What in the world is this? (Warning gross image)

[Malum Argenteum]

My main concern was whether it’s my rodents. I guess you can’t know for sure, but I hatched this guy myself and he has eaten nothing but rodent pro f/t rats since hatching out of the egg. I’ve got hundreds of dollars of rodent pro rats in the freezer and would be upset if they were giving my snakes tape worms.


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Rodent Pro is at the top of many 'worst' lists when it comes to feeder quality (I've never ordered from them myself, so this is hearsay). That said, general quality need not have any connection to intestinal parasites. Rodents are communally raised, and so a minor parasite problem could be widespread without anyone noticing even when they're very well taken care of (which, based on the price of feeder rodents, I'll bet they're not). Feeder insects carry a lot of pathogens, too (source) -- that's just the normal state of affairs when dealing with whole animals, especially those for which low cost is a prime selling point.

If you want parasite free rodents, you could buy some breeding stock, worm them (with a withdrawal period), then breed them. To be assured of clean rodents, you'd have to exclude wild rodents and insects from the breeding and food storage areas, since they can carry parasites. Periodic fecal checks wouldn't be a bad idea, too, since antihelminthics are not necessarily 100% effective. Probably not worth the trouble, given that the risk of real problems from parasitized rodents is minimal.

There's been some chatter lately that many feeder rodents sold are produced elsewhere under basically no scrutiny, so some rodents may be more likely to have relevant concerns than others. Hard to say, since the feeder industry hides behind their marketing.

Best to get a confirmed diagnosis before jumping to any conclusions, of course.