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What is the best way to treat a tortoise's internal parasites on a really tight budget? Vet appointments are basically out of the question.

Well, with vet appointments out of the question, I wouldn't attempt to worm it. You need a fecal(s) to tell you what your trying to erradicate. Shotgunning with panacur and flagyl may do more harm than good in some situations. Perfect husbandry should be more than enough to prevent/go through a parasitic infestation. They will usually cycle themselves out if kept long enough in captivity with even sub-par husbandry.

I agree that with the proper husbandry, parasites are basically a natural part of keeping most reptiles. Just make sure the tortoise is well hydrated. Soaking him regularly and giving him a substrate that holds moisture (like dirt or cypress mulch... make sure you keep these substrate choices just moist enough so as not to be dusty) should keep him well hydrated. I actually don't soak my torts because they bury themselves in their dirt, and that helps them maintain high moisture levels, but if you're new to it, soaking once every week or two can't hurt. Temperatures are also very important. Make sure the basking spot gets pretty hot, or else the tort will only be running inefficiently and will be unable to fight the parasitic infection.

The part I disagree with is not using preventative measures with a new animal, especially a wild caught animal. I don't recommend blindly medicating anything, and medicating an animal is usually best avoided whenever possible, but for the safety of my colony of russians I treated everyone with basically a half dose of panacur on an every other week schedule until I noted improvements in feces and activity (took only 3 treatments for everyone to show noticable improvements). That's just part of my quarantine procedure.

But, like I said, medicating reptiles should be the last effort on your list. Usually problems can be treated by simply improving husbandry. For example, there are a lot of commonly kept reptiles (bearded dragons and green iguanas, specifically) that tend to get kidney and/or liver disease and die prematurely. A lot of people blame this on a diet too high in protein, but this is not entirely true. Dehydration is the primary cause of renal disease/failure, and dehydration is what tends to cause most other problems in captive herps (especially impaction). Just look at the way most iguanas are kept. They don't have the 70-90% ambient humidity they should have. Not even close. Dragons are worse. Most are kept in ultra-dry environments, when they come from areas that offer microclimates that they use often (like areas that offer higher humidity). Don't underestimate the affects of stress on captive reptiles too.

Hope you can get something from this.

The thing is, is that your "Half Dose" probably did nothing for your Russians. For Panacur to be effective, it has to be given in the proper dosage. Anything more could do possible damage, anything less won't kill anything; which brings me back to my original point. Dosage/treatment is also dependent on what type of parasite your trying to kill. Different parasites = different life cycles, which you'll only know with a fecal or cloacal wash. Once you have identified your parasite and figured out what life stage it's in, you can do your reasearch and stratgically de-worm and avoid the whole mess of having to repeat the typical Panacur/Flagyl shotgunning fiasco. Technically you don't have to go to the vet to do this. All you need is a microscope, a good Parasite ID book, and some experience with calculating proper dosages. It's weird, but I sometimes find the parasites they carry more fascinating than the animal itself; Coming from a Biology backround doesn't help.

Half doses worked just fine. It may have had something to do with my husbandry, but they dropped worms, and it didn't affect their gut flora too much (one of the reasons we went with half doses). They are incredibly healthy now, and I'm happy with the outcome. I would never have put them together without treating them and quarantining them.

I did the research, and I even consulted the proper literature. I had a friend of mine help me with the entire thing. He has worked with some incredibly rare tortoises. Most notably tent tortoises and speckled padlopers. I trust his techniques.

The thing about treating reptiles is that it's all guess work. The bottom line is that the treatment worked. Maybe if your husbandry is poor, they may need more panacur, but I'd rather use less and possibly have to do more treatments than use more and disrupt the gut flora of an herbivore.

Of course, if you're not quarantining a wild caught reptile, parasite treatments are not really necessary. Quarantining them for an extended period of time usually is.

Hello Ryan. I lived in northwestern CT for 30 years and have many herp contacts up that way. I think we may both know the fellow who had the tent tortoises and padlopers. Without using any names, I was just curious if he lives in E. Amherst, NY?? There aren't that many people who have had tent tortoises or padlopers. Thanks.

Bill Zovickian

I don't know if he used to live there. Now, he lives in webster new york. Send me an email if you think you may know him.

it can sometimes help with internal parasites.