worms

[sapphire_moon]

Do you have to have your BP dewormed if there are no signs of worms...... and what are the signs of worms?

[lilyskip]

i don't know if it's possible to deworm something if it doesn't have worms, no? (?)

[MontyPython]

You can't take something away if it isn't there to begin with.

:)

[sapphire_moon]

Well of course......But I was asking that as like a preventative measure........and what the signs were to begin with......It's not in my book so I thought I would ask the people here........

[MontyPython]

Aren't small lumps underneath the skin an idication of worms? Small= size of a BB

[Pixie]

Signs that your snake has worms are usually:

- decreased appetite
- loose stools
- little or no weight gain
- regurgitation

There may be others too, but those are the ones I experienced myself when a snake of mine had worms. There aren't any physical symptoms such as bumps.

Treatment is fairly easy and yes some breeders and keepers of large collections will sometimes give preventative treatments about once a year.

Unless there is a need for preventative treatments such as avoiding to spread such a thing throughout your collection through contamination it is best to wait that something presents itself to be treated.

Pixie

[sapphire_moon]

Ok just wondering.......Thanks!

[drewlowe]

There aren't any physical symptoms such as bumps

There is at least 2 worms that will cause bumps. One of them i forgot it's in one of my books at home(i'm at work now) the other is round worms. A book i would highly suggest is "What's wrong with my snake" forgot the authors name though. and "Understanding Reptile Parasites" By Roger Klingenberg. I think thats how you spell his last name.

It's safer to wait if you have a small collection. If your unsure about the animal in question call your vet and get a fresh (no older than 24 hours) fecal and have it checked for worms. If you do have a small collection i would suggest to have a fecal done at least once a year to be on the safe side. Any insect and veggie eater should have at least one fecal done a year. So says my vet. if you have an established vet it won't be necessary to schedule an appointment. My vet will let me drop off a sample and he will call me later that day with the results. The cost is only 14.50 to have the fecal checked.

[Pixie]

Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't know there were some internal parasites that left bumps under the skin. I guess I didn't deal with those kinds myself.

Getting fecals done IMO should be done when a new snake enters the collection. I really lucked out with my vet, I brought my entire gang in for a general checkup. I was originally quoted 44$ for the first animal and then 27$ for each after which would have been beyond my budget just for a checkup. But thankfully the vet gave me a great deal at his hourly rate (88$) for my animals. I brought in 9 snakes and 3 leos and it took 1 hour and 15 min. He didn't even charge me for the extra 15 min! Since I have so many animals, he gives me the fecals at half price for 9$ :) I later found out that since they all have files open, return visits are free! I need only to pay for the treatment they need! Inquiring around at vets can really pay off!

Pixie

[drewlowe]

No problem pixie. We're all here to learn. I learn new stuff everyday from this site. I may be wrong there may be more than 2 out there, but i only know of 2 that show any kind of bump.

Vets can be good if you find one that's really reasonable when you have a larger collection. Just like you i look in 7 leos to be checked out and have dewormed and a fecal from one of my snakes to be checked out. It should have cost way over 100.00 but he only charged somewere around 34.00 for the checkups, stools, and medication.