Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm wondering if any of you deworm your animals on a regular basis, and if so, how often and when (before breeding starts, before cool down, etc.)? My vet suggested about once a year. I have leos and 2 corn snakes, and am treating all my leos for pinworms, probably due to a bad batch of crix. I feel like if they're going to get worms from their food, maybe a regular regimen is a good idea.
-----

1.0 Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 Nearly Paternless Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.1 Tang Nearly Paternless (Peaches)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)

regular deworming?!
why don't you just change crix suppliers to one that is cleaner and healthier, instead of pumping your animals with medicince regularly...

yes, I was planning on doing that anyway, but don't you think within a year I would have to run out and get the occasional batch from someone else? Any recommendations for good clean crickets?
-----

1.0 Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 Nearly Paternless Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.1 Tang Nearly Paternless (Peaches)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)

batch of what? crickets?

usually people buy them constantly, cuz breeding crix is such a pain.
I don't order online crickets but if you post a new thread asking people for a reliable crix supplier they may answer.
i feed mealworms instead with occasional crix

I don't have a 'regimen', but I have used panacur to rid my geckos of pinworms. I do my own fecals, so I just used it when I found the pinworms. I don't think Snarks is realistic in thinking that you'll never find pins in your geckos if you find a 'good supplier'. You're probably right that you'll have to run out and get some from somewhere at some point, and I'm not convinced that there's actually a pure source of crickets out there, anyway. I'm confident when I say that if you feed crickets, you'll have to deal with pinworms at some time. Not that they're a big problem, though. I've found them in absolutely gorgeous looking, healthy geckos with normal stools and eating habits. I've received geckos from well known breeder(s) that had pins. They're easy to get rid of. It's just something we have to deal with. However, all the other parasites are bad, bad, bad. This is why I feed most of my geckos mealworms.

Either way, I use ReptileFood.com and would recommend them to anyone. They've got great customer service and I've never had a problem with the quality of their crickets or mealworms.

-----
Rob Jenkins
Have you seen the GeckoCam?
Herptopia Reptiles
Email Me

About how often do you find pins? I was treating two new animals (on quarantine) When I found some visually when one of my biggest and best eaters decided to poop on me as I removed some toe skin. I was upset. I'm now pushing meal worms more than crix, but you know, some are a little reluctant. I'm going to try my hand @ silkies too.
-----

1.0 Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 Nearly Paternless Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 TBD Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.1 Tang Nearly Paternless (Peaches)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (One snow, One red albino)

I remember someone on here quoted someone else's quote that supposedly 1 out of every 50 crickets carries pinworms. But you have to remember that there are tons of different kinds of pinworms, and not all can infect your leo.

I agree with Rob that it's hard to dodge pinworms just by finding a "clean" supply of feeders. Parasites are ubiquitous to the point where even the vegetables you feed your crickets, the egg cartons they come in, and other factors beyond your control can transmit parasites.

How often you want to deworm your leos is your choice. Panacur has a pretty high safety margin, but remember that it -was- made for horses, not reptiles. Panacur's also only effective against worms, so it's not going to catch all the other parasites that can end up in your leo.

A lot of breeders shotgun their leos with Panacur, while others will spot-check a leo occasionally. In my opinion, it's best to do regular fecal exams on your animals (I'm just starting to do them myself) so you can confirm an infection before medicating them.
-----
5.6 leopard geckos

chickabowwow