Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all! I have a wonderful companion, my Sulcata tortoise Elvis. I have had Elvis for almost a year now, since he was very small. I took him to the vet once for a checkup when I first adopted him, but they never wormed him or anything like that. During the days he stays outside in his pen grazing on the grass and weeds, but the other day I found him eating something weird looking, and I guess a cat must have got in his pen and uh, defecated, and there was Elvis, eating it. He seems totally healthy and fine and that was about a week ago now, but I was just wondering if I should maybe have him wormed? Do you have to take him to the vet for that, or can you do it yourself, and if so, what kind of product can you buy for that? Thanks for any responses!

-Lauren & Elvis

I wouldn't ever recommend worming your tortoise (or gecko, beardie, boa, or anything) unless you've had a fecal examination done by someone who knows what to look for. For most people that means going to the vet. You might call your vet an see if he/she will allow you to drop of a poop sample for inspection that way you don't have to pay for a full examination.

On the other hand, some of the worms that cause troubles in reptiles aren't always the same ones that are carried by mammals. For instance, people can get pin worms, but they can't get the same kind of pin worms that your sulcatta can carry. What I'm getting at is that your tortoise eating cat poop probably won't cause any problems right now, and even if it does, it will take the worms a while to manifest and multiply, so if you take him to the vet right now the vet probably won't find enough of anything to require worming. As long as he keeps eating, the consistancy of his poop doesn't change, and a fecal exam is part of his regular vet check-up, your tort should be fine.

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Awww.. he's cute.

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