Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I took Moxie in for his vet check today. Everything was fine, except the vet found a hookworm when he did the fecal check. So Moxie's on 2 courses of Panacur, and then I do another fecal in 6 weeks. The vet told me to keep the poops picked up, which of course is easy to do inside, but nearly impossible outside (very small droppings!). How likely is it that he will reinfest himself from droppings in his outside pen? Most of the time he seems to poop during his soak. How often should I have the vet do fecal checks?

BTW, how much do you guys pay for vet checks, fecals, etc. I paid $41.50 for the check, $22.50 for the fecal, and $16.00 for 2 courses of Panacur. But then, in California, everytime we turn around...well, you know...

Thanks for the advice,
-----
Jeannie

0.0.1 California King Snake (Rex)
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa (Lucas)
0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa (Bella)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Bess)
1.1 Rubber Boas (Isaiah & Esther)
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise (Moxie)
2.0 DSH Cats (Amos & Silas)
1.0 English Springer Spaniel (Jimmy)
and...
2.0 Kids
1.0 Husband

Pooping in the water is a good way to reinfest himself, as the
larvae that hatch from the eggs can penetrate skin in addition to
getting in if he drinks some of it. You've got to keep everything
super clean, hookworms can build up fast and he can reinfest himself
with them.
I pay $12 for Teddy's fecal exams twice a year, and once 4 years
ago almost, I paid $6 for the panacur when he was a baby. He had
pinworms.
I'd keep mine on paper towel substrate right now and change it
asap if he poops. Feed him seperately and remove the food right
away. I would skip the soaking/pooping ritual (whenever I say
how yuck this is to even start, people criticize me about it that
it's fine - a 50 pound tortoise in a tub of water and crap doesn't
seem fine to me, and I never started him into this habit) (for those
who don't think tortoises can learn habits, yours must be stupid
or you must be ignoring them).

Panacur should work fine, just try keeping him as clean as possible,
I'd strongly suggest you get a box of rubber gloves and use them
for now.

I've always used disposable plastic spoons and cups and plastic
bags to clean up, never a shovel or something that might harbor
something.

I noticed dogs/cats/other reptiles on your list, hookworms is
easy to spread (or catch) from these. Could the cats be getting
into his outdoor pen? Be careful not to spread anything to your
snakes, just use rubber gloves. When I was keeping copperhead
snakes I did this very dilegently as they were wild caught and
all were infested with something or another.

np
-----
Jeannie

0.0.1 California King Snake (Rex)
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa (Lucas)
0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa (Bella)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Bess)
1.1 Rubber Boas (Isaiah & Esther)
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise (Moxie)
2.0 DSH Cats (Amos & Silas)
1.0 English Springer Spaniel (Jimmy)
and...
2.0 Kids
1.0 Husband

The cats are indoors only, and the dog has no access to the outdoor pen, but I will be careful with the snakes.
-----
Jeannie

0.0.1 California King Snake (Rex)
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa (Lucas)
0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa (Bella)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Bess)
1.1 Rubber Boas (Isaiah & Esther)
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise (Moxie)
2.0 DSH Cats (Amos & Silas)
1.0 English Springer Spaniel (Jimmy)
and...
2.0 Kids
1.0 Husband

He is on paper towels now, and I'm changing them everyday, as well as bleaching his water, food, & soaking dishes daily. Can he get reinfested from pooping in the water if I change the water right away (I'm right there watching while he soaks). Can you explain what you mean by not getting into the soaking/pooping ritual? He usually poops in the morning, so should I soak him in the afternoon?

I'm pretty finicky with my herps. Most of the snakes are on paper towels, and they usually get changed right away if they poop, plus I do regular disinfection.

Thanks for your help,
-----
Jeannie

0.0.1 California King Snake (Rex)
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa (Lucas)
0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa (Bella)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Bess)
1.1 Rubber Boas (Isaiah & Esther)
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise (Moxie)
2.0 DSH Cats (Amos & Silas)
1.0 English Springer Spaniel (Jimmy)
and...
2.0 Kids
1.0 Husband

there's not much more I can tell you than I've got in my
book "Understanding Reptile Parasites". Basically it just
says they're very common in reptiles and you have to change
the bedding frequently and they can reinfest from food/water.
I'd just rinse him off after soaking so nothing is on him,
that's probably enough.
It also recommends that a repeat fecal be checked at least
twice. That means after the vet says he's clear, wait a few
weeks and check it again anyways.

You sound way more finicky than me, I don't mess with bleach
because I'm very sensitive to it - I can manage the powder stuff
like Ajax for cleaning bathrooms but I won't even buy the liquid
bleach myself, my husband does and uses it for his work clothes.
I use wet swiffer sweepers for Teddy's house when I take all the
substrate out. I just use dishwashing liquid for his bowl,
but I feed him mazuri on paper plates or just put the greens in the grass.
I do clean it up right away the leftovers.

As far as the pooping in the water ritual, that's probably fine
for your type of tortoise and I know a lot of people aren't bothered
by it, I just think it's possibly too difficult for large tort species
to get into a habit of doing because when they're bigger it's difficult
to impossible to continue this if they are inside, and outside it
will still be a large mess. I know Teddy's been outside and gotten
into his large soaking tub (last year, he's too big for any of those
now) and if he pooped in it, it was a mess getting rid of a large
tub of poop-laden water, it's not like you can just dump it in
the grass or that you'd want to. OK well I did drag it over and
dump it into my neighbors yard - prior to their house being built!
Now there's no place to get rid of it, because all the construction
around me is finished and I'm must glad not to have to deal with
it. I give him water to drink and hose him a lot plus he has
some mud/dust areas to mess around it.

np

Lol! I can see your point, dealing with a large tort definitely takes some creative thinking! I am not generally that persnickety, just with my herps. I only use vinegar and Dr. Bronner's soap to clean my house, and my motto with my kids is "Dirt keeps you healthy" (must work, they're never sick). I'm not really keen on disinfectants per se, but since the herps are in such confined quarters, I can see the need to try to keep contaminants down as much as possible.

BTW, the Panacur dosage I was given was 1.5 cc/day for 3 days, wait 3 weeks and repeat. Does this sound right? Moxie is 54.3 g.

Thanks again,
-----
Jeannie

0.0.1 California King Snake (Rex)
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa (Lucas)
0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa (Bella)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Bess)
1.1 Rubber Boas (Isaiah & Esther)
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise (Moxie)
2.0 DSH Cats (Amos & Silas)
1.0 English Springer Spaniel (Jimmy)
and...
2.0 Kids
1.0 Husband

np
-----
Jeannie

0.0.1 California King Snake (Rex)
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa (Lucas)
0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa (Bella)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Bess)
1.1 Rubber Boas (Isaiah & Esther)
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise (Moxie)
2.0 DSH Cats (Amos & Silas)
1.0 English Springer Spaniel (Jimmy)
and...
2.0 Kids
1.0 Husband

"for those who don't think tortoises can learn habits, yours must be stupid or you must be ignoring them"

No tortoise can even dream of being as smart as teddy and no one can give attention to a tortoise as good as you. You and Teddy are the best.

It blows me away the topics that generate the most responses...
Anyway, it is really catching my attention how much Hookworm comes up. Not only on the lists but in my personal group. I can't help but wonder...
Another anyway, those charges are pretty much in line nation wide unless you have a vet in your pocket (which I wish I did).
Ed

If you happen to live in a colder climate where the ground freezes for a couple of days, your pen will naturally rid itself of kookworms. They do not survive freezing. Worm your tortoise during the winter months, and you will eventually get rid of them.

np
-----
Jeannie

0.0.1 California King Snake (Rex)
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa (Lucas)
0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa (Bella)
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake (Bess)
1.1 Rubber Boas (Isaiah & Esther)
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise (Moxie)
2.0 DSH Cats (Amos & Silas)
1.0 English Springer Spaniel (Jimmy)
and...
2.0 Kids
1.0 Husband

The ground should freeze down a couple of inches, and that is enough to kill eggs and young.