Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My little ananconda (pic in previous message) spent a few hours last night in his water bowel. Today, I noticed a mass of white
to transparent long flat things - I'm 90% sure are tapeworms. There was a mass that maybe weighed a few grams, but spread out alot, perhaps from my distrurbing the water. Should I be concerned? Thanks for any input. My little anaconda would also thank you !

I'm not an expert on treatment for reptile parasites, but they certainly could cause a problem. However not every type of parasite necessarily problems; in the wild it was quite typical for the snakes to have parasitic roundworms just under the skin. Also, we did blood tests on 22 healthy adult snakes for the malaria parasite, and 100% were infected. If anything, anacondas can be extremely resilient to infection. (Although not immune; one of our largest, seemingly healthiest females died of cancer.)Still, tapeworms can be too hard on a juvenile, if they are tapeworms, I'd certainly want to check into it further. If you kept the worm segments, take it to a vet who knows something about reptiles; although they may or may not know about treatment, they'll be able to identify the parasite.

What have others have experienced, regarding parasties and treatment?

Renee

OK, thanks. Next time I see them, I'll put some in alcohol.
Like you said, would be nice if others would report if they
have seen the same thing. Regards.

Danny,
I would recommend keeping the next ones you find in water and in a cool place until the vet can take a look at it. Alcohol can sometimes be a little hard on small samples like that. I agree with you as they sound like tapeworm segments from your description, but the vet should confirm it. If they are tapes, they have an indirect lifecycle and cannot be passed on to the rest of the snakes in your collection without an intermediate host. The best drug for tapes is Droncit at a dosage of 3 to 4 milligrams per pound of body weight. After the initial dose, there is a second and final dose two weeks later. The best way to administer Droncit is in pill form placed in the smallest food item the snake will eat. The vet may want to give it by injection however, but that will mean you will need to take the snake in again for the second injection.

Kelly

Thanks for the information. Perhaps I'll do like you say and
put some in water, plus also put some in alcohol. Have you
ever seen "tape worm segments" (or whatever they actually are)
in an anaconda's water before? I've got a microscope (1940 vintage university scope !) and a microscope that hooks up to a PC; will try to take some snapshots. Of course, if I'm lucky I will never see them again but I suspect that is doubtful. Thanks a bunch.

I have not seen them in water bowls, but I have seen them in the feces of wild caught anacondas. They are usually only shed in the feces periodically, so you will usually not see the segments every time the snake defecates. I would be interested in a photo if you can get one. If this is a tapeworm, after a treatment with Droncit, the entire worm will be expelled. Thanks,

Kelly

If I see any more I'll be sure to save them and try to get
some decent pictures. What's funny is that his water bowel
was clean except for the "worms"; no feces or even discoloration
of the water. Just the "worms". He's sitting in his water
bowel right now, perhaps there will be more....thanks.

Hello -

I’m kind of hesitant to drop into the middle of a thread in a forum I’ve never posted on....But....could you possibly have seen sperm plugs? The fact that the water was clear of anything else makes me wonder. I’ve done a double take when seeing sperm plugs deposited in the water bowls of adult boids. Couldn’t a 50” male anaconda be producing sperm? Otherwise, yes, I agree, cestodes are the likely answer. For a mass like you were describing, I would think you should have been able to see individual segments with the unaided eye or with a hand lens or loupe.

-Joan

Joan,
Interesting possibility on the identification of the deposit. However, I'm not sure if a male this young could be reproductively active unless he is older than his size would indicate. One thing that could explain the lack of waste debris in the water bowl is the fact that tapes are one of the few parasites that can shed segments without being contained in fecal material. Just my take on it.

Kelly

That's an interesting thought. I could kick myself in the --- for not saving the "worms"; I was in a hurry doing something else and my thoughts were on cleaning the water...stupid me. I'll sure keep a watch out for any more...but they sure looked like tapeworms superfically to me. They were rectangular in cross section. But I still think its odd how there were only those worm things in the water and nothing else like feces. Strange.

Posting pics at top of forum...