Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Erowen (and Smo'ore the ball python) have worms, and need Pancure, but not Flagyl
Erowen weighs 76gm, and he said she had good colony (not a term I recognise, may be refering to husbandry, or the parasites)
He said the snake had pinworms and tapeworms, and that Erowen had 'worms' nothing specific in the chart.
Does this sound right? and should I push for the Flagyl?
will she be reinfected by the dirt in her viavarium?
man I M more upset than I thought I was
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

Well, that is probably why she is bloated and can also explain the lack of appetite! Darn, you had her treated and she was doing so well.

I understand you being upset. I hate to think of you having to replace the soil in your huge viv but there is the possibility of her becoming re-infected. I don't have my parasite book with me but do recall that one of the meds is for worms and the other is for protozoan type parasites. If she only has one then she only needs to be treated for that and therefor would only need one medication. There's really no need to stress her further with medications that she doesn't need.

What I would do is strip the soil from her viv and do a thorough cleaning. I know this is a real pain but would insure that she won't be re-infected. Keep her in a smaller home temporarily so that you can easily clean up the feces daily. Make sure you change the water daily as well. When I am doing this type of treatment I go for paper towels and a large fish tank with synthetic plants and branches so that they can also be sterilized. When she gets a clean bill of health from your vet then you can move her back to the large enclosure.

If you don't want to start with new substrate you can bake it to sterilize it and kill any parasites. This would, of course, kill off any red wigglers and anything else you have put in the soil. It also can be a bit smelly. I don't recall the temps and time but you could probably find that info on the Herp Health Discussion forum or the Cage & Habitat Design forum.

Anyway, as upsetting as it is, at least you know what is wrong now and can do something about it. If it had not been detected you could have lost her and that would be WAY more upsetting!

So, hang in there. I’m sure she’ll be just fine under your great care. If you go through this and she becomes infected again I would turn my suspicions to the feeders she is eating. Some nightcrawlers are fed on horse manure and that can be a source of worms.

Good luck,

Marcia
www.froggieb.com

Take out all the plants, and get new ones?
or wash them and treat them somehow?
cooling substrate, that should be fun (NOT) but now I can put in a better araingment for drainage (small sheet of water filter stuff between rocks and dirt, save a lot of worms lives *just to KILL them later*)
oh MAN, I had things to do this weekend
the little one will have fun with me doing this
Could the kids or I be infected with these nasy beasties? (as I recall they can come from the mammals, so they can go TO mammals)
even if we have good handwashing, it might not be perfect
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

I would take the plants out and replace them for now. But, I wouldn't just toss them. You could repot them, rinsing the roots as well as you can, and then you will have frest plants to swap out when you do another change on the viv.

As is true with any pet you can be infected with the parasites your pet carries. A child who plays in the dirt and then eats finger food without washing is far more likely of contrating worms than you are from handling your reptile. Just make sure you and your children wash after your pet chores. If you have children that are small enough for you to have to worry about them putting their fingers or other things in their mouths then you may want to have them help by bringing you the already clean stuff for the sterile treatment tank. Let them do the setup, filling water, etc while you and older children tend to the emptying and cleaning of the large tank and moving the dragon.

I know what you mean about having things to do. I only have one day a week off and work 10 am to 8 pm the other 6. I squeeze my reptile feeding and cleaning into 1-2 hours of daily chores and do the major things on my one day off. Doesn't leave much time for anything else

Marcia

I M so busy right now I do not even go out anymore
People ask why I do not date, I do not have TIME to date (been single for a year and a half) and when I have time to go do something I tend to want to do it with the kids (herp Show, visiting my X in MD, going to the zoo)
Ya no whad I meen?
Actually I may just have us al checked out as soon as the critters are cleared up, so we do not cause any problems down the road (I need to look up my old Parasit books)
I feel so BAD for her though, and I M not sure how I will get all the meds in her, if they are PO, should I put them in a worm, or just shot them down her throat, and maybe lose some?
I do know I should put the Snakes under the skin of a dead rat pink
Should I put it in a nightcrawler?
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

I wouldn't put it in the crawler. I have tried it and had horrible results I use the needle to draw the med into the syringe and then pull out the syringe and drop it into their mouth. If you poke at the corners of the mouth or tap lightly on the tip of the nose they will sometimes open up and once you drop it in they generally swallow. If that doesn't work gently pull down on the dewlap until she opens up.

I know what you mean about the time thing. I have never had much in the way of spare time. I only raised 2 children but always had a large garden and baked a lot. When my kids were older my husband left and I was busy with my youngest who was just finishing high school. From there I got involved in dancing and remodeling my house. It was 5 years before I had time for a relationship and am still busy

I now have an antique shop that I run by myself and I am still working with my reptiles. I will be going to Ft Collins CO this weekend, when I get back my folks are coming up for a visit and when they leave it will be time for me to go to Omaha for the symposium. I just want to stop and take a few deep breaths! Like maybe for a year! LOL!!!

Beats sitting around wondering what to do though!

Marcia