Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I went to a new vet today with a stool sample from Aisha and Hef because I suspected at least Aisha of having worms. The vet told me that they didn't need the geckos’ weight. I was told to give them .10cc each daily of Panacur for three days. All he asked was what type of lizards they are, how old they are, and if they are normal size. Hef had worms when I got him and my old vet said to give them one dose of Panacur that day and one in two weeks and weighed them before measuring their doses. Which one should I believe? I don't want to overdose them.

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Leopard Geckos (1.1.0)
Hef.Aisha
Crested Geckos (1.4.0)
Raymond.Toadie,Griffon,Dag,Nora
Gold Dust Day Gecko (1.0.0)
Midis
Green Anole (1.0.0)
Cham
Brown Anole (0.1.0)(A hitchhiker)
Fern

First, let me say that I am NOT a vet, but what you were told doesn't sound very typical. Based on Dr. Roger Klingnberg's book "Understanding Reptile Parasites" (as well as personal experience,) Panacur has a relatively large margin of safety, but the "usual" dose is 25-50mg per kg of body weight given weekly for 2-3 weeks or until there are no more parasites/larvae/oocysts observed. The main reason for spreading out the treatments is to make sure that ALL of the newly hatched eggs are killed over a period of time.

BTW, what a beautiful and healthy gecko you have!
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Marcia McGuiness
Golden Gate Geckos
www.goldengategeckos.com

Thank you for the compliment on Aisha. What the vet said just didn't sound right. My old vet said the same thing about waiting two weeks. I wish I hadn't moved finding a good vet is hard. My lizards are worth far more than just their price tag.
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Leopard Geckos (1.1.0)
Hef.Aisha
Crested Geckos (1.4.0)
Raymond.Toadie,Griffon,Dag,Nora
Gold Dust Day Gecko (1.0.0)
Midis
Green Anole (1.0.0)
Cham
Brown Anole (0.1.0)(A hitchhiker)
Fern

I have had the same problem with finding a new vet. None of my animals need one right now but I am in the process of interviewing, yes I said Interviewing, a new vet. So far, what I have done is found all the vets in my local area that deal in "exotics". I call them and tell them that I recently moved to Atlanta and I am looking for a good reptile vet. However, I have found that many vets say they do reptiles but really have no clue, would their vet have time to talk with me briefly at some point, so that I could ask him a few questions. Most of the vets are pretty willing to talk with a prospective client. I ask simple questions like :if I brought in a gecko with pinworms, how would you treat it? or If I brought in a green tree python with an Upper respiratory, what kind of medication would you reccommend? Usually that answer is followed up by Is there anything other than baytril you use? or How do you prefer to administer the baytril? Another really good question is how would you worm a turtle or tortoise? If they say ivermectin....I run.

It's ok to go interview vets before you need one, that way in an emergency you don't have to pick one and hope for the best. Most of the vets I have interviewed are understanding about the fact that I have ALOT of reptiles and I want the best for them. I think the scariest part of this whole process is that I have found that I know more about reptile medicine that alot of vets out there. If you want more information about vet interviewing, drop me a line.