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In all of the confusion of dosing the panacur, I failed to asked what caused the hookworms in the first place. Is it one of situations in which it was always there, but took off due to stress, etc.? I know he was stressed moving from his smaller tank to the larger one. I also switched him from sand to shelf liner. I did have trouble getting the basking temps just right, but I don't think it was off enough to do this. Please let me know.

>>In all of the confusion of dosing the panacur, I failed to asked what caused the hookworms in the first place. Is it one of situations in which it was always there, but took off due to stress, etc.? I know he was stressed moving from his smaller tank to the larger one. I also switched him from sand to shelf liner. I did have trouble getting the basking temps just right, but I don't think it was off enough to do this. Please let me know.

Hookworms are a parasite. The animal has to have contracted them from an outside source. Stress does not suddenly cause them to 'be there'. Most likely chances are he ate something in his food that was contaminated with the eggs (of course some pet dogs/cats can be infectious and owners don't know it). Many insects and rodents are carriers for various parasites, but you can also have veggies infected (maybe they weren't washed well enough to get all the dirt off or something). This is why reptile owners should have fecal checks done on their animals at least once a year, preferably twice a year even when they don't use wild caught feeder foods.
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PHWyvern

Hookworms, or Ancylostoma, sp. can indeed hide in an animal and come out in times of stress. This is due to the mechanism called "visceral larval migrans".

Larval migrans occurs when the larvae of a parasite migrate through the tissues of the host, sometimes even hiding in organs or tissues for a long time in a "spore" or "cyst" form.

Then when the host has a weakened immune system due to stress or other disease, the larvae "wake up" and travel to the gut, where they begin to complete their life cycle.

In addition, if you ever allowed your Dragon to sun himself outdoors, and he had contact with the grass or soil, he could contract hookworms. And yet another way for hookworms to infest a host is through un-washed lettuce or other greens, that contained soil that was infested with eggs.

Here are some informative websites about hookworms and larval migrans:

http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/larva_migrans.pdf
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec17/ch196/ch196g.html

And I saved the best for last... here are two quotes:

"Not all the worms that begin this treacherous migration complete it. As they emerge from one tissue to move on to the next, some fall into a state of arrest where they go dormant and encyst. These larvae remain inactive but periodically some will emerge and complete their migration."

and...

"The larva can infect its new host in several ways. One way is to penetrate the host’s skin directly through the feet or belly or whatever part of the skin is touching the ground. Another way for the larva to gain entry to the new host is to be present in soil that is licked and swallowed by the host as it cleans itself."

For this reason, the wise herp keeper will "autoclave" all sand and soil substrates before use. A half hour in a 350 degree (F) oven, in a ceramic tray or dish, will suffice.

This excellent web page is at:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_hookworms.html

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KITKAT

0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
1.0 African House Snake
0.1 Albino Corn Snake
1.0 Red Sided Garter Snake
0.1 Peromyscus leucopus (White-footed mouse)
2.5 Turkish Angora (show) cats

Antioch Turkish Angoras
PuRRS Rescue

Thanks to both of you for the response. I did get a 2nd opinion from a vet that was at the reptile expo today. He agreed with all of you that the panacur dosing was wrong and could cause more problems. He wants me to get a copy of the vet records, bring Napolean in and he will get his weight and dose him properly. I am so thankful that all of you jumped in to say it was wrong and to get a 2nd opinion!!! Also...a new additon to our family...my son bought a corn snake (snow with cool markings). His name is Pedro. Do you get the Napolean Dynamite theme we have going here?!! Thanks again.

Napoleon Dynamite Rocks!

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KITKAT

0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
1.0 African House Snake
0.1 Albino Corn Snake
1.0 Red Sided Garter Snake
0.1 Peromyscus leucopus (White-footed mouse)
2.5 Turkish Angora (show) cats

Antioch Turkish Angoras
PuRRS Rescue