll need to disinfect it early in the morning, open the windows, and shut the door for the entire day

Thanks guys for the suggestions and help

I will definitely post tomorrow after I get back from the vets. The worms I saw in the little one looked the same as the ones I saw in the older one's poo. Soo..maybe panacur will work for the baby too? I actually bought the tnt from carolinapetsupply.com. I got it without probiotics. Do you guys recommend I get it WITH probiotics for them, since they're digestive systems are going to get somewhat damaged with the dewormer?

 

[Madkins007]

I personally would seal the wood, at least with some primer and paint or several layers of a good poly sealant or something. Raw wood holds nasty pathogens, molds, fungi, etc. and is tough to disinfect well.

 

[teq1]

So thankfully, one of the babies took a poo 5 min before getting to the vet. So they were able to get a fecal. And the results..........hookworms

She gave me a small bottle of panacur for them, but their dose is only a drop cuz they're so small

I'm having trouble making them eat it, but they eventually have to eat

I am keeping them as clean as I possibly can. I had a bunch of rolls of christmas paper lying around and I created layers and layers of sheets that I could easily switch out after the top one gets dirty. I really hope this does the trick. Do you guys recommend me using probiotics for them? Maybe the TNT from carolinapetsupply.com with probiotics?