Deworming

[Shelby]

I was wondering how you go about deworming snakes? It seems that panacur (the same stuff used for horses) is the type you use.. in paste form. But.. how do you go about getting it into your snake? And what about dosing? Also, do you do this once when you initially get the snake, or is it a periodic thing?

[UberAlice]

Most deworming solutions have instructions written on them; I'd take the snake to a vet first though, to verify it was just worms and nothing more complicated. There's no need to periodically worm the snake, I don't think, as it's not exposed (hopefully) to as many things as the common household pet. Too many meds can knock it for a loop, especially if it's not sick. I'd still ask the vet though, none of my snakes (nor the snakes I've had the chance to work with) have had worms.

[Shelby]

I have no reason to think my snake has worms.. though I guess she was wild caught since she had a couple of ticks on her when I got her. (all removed easily thankfully) I just thought I read somewhere that you should worm all new snakes you get.

Well, unless there is a wormer especially for snakes, the instructions on the wormer won't be much use when using panacur meant for horses.

[UberAlice]

She may not be wild-caught, actually, may just have had bad husbandry before you got her. Or it may be an outside source; a few days ago I found mites (MITES!!!!) on my previously clean-as-a-whistle girls, which turned out came from my roomate's bird and are completely harmless to my herps.
I wouldn't use Panacur; horses have very different tummy structures and metabolisms than snakes, and it'd be easy to overdose a snake using it. I wouldn't worm the snake unless you had a reason to, since it can really stress their system otherwise. Your vet should be able to tell you whether or not treatment is a good idea. Thankfully, it's one of the cheaper types of herp sicknesses, if caught early.
Which snake is this, the BP or the King?

[Shelby]

It seems everywhere I go where there is mention of worming snakes, they refer to panacur. The Bean Farm has it for sale on their site http://www.beanfarm.com/healthcare/3.html same stuff as used for horses.

It's the BP. I know my cal king was CB since he's albino.

[UberAlice]

I found this website (based on chameleons, but mentions other herps as well) that goes over Panacur pretty thoroughly:
http://www.chameleonnews.com/year200...r/panacur.html
Apparently it can be used, but the major danger with it is using dosages too high for the animal. Apparently the cream form, which is prescribed for horses, is understandably a much higher dose than the powdered form given to herps.
And I totally didn't see the "albino" part, I just saw the "king"....d'oh!

[Shelby]

Alright.. well I think I just won't worry about it since I have no reason to believe she has worms. She's nice fat and healthy looking.

My little albino king sure has an attitude. if I just look at him, he strikes at me and plays rattlesnake. lol

[UberAlice]

Well, that's good. I found out my VB was most likely wild-caught a few weeks ago from the guy that wrote the Candoia Bible, I was NOT a happy girl. I'm a vet student so I can usually just run fecal tests and stuff myself in our school's lab, but it's still a pain knowing for the next 6 months I'll be running fecals every time she poos just to be sure. I always tend to play on the safe side; if it's not broke, don't fix it, particularly with delicate critters like herps. It *is* possible some people suggest routine de-worming, but in my humble little opinion, I don't think it's the best idea.
I've never had a King before, but I've been more and more drawn as of late to smaller species. The awesome part about Kings and Corns is that they come in such an amazing array of morphs, and are such good starter snakes. One of the elderly women in my apartment building, who loves my snakes, wants to get one, but I don't think it's really something she can handle, so she's now the BP godmomma instead.

[mlededee]

One of the elderly women in my apartment building, who loves my snakes, wants to get one, but I don't think it's really something she can handle, so she's now the BP godmomma instead.

that's so cute! it seems like most "elderly" people don't really seem to be into reptiles. my grandma would have an absolute fit if i brought my snake, or probably even my lizards, anywhere near her. it's really cool of you to share your snakes with her since she can't really handle taking care of one of her own.

[UberAlice]

What can I say, I love my little old ladies! I just know she can't handle the setups and everything herself, not to mention having to handle the feeder mice...she's 75 years old, I'm 19 and it's a pain for me sometimes. I much prefer it this way, at least doing this they get their "critter time" in and I don't have to worry about the snakes being nippy or coiling too tight around an arm or something.