Posted by:
liquidleaf
at Fri Jul 6 19:49:17 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by liquidleaf ]
Well, the only way I know of to test for worms is to have a vet perform a fecal test.
I have never had to have a snake wormed, I believe the worming medication has to be prescribed by a vet (though I could be wrong - reptile importers must use something and it would probably become annoying to have to get prescriptions for all of that worming medication - I want to say Panacur might be one product). I've wormed my fair share of mammals, though, and unfortunately ALL the worming medications I've used (off the shelf Hartz-type and prescriptions) have said that worming should not be done to animals that are sick.
So, if your snake does have some sickness besides worms, worming it could possibly shock its system enough to do further harm.
Is this an imported snake? Because the only way a captive bred snake could get worms is from ingesting prey that has worms, such as if you catch wild mice/rats/frogs/etc, or from being in a dirty cage where another worm-infested snake has been housed (coming in contact with or ingesting little bits of the feces of another infected animal). People ask me if I feed field mice that my cats occasionally catch in my house to my snakes, and the answer is always no because I don't know what's in that mouse's guts.
Worms don't run rampant through collections like mites do, if you have decent sanitation.
I'm sure someone else will answer to what worming meds are commonly used with infested snakes, but worming isn't like "vitamin C" - you shouldn't do it unless your snake has them. Some people routinely worm dogs, cats, horses and other livestock as a preventative measure, but that's because these animals can and do ingest various things outdoors that have worms on/in them.
Does the urine and/or urates smell especially bad or strange? Seriously, no one can tell you what to do, I'm sure others will say to have a fecal test done as well, but caged snakes don't just "catch" worms out of nowhere. They might even come from live pet-store mice if the hygiene is questionable there or from the mice breeders source, which is why it's generally safer to use frozen/thawed, since freezing kills a lot of parasites.
So - could be worms, could be nothing but pee, could be something else. Doesn't sound like anything to me though.
Just my (fifty) two cents.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.0 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa (RIP DeeDee), 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 0.1 Green Tree Python
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RE: Worms maybe? - liquidleaf, Fri Jul 6 19:49:17 2007