Do you worm your snakes?

[liney]

As the title suggests- Do you worm your snakes? And if YES then with what and how often. Am going down this path especially for the ones I keep outside.

 

[Greenmad]

Hi mate i worm mine every 6 months.

 

[liney]

Thanks Ryan - may I ask what brand wormer you use?

 

[imported_Varanus]

I've recently had to worm out a wild Scrubbie. Usually I wont worm out unless I get a positive fecal sample from the vet in the first instance, though I'm led to believe that many larger collections (zoos, etc) would coordinate a program (along with regular fecal testing) annually for most herps. I would suggest "wormout gel"(containing praziquantel and oxfendazole) at .035mLs/Kg. This is a broad spectrum, liquid wormer normally used in birds, but very safe and effective for reptiles. Just inject your next food item with the required dose. I ran follow up fecal floats on the Scrubbie (who, according to the vet, initially had a very high parasite burden) and found no eggs after just the one dose. Ivermectin can be used to control ascarids (round worms) in pythons, but should never be used in animals <250g body weight.

I was also told, it's not necessary to worm out regularly simply because you keep animals outside. They still have to come into contact with infested animals in the first instance.

Hope this helps!