Took a sample to the vet for a fecal - first time to a vet. The snake is 345gr and approx 4 feet long. The snake seems healthy enough - active, eats, drinks, poops, sheds fine. They said it had worms (hook or pin) I can't remember. They gave me 2, 50ml doses of 10% Ivermectin to give orally two weeks apart. Also have another cornsnake and a milksnake. All snakes are in aspen bedding. They are housed separate but are fed in the same feed box. All snakes are fed f/t mice of appropriate size. Most of the time the mice are from an online seller but occasionally I get some f/t rat pups or mice from the pet store.
Does this dosage sound right?
Ivermectin can be fatal if misapplied? Are there any other options?
I assume substrate needs to be changed and everything sanitized to prevent reinfection?
Will the other snakes most likely need treatment?
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advice for worm treatment
Replies (3)
Do you trust your vet? (it is so annoying that vocal inflection can't come across over the internet. I am not trying to be rude but it is a real question. I don't have a formulary in front of me but if your vet has handled herps before there shouldn't be any problem w/ toxicity - there is a good margin between treatment dose and toxic dose in snakes). If the vet is experienced there shouldn't be a question 'bout dosage or drug choice.
Yes you will want to clean everthing - bleach solution, steam cleaning, boiling water will work. And make sure to keep them clean.
And yes you probably do want to get the other snakes tested; there may be some cross contamination from the feed box.
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Russ
the vet is recommended by the amvet website for herps. From all the stories I've read, I won't trust any vets with reptiles until I verify the information I've been given is sound. This was my 1st visit to any vet. I also don't take everything I read on the net as truth until I've cross-checked it as well.
I will get the other snakes tested ASAP and do everything simultaneously. As far as the actual prescription, I've heard it is wrong and or mislabeled. Will be discussing this with the vet.
The correct dosage of Ivermectin for a snake of this weight would be 0.07 mg. To check, you need to know how many milligrams were in the 5 ml's of the original Ivermectin solution since that was what was diluted to give the 50 ml dosage you were given if it is a 10% solution. This small of a dosage could be difficult to administer accurately. I would also ask your vet why they prefer Ivermectin over Fenbendazole, as this would be a much safer drug.
Kelly
