Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've a Spilotes pullatus which continues to eliminate rhabditiform eggs
(larvated) with the feaces.
It's probably lung worms Rhabdias, because there are only eggs (not larve !)
and because I've already given to the animals many dosis of oral anthielminthics
(Albendazole at first, and then Fenbendazole-Panacur at the high dosage of 100 mg/kg)
and the eggs are always there.
One other specimen had Strongyloides (eggs and larve) and after 2-3 doses of Panacur is
free of worms.
Is Panacur REALLY effective against Rhabdias too ?
How many times should I give it to the animal ?
(I've already given Panacur 3 times)
And, very important, are Spilotes pullatus sensitive to ivermectin
like Drymarchon or they can tolerate the drug ?

And then I have two Spilotes pullatus with coccidia (one animal has Eimeria,
the other has Caryospora).
Do you have experience with the product Baycox- Toltrazuril ?
In Italy there is a new formulation of toltrazuril: 5% Baycox for swine.
It can be given directly with stomach tube at a dosage of 25 mg/kg.
Have you experience with toltrazuril, or do you know other effective drugs
against coccidia ?
I've already tried with clazuril and sulfa drugs, and only once with toltrazuril.

Thanks !

Ruggero

This info is from Dr. Klingenberg's "Understanding Reptile Parasites (I have no personal experience dealing with Rhabdias.)

"The recommended treatment is Panacur at 50-100mg/kg orally or
Ivermectin at 0.2mg/kg orally. Panacur is given weekly and Ivermectin every two weeks for atleast 2-3 treatments. As with other direct life cycle parasites, strict cleaning, removal of fecal matter and good hygiene is required"

...so maybe your Panacur treatments have been too far apart to be effective? I'm really not sure how sensitive spilotes are to ivermectin. I emailed a friend of mine who recently treated a rhino viper with rhabdias lung worms. I'll let you know what treatment she used when I hear from her.

Chris

Thanks: I've got that book, but i'm not really sure about the efficacy of fenbendazol against Rhabdias.
And in that book there are, in my opinion, other little errors:
Kalicephalus is not a Hookworm, but a Strongylid. This is certain.
And the picture of the "hookworm eggs" that you see on the book at pag. 53, is a picture of larvated "rhabdithiform" eggs, identical to the eggs of the other picture at page 57.
Hookworm eggs look different, are thick-shelled and normally not larvated!

Ruggero
P.S. Sorry for the author of the book, but this is my opinion (I'm an italian physician)

If you've already given Panacur at 100mg/kg, that should have killed most nematodes in the GI tract. Panacur does not, by any means, kill all nematodes, though. Since Rhabdiform nematodes spend much of their life cycle in the lungs, Panacur may not have any effect on them at all. I would try dosing IM or SC Ivermectin at 0.1 mg/kg for the first dose to test host tolerance to the drug and to begin to slowly kill the worms, watch for 24 hours for symptoms of drug reaction, then after 4 or 5 days begin dosing at 0.2mg/kg for at least 2 doses at 14 day intervals to give the snake tiome to eliminate the dead worms.

I also use dosing of Panacur in the higher range (75 to 100 mg/kg)for parasites of the GI tract, keeping in mind that Panacur at 100mg/kg has been know to cause irreversible aplastic anemia in reptiles. I think for GI parasites a quick cure is better than a long course of drugs. I never "shotgun" with Panacur.

One thing to keep in mind here is that by trying for a quick cure with lungworms could be very detrimental to the snake. Dead parasites in the digestive tract can be eliminated quickly by the snake in the feces. Not so with worms that die in the lungs. The snake cannot eliminate them quickly and they can begin to decay in the lungs, which can lead to fatal complications.

I am not a veterinarian, and not trying to play veterinarian. This is simply my experience from treating my own reptiles for a lot of years. You may want to verify all this with a qualified herp vet before you do it. It has worked well for me, but your mileage may vary.