Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Upon reading lots of posts in the forum, I decided to get a fecal test done on our GTP. It came back saying it has pinworms and motile protozoa. I've heard mixed reviews on this vet so I was wondering if some of you guys could give me your opinion on what I should do. Thanks!

Get the right meds and have at least 2 negative fecals before thinking about getting it near your other snakes. These are pretty common in imported chondros. It doesn't really do them any harm, but it could be to any captives. Don't risk it.

Brandon Osborne

Thanks. That kind of makes me mad because our GTP is supposed to be CBB, not imported. Now i'm wondering if it's even a Jayapura and if the birthdate he gave us is correct. Thanks again.

I have heard of even cbb animals having parasites of one type or another. It can happen....
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4.5~Cornsnakes
1.2.2~Green tree python
1.0~ATB
Dogs, cats, horses....
www.franclycac.com

The vet said that the parasites could have come from the live mice we feed it. It also turns out the motile protozoa was trichomonas. Do any of you guys that feed live ever had these issues? Thanks.

who did you get your snake from?

What was recommended fenbendazole & metronidazole?

Yes

Not only do I usually use metronidazole on all new acquisitions, but I typically treat them with albendazole (gets more kinds of tapeworm species than fenbendazole)...and they do need several clean tests because they don't necessarily always show up if they have them. I raise the vast majority of my own feeder rodents and insects, and I treat them a couple times per year also (albendazole don't seem to hurt my lobster roaches any...not really sure what the dose oughtta be, though). If you get feeders from pet shops or jobbers that supply pet shops then feeder rodents could potentially be contaminated by dust, or droppings from birds, imported reptiles, etc. Some people will take a rodent one snake refuses to eat and put it in to feed something else, or back into the breeder colony---also a bad idea. Some parasites don't cause tremendous problems unless the host is unduly stressed, so multi-generational infestations can occur.

The species of pinworm that effects mice will not have any effect on your snakes. It can only survive in mammals and cannot cause infection in a snake. The pinworm eggs in the mice being fed off will pass through and show up in the fecal matter from your snake when checked under the scope.

If this snake showed Trichomonas sp. it is quite possible that it was a wild caught, or possibly exposed to fecal contamination from a wild caught snake. It is also highly unlikely that the Trichs came from the feeder rodents.

Kelly

Ok, thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it.