The truth about internal parasites?

[Mindibun]

I need some information, because the info that I am getting from my vet has NOT been helpful. (See past posts to read up on how inept this particular vet is...)

I had a fecal float come back positive for pinworms and tapeworms. The vet explained that these are common and that most people wouldn't even bother treating them. Is this true?

She decided that she would go ahead and treat them since my snake is having problems digesting and passing food properly. So he goes in for a three-part treatment. While I was there I asked if I should worry about my other snakes getting the parasites from him. She said, "Well yeah. They probably already have them." Is this true? How are parasites spread? I had thought that in order for one animal to contract the parasites of another that they had to be in contact with the waste of the carrier animal. Do parasites travel? Are they air-borne?

The vet told me that the snake probably got the parasites from the mice it had been eating. If this is the case, then why treat the parasites if he's just going to get more every time he eats? If parasites originate in the food, how can you ever have a parasite-free snake? Just for clarification, I get my feeders (frozen and live) from a local reptile shop with a good reputation. They're even known on the web, so I don't want to name names in case anything negative comes up. They get their frozen feeders in large, sealed packages from another company which processes the rodents. I have only ever had one feeder that didn't look clean and healthy. Otherwise, they usually seem fine.

I feel as if she's just telling me these things to make me worry, have me bring in my entire collection for treatments and fecal floats, and then continue to bring them in every month or so. I don't think I'm getting the whole story here. Can someone please help me out? I'm tired of dealing with this vet, and before I call another I thought I'd hit you guys up.

Thanks in advance.

[JLC]

First thing that comes to mind as I read this....if you know your vet is not competent when it comes to treating reptiles...then why continue to bring your snakes there? If you have a reptutable herp shop that you shop at, have you considered asking them for a recommendation on a vet who knows what they are doing?

As for all the questions about parasites....I'm not an expert, and don't even consider myself particularly well-read on the subject, but I'll throw out what little I know.

No, they are transmitted through the air. For an infected snake to pass them on to a snake that didn't already have them, they would have to come in contact with fecal matter. Now....this does not have to be particularly visible...they don't have to crawl through a visible pile. If you put a mouse in one cage and the snake doesn't eat it...then you take that mouse out and put it in another snake's cage...it is possible that the rodent picked up some infected fecal matter on its feet and then pass it on to the second snake that way. Or if you don't wash up between handling different snakes. But if you're careful with the cleanliness, don't let them share tubs or enclosures, and you don't share rodents among your snakes, its very unlikely that they will pass parasites on to each other.

Other than the scenario mentioned above, I don't believe snakes catch worms from their prey. There might be some sort of host-cycle involving a particular worm, rodent, and snake....but if so, it is not common.

I WOULD treat worms if I found them. It seems inane to me for the vet to say in one breath "we don't normally even treat for this" and then to say "but since your snake is having trouble digesting, I guess we'll treat it".... If it had been caught and treated in the first place, the snake would not have developed digestion problems.

And IF I had a snake in my collection that was found with worms...I would definitely be taking fecals in from the rest of my animals to have them checked as well AND treated as necessary. However, it should not be necessary to take every single animal in for a hands-on check-up and should not cost more than the price of the fecal-float itself. BUT....I wouldn't do that until I found a vet I trusted to begin with.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

[SatanicIntention]

Pinworms I might not bother treating for but usually will just because it's gross. Tapeworms definitely need to be treated, they cause alot of problems.

It's safe to assume all of your snakes are infected. I would just treat them all and be done with it.

Parasites are spread via cross-contamination, usually fecal. Most parasites are species-specific and parasites that live in mammals are unlikely to thrive in a cooler, reptilian body. I've been feeding live mice for 4 almost 5 years and the only thing my snakes have come up positive for is partially digested pinworm eggs from the mice. The snakes aren't infected with pinworms, it's just residual dead eggs from the mice.

Just treat them all once, and in 2-3 weeks re-treat. Pyrantel or Ivermectin will treat the pinworms and Praziquantel will treat the tapeworms. You can use Drontal Plus, which will kill everything except for giardia/coccidia. It shouldn't be too expensive, just buy the pills from the vet or a Tractor Supply, and I can help you with dosing/tubing the snakes(the pills need to be mixed with water and then tubed into the snake, it's easy).

[Mindibun]

if you know your vet is not competent when it comes to treating reptiles...then why continue to bring your snakes there?

Well, I'm not really "continuing to bring them there". I am finishing out this one snake's treatments (they will end next week) and then I'm done with this vet. But I want him to get the meds he needs (and that I've paid for) before just leaving in a fury. -lol-

If you put a mouse in one cage and the snake doesn't eat it...then you take that mouse out and put it in another snake's cage...it is possible that the rodent picked up some infected fecal matter on its feet and then pass it on to the second snake that way. Or if you don't wash up between handling different snakes. But if you're careful with the cleanliness, don't let them share tubs or enclosures, and you don't share rodents among your snakes, its very unlikely that they will pass parasites on to each other.

None of this goes on here. Unless the parasites are floating out of the tubs through the air holes and into the next tub, I don't see how one snake could have the parasites of another.

Just treat them all once, and in 2-3 weeks re-treat. Pyrantel or Ivermectin will treat the pinworms and Praziquantel will treat the tapeworms. You can use Drontal Plus, which will kill everything except for giardia/coccidia. It shouldn't be too expensive, just buy the pills from the vet or a Tractor Supply, and I can help you with dosing/tubing the snakes(the pills need to be mixed with water and then tubed into the snake, it's easy).

Becky, I don't have any veterinarian contacts here so I don't think I'll be able to get a hold of these medications without actually going to a vet and having a float done. I don't know of anyone that would just sell me the medications because I say I need them.

The medication that he's getting isn't any of those that you mentioned. I don't remember the name of it but I'm almost positive that it started with an "A". I'll llook it up when I get home. I just find it curious that with all the medications everyone has suggested to me, the one my animal is actually taking hasn't been named. Let's hope I'm just thinking of the wrong name.

[Riokeshen]

can internal parasites cause umm a BP to stop eating? and maybe dehydrate

[Ophiuchus]

Yep. Thats mainly why its best not to have them.

[chimpkin]

I know this has nothing to do with snakes or your collection but... a reputable herp vet told me that he had done a large study on Crested Geckos and at least 50% of all Cresteds in captivity are positive for pinworms.

He also told me that if your animals are asymptomatic that there is no reason to treat them. My theory is that a lot of reptiles in captivity have parasites in some manner and usually the animal may live its whole life without you knowing. When an animal gets stressed or is kept in filthy conditions where it is in contact with it's own feces the parasite load can cause a health problem.

[chimpkin]

Oh! The medicine the vet gave you is probably Panacur.
It is very common and actually very safe to use on reptiles. But, I think it does kill the gram positive bacteria in the animals as well.

[SatanicIntention]

Pinworms aren't a big deal, all they cause is an itchy rear. Tapeworms ARE a big concern, as they can cause weight loss from malnutrition/malabsorption, and damage to the intestinal tract(scarring).

My vet and I prefer to use praziquantel for tapeworms as it gets rid of them more efficiently.

If you have a feed store or a Tractor Supply, they will sell Drontal Plus. You break up the pills, weigh the snakes, and dose them. It's very easy. They also sell red rubber feeding tubs or curved tip syringes which will need to be used to medicate the snakes.

You don't need the vet to get the meds. Praziquantel is an OTC med now. Pyrantel is also an OTC med, as is Ivomec. You can get all of those at a feed store/TSC. As long as you have a gram scale, we're good.

If you've done one fecal, it's safe to assume they all have it. It won't do any harm to treat everyone just to be on the safe side.

[butters!]

my vet told me the same thing.starting this week i am goin to treat my snakes with panacur 1 time a year.16 dollars per snake a year is well worth the piece of mind.

i also did not know you could go to certain pet stores and get meds.i got 2 treatments of panacur from the vet and it cost me 35 for the visit,15 for the float and 12 for the meds.i went to the pet store this time and got 2 treatments for 16.they even offered to put the meds into a pre-killed mouse for less hassle.