Baby Hermann's with pinworm.

[mrscross78]

Hello, I got back some results today for a fecal parasite test on my 2 baby Hermanni Hermanni's. Thankfully the results were clear for anything serious... But they do have a slight pinworm problem - the test showed a few pinworm eggs..

I am going to the vets tomorrow to pick up their treatment.... My main concern is .. What's the best method of giving medicine to a small tortoise successfully? Secondly is it common for captive bred baby tortoises to have this parasite? I am a little concerned that a captive bred tortoise has worms.

Thanks for any help.

[kkenny]

I would be interested to hear about worms too. I have an Eastern Hermann, 2yrs old, captive bred.

What made you have it checked ? Were there signs of a problem?

[Alan1]

Originally Posted by mrscross78

Hello, I got back some results today for a fecal parasite test on my 2 baby Hermanni Hermanni's. Thankfully the results were clear for anything serious... But they do have a slight pinworm problem - the test showed a few pinworm eggs..

I am going to the vets tomorrow to pick up their treatment.... My main concern is .. What's the best method of giving medicine to a small tortoise successfully? Secondly is it common for captive bred baby tortoises to have this parasite? I am a little concerned that a captive bred tortoise has worms.

Thanks for any help.

they are all captive bred or at least they should be as it is illegal to deal in wild caught ones. people often think captive bred is the same as UK captive bred but it just means they are bred in captivity wherever that may be. They can pick up worms from other torts quite easily, they also eat their own poops so a totally clean enclosure is best, usually on newspaper until they are rid of them.

if it's panacure paste some folks give it on a bit of cucumber or strawberry to disguise it. Panacur granules are tasteless and have no smell and it's easy to give it fed by hand on a bit cucumber to make sure it's all eaten, I don't know what they will give you though

[mrscross78]

Originally Posted by kkenny

I would be interested to hear about worms too. I have an Eastern Hermann, 2yrs old, captive bred.

What made you have it checked ? Were there signs of a problem?

I just wanted to be safe rather than sorry because I have read a few stories where tortoises become very ill if they have parasites that are not treated early on.

[mrscross78]

Originally Posted by caledonia

they are all captive bred or at least they should be as it is illegal to deal in wild caught ones. people often think captive bred is the same as UK captive bred but it just means they are bred in captivity wherever that may be. They can pick up worms from other torts quite easily, they also eat their own poops so a totally clean enclosure is best, usually on newspaper until they are rid of them.

if it's panacure paste some folks give it on a bit of cucumber or strawberry to disguise it. Panacur granules are tasteless and have no smell and it's easy to give it fed by hand on a bit cucumber to make sure it's all eaten, I don't know what they will give you though

Thank you... I just didn't understand why they had it... I suppose it's like dogs who get worms... Silly me.
I will definitely try the cucumber. Also good advice about the newspaper. Thanks!

[Alan1]

sometimes the vet will give liquid which I believe is more tricky to administer, you'd think they would just give the easiest one

[mrscross78]

Originally Posted by caledonia

sometimes the vet will give liquid which I believe is more tricky to administer, you'd think they would just give the easiest one

Yes i'm a little worred about it being liquid.. It will be typical if it is. The vet gave me the name of the wormer which i can't remember but it definitely wasn't panacur... If it is a liquid how should i give it?

[burnt toast]

I have 9 torts & all except 1 have had worms when they came to me & they are all captive bred. They can get them very easily, I believe even from food you have picked if its not washed thoroughly. I have recently treated two new ones & used the panacur liquid, rather than stress them out as it was a big dose for bigger torts I just gave it to them squirted onto some Komodo pellets, they didnt seem to notice & just ate the lot.

I have struggled in the past, especially with one tiny 27 gram herman who was a devil for opening his mouth. I found that if I missed feeding him the day before, that made him hungrier, id then give him an extra long bath (top it up with some warm water as you go) I would then hold the temptation (strawberry or cucumber) above his head & as he opened wide to take a big bite Id quickly stick the syringe in!!

To be honest I found the pellets less stressful for the tort, as you only usually get 1 go, once they realise what your up to they wont open up again.

Good luck

[yagyujubei]

I have had good results mixing the panacur with canned pumpkin.

[Ozric Jonathan]

Pinworm is very common and very low levels may not be harmful. Treating very small tortoises with medication can be tricky and you might want the vet to do it, that is if they know how!

I think it may be best to get the vet to at least work out the dose for you. Its a small amount for a very small tortoise.