Low Worm Count

Turbostar

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Hi guys,

Had my Star for nearly 6 months now (He is 3 years old). Decided to have my vet send a fecal sample off to the lab as he had lost a bit of weight. Results showed a low count of Oxyuridova and Balantidium.

Would you advise worming at this stage or just to leave it as the count is low and could be beneficial to him. Not sure what to do. He has gained a bit of weight over the past few weeks.

He is eating, pooping and doing everything else normal!

Live in UK, so not many vets specialising in reptiles. My own vet admitted to never coming across this before.

Ps love the website :)
 

kimber_lee_314

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I guess you could go either way. As long as he's acting normally and gaining weight he's probably fine. (Just keep a careful eye on him.) On the other hand, de-worming is an easy process and I've never had any negative issues relating to any tortoise that has been de-wormed. Personally, if he were mine I would de-worm him just to be safe, but as mentioned, I think you could go either way and be okay. Hope that was somewhat helpful for you.
 

ascott

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All of us animals have a variety of critters roaming about, doing their thing while we are doing our thing....the question would be from me---what did the vet suggest? I mean, all animals need a variety of the critters to do their jobs to make sure our guts work right---so are the numbers so low that it is not worth jeopardizing the good critters in order to rid of the few less desirables???? I mean, if the tort is strong and healthy and robust then likely his system is able to keep the balance right....
 

kezilulu

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I'm in the U.K too and when I got Sheldon's poop checked they said he had a higher amount than they'd like to see (they said a few are normal). If it's only a low amount then it might not be worth putting your torty through the medicine?
xXx
 

Turbostar

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Thanks for the replies.

My vet left it up to me because they didn't know themselves. They even contacted a veterinary college and they couldn't give a definite answer.

I think I will see how he goes over the next couple of weeks, if he starts losing weight again then I will go ahead with the wormer. I know that Panacur is a safe one to use.

Guess that we need herpetologists over here to qualify as vets. There seems to be a niche in the market if anyone's interested.

Thanks again. x
 
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