Worms in the water dish?

I went to do some spot cleaning today when I realized that my ball python's water bowl was empty, which was odd, because I had filled it just the night before. Needless to say, I filled it up right away and went on cleaning when I looked back into the bowl when I realized there were small wriggling worms in the bowl. I've been keeping a look out for mites and such, but these looked like tiny baby earthworms, only swimming, and were smaller than the length of my pinkie finger nail.

Here's a picture:
http://i26.tinypic.com/zoasrl.jpg

Keep in mind, there were quite a few of them, and they were tiny. I bleached the heck out of them and flushed them down the toilet, so I will hopefully never have to see them again.

It's occurred to me that perhaps they were in the bottle I used to fill up the water bowl, but I checked and didn't see any in there.


Anyone have any ideas or have seen this before?

Thanks :]

Could be internal parasites, have you taken this animal to have a fecal float done by a vet?

If not, next time you get some poop I would put it in a zip lock bag stick it in the refrigerator and ask the your vet to run a fecal float asap.

Dear God looks like mosquito larva. You do wash the bowls out every week don't you??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Dear God looks like mosquito larva. You do wash the bowls out every week don't you??

---

My thoughts also

I wash the dish out at least every other day, as well as spot clean, and I clean the entire setup out once a month (at least, I will, I've only had this ball python for about a month and a half, so I've only done the entire tank once). Mosquito larvae have differently shaped bodies when looked at up close, as well spines that protrude from their bodies, and these were completely smooth.

Next time he poops I'll do that, thanks. Better safe than sorry.

i agree with the others but welcome to the forum i see this is your first day :) i think you will like it here and learn a lot!

thanks :] I got tired of trying to find reliable answers through Google, haha.

Kinda random but whereabouts are you from in chicago? :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

Kinda random but whereabouts are you from in chicago? :P

---

Tinley Park actually, but I may be moving into the city depending on college.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by musicalKeyes

Tinley Park actually, but I may be moving into the city depending on college.

---

Cool cool, I go to IIT and there is another member here who goes to loyola :)

What schools are you thinking about?

Very well could be mosquitos. Them suckers only need a few hours to go from egg to larvae.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Very well could be mosquitos. Them suckers only need a few hours to go from egg to larvae.

---

Mosquito larvae look very different:
http://i28.tinypic.com/rrqqvq.jpg

These little buggers were completely smooth and moved much differently than mosquito larvae tend to. Plus, there isn't really anywhere for a mosquito to get in to the cage. Not saying it isn't possible, just really difficult.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

Cool cool, I go to IIT and there is another member here who goes to loyola :)

What schools are you thinking about?

---

UIC or U of C, possibly. Of course, everything depends on money these days, so even the best laid plans could easily be tossed out the window, haha.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by musicalKeyes

Tinley Park actually, but I may be moving into the city depending on college.

---

You do know about the huge snake show in Tinley in October?

I'd get a fecal float done on that snake. I'm not sure what those worms are but I'd certainly do that just to rule out that issue first.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

You do know about the huge snake show in Tinley in October?

I'd get a fecal float done on that snake. I'm not sure what those worms are but I'd certainly do that just to rule out that issue first.

---

Yeah, I've been looking forward to it for months :]

I'm planning on it; I'd much rather get it done and find out he doesn't have them than not get it done and he does.

Hi,
Ive recently come across the same thing in my water dish. The worms like precisely like they do in your image. I was wondering what you found out?

Cheers

It's most likely to be the laval stage of some mosquito or midge many of which can go from egg to larve in a few hours, I doubt that the worms are parasites from your reptile.