Hatchlings and Pinworms

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Seiryu

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So past couple of days (like Wednesday til now) Sif hadn't been eating much. She ate some, but not as much as normal.

So then yesterday she pooped and it looked a little more mooshy than usual (usually it's very firm).

I took a sample and I could literally see some of the clear white worms, even without a magnifying glass. These looked just like the pinworms my basilisk had over a year ago (they don't anymore though).

So what are my options? It was a while ago, but I read that Panacure can be very rough on tortoises in general, let alone a hatchling.

She's only 7 months old at 90g. Thor is 18 months old and about 190g. Since they are in the same enclosure, i'll have to treat both.

She ate 2 moistened Mazuri pellets between yesterday and this morning, so that's good. Still active, clear eyes and nose. Soaked her twice today and 3 times yesterday.

Do I take them in then for the Panacure?
 

Tom

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Sorry Rob. I've never had to worm a tort. I've just taken in some fecal samples on a couple of mine. If they come back positive and I have to worm them, I'll post all the details here for you.

Update: I just called the vet after typing the above and both were negative.
 

PeanutbuttER

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I have heard that you can do it yourself, but I don't know if I would feel comfortable enough with getting the dosage just right. It's probably best to talk to the vet first and he/she'll let you know what dosage to use.

You could also always try feeding pumpkin. It has limited deworming effects from what I've read. Someone else could probably give you more insight than this. I've only wormed my torts by having the vet set up the panacur dosage for me.
 

Seiryu

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PeanutbuttER said:
I have heard that you can do it yourself, but I don't know if I would feel comfortable enough with getting the dosage just right. It's probably best to talk to the vet first and he/she'll let you know what dosage to use.

Ya. The sucky part is, my vet has seen both of my tortoises (just for check-ups, even this year) and they said they MUST see the torts to give the dosage. So I can't just call them and ask for a dosage. Don't know of a vet around here that would. They also said they need to run a fecal sample to be sure (even though I know they have them).
 
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Maggie Cummings

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My Vet does something new...she takes the dose and injects it directly into the cloaca. That way the Panacur is not in the digestive tract causing trouble. So far she has done it to 8 hatchlings that I have rehabbed and it worked really well. Also since I have kept track and written the dosage down I can do it myself if I have to. You just do a follow up dose 2 weeks later. Ask your Vet to do that and see what they say. Her way has gotten rid of the worms and the animals haven't gotten sick from the Panacur...I like it and really prefer it to be given that way...
 

tortoisenerd

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I wish my vet would do that, Maggie! Trevor is on Panacur again for his pinworms. They aren't bad thankfully, and he has no symptoms (same as last time). Last time he didn't get too upset by the meds--just a little lethargic after finishing each course. This time he was given 4 courses not 2. Hopefully we kick his little wormy friends out for good this time though. My vet says she frequently sees reappearing infestations yearly for the first 5 years of life or so (he had a re-rest a month after treatment that was clean so we didn't think to check again until his yearly check up).

Rob, I would take the tort for a check up with a fecal sample. Best to have it tested to see if worms are the only parasite you are dealing with. Dosing is not something you want to guess on, as even if you found the dose and weighed your tort, you have to be sure the dosing info you found is for the right concentration (they have different strengths). I believe in yearly check ups for young and new torts anyways. Even if you found a new vet that would allow you to just come in to buy the correct dose, they would likely require the tort be established as a patient there anyways, so there you go paying the check up cost. You don't want to wait to treat them until your tort shows symptoms. The fact that you can see worms with the naked eye means it is already pretty bad of an infestation, which surprises me that you aren't seeing lack of appetite, lethargy, etc. The issue isn't the parasites themselves but more so if the tort gets a cold or infection, the combo of the parasites and the illness is very bad.
 

Seiryu

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tortoisenerd said:
Rob, I would take the tort for a check up with a fecal sample. Best to have it tested to see if worms are the only parasite you are dealing with. Dosing is not something you want to guess on, as even if you found the dose and weighed your tort, you have to be sure the dosing info you found is for the right concentration (they have different strengths). I believe in yearly check ups for young and new torts anyways. Even if you found a new vet that would allow you to just come in to buy the correct dose, they would likely require the tort be established as a patient there anyways, so there you go paying the check up cost. You don't want to wait to treat them until your tort shows symptoms. The fact that you can see worms with the naked eye means it is already pretty bad of an infestation, which surprises me that you aren't seeing lack of appetite, lethargy, etc. The issue isn't the parasites themselves but more so if the tort gets a cold or infection, the combo of the parasites and the illness is very bad.

Yes, they are taken in yearly. And were just tested negative, 3 months ago. (When I got Sif).

She's still eating and the poop is looking a little more firm now. I was able to see 2 worms. Just since Wednesday is when I noticed ANY slowdown.

I don't think seeing them with the naked eye means anything necessarily. It means that when I looked through the sample, I was able to find some. It wasn't like I took the sample and saw a lot of them just squirming around. The 2 I saw looked to be dead as well, no movement.

But as long as people think Panacur is safe I am definitely bringing them in. I will have to ask if they do what Maggie's vet does. They are really experienced and even have tortoises of their own, so I was really happy when I found them. I wouldn't be surprised if they do.
 
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