Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two bullsnakes that were taken to the vet for deworming and mites. Will the medicine (given orally) slow down their digestion? I fed them the day after their vet visit, it has been a few days since feeding and the lumps do not seem to be getting smaller. I was told that the medince kills the fauna in their guts possibly causing the meals to digest slower than usual. Any comments on that theory?

Thanks in advance,
Miller
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0.1Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.0 Black Milksnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

My vet told me the same thing - he never does preventative deworming for that reason, he only deworms if a fecal float comes up positive - and then he only treats for the specific parasite found. Actually - there is one worm he always treats if any treatment is given because it is often a false negative (I think round worm or something) - but he only treats for it if something else was found. IE one of my kings had two clean fecal floats, no treatment. One had a snake hookworm, he treated for the hookworm and for the other kind of worm.

As far as mites - you don't need a vet to treat them.

Clean the cage, remove water dish, and spray it with "Prevent-a-mite". Let it air for about 15 minutes or so - then put in water dish (which should be new or thoroughly cleaned with a steamer). Spray Reptile Relief on a paper towel and rub the snake down completely but don't get it on his eyes.

I did that with a neonate MBK that had came with mites and a wild caught alligator lizard that was found with both ticks and mites - and it solved the problem.

The prevent-a-mite kills any mites and eggs that may be in the substrate, and the reptile relief kills any mites that are hiding in the reptiles scales.

I now do it as routine on any new aquisition wether I see mites or not.
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3.6 L. getula californiae - 19 eggs (Cal. King)
1.1 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
3.3 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

Thanks for the reply, The fecal examine did show two types of worms but I can't remember right now what the are. As far as the mites I just let him give a treatment since we were already there. I have cleaned and treated the cage for the mites and have an ongoing plan to prevent any spreading to my established animals. I was more curious about the digestion question because I have only had captive bred until the bullsnakes. None of my previous vet visits have ever turned up worms or mites so no treatments were ever needed before now.

Thanks for the reply,
Miller
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0.1Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.0 Black Milksnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

hey miller,,, are these w/c bulls? im assuming so with 2 types of worms. it will not bother them to eat after being medicated. the thing with w/c are nematodes=actual worms and protazoa=bad ameobas often requiring 2types of medication sometimes up to 3treatments usally every 10days to eradicate.usally meds are panacur-worms and flagyl-amoeba be sure they(w/c) are nowhere near your cbb. amoebas can be spread by cage flies landing on poop in one cage and going to a water bowl in another get fecals done after 3months of clean fecals your good to go. i have bull eggs cookin and n.pineXbull crosses cookin as well. the lil northern is comin rite along as well bout 3ft.now anyway congrats on gettin bulls pituophis are fun snakes remember they are much more ravenous than lampropeltis ttys,,,,,thomas

northern pineybull crosses from '06

Hey Thomas I actually collected the bulls myself (sorta hahahha). They pooped last night and man did it stink and the lumps are gone now! Glad to hear the pine is doing well, has she calmed down any? Post some pics so i can see how she looks. I really like her. I will post some pics of the bulls as soon as I can get motivated!

Miller
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0.1Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.0 Black Milksnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)