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Old 23-03-2009, 04:13 PM   #1
Crazee
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Default Help! Horsfield with worms

We are sick with worry over our boy. We are new to keeping torts, we got him at Christmas, he was rescued, is about 8-10 years old and has a slightly deformed and soft shell. Not too serious that a little love and care will not help, if not cure.

A few weeks ago his behavior changed, he became lethargic, dug deep in his substrate and stopped eating. I took him to the vet last week (Seers Croft in Horsham) and a faecal sample confirmed he was riddled with worms, despite him having a one off shot of Panacur at our local (non tort) vets a month previous. He has been prescribed a five day course of Panacur from a syringe, giving one graduation on the plunger a day. It takes three of us to administer, but half way through we are getting the hang of it.

However he has not eaten since last Thursday and not for a week before that and we are really worried, he used to eat every day. How long can he go before not eating is life threatening? Does the Panacur fill him up? How quickly will it work and how quickly will his appetite come back?

We really need some reassurance here, we are doing all we can and just want him back to his old self as soon as.
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Old 23-03-2009, 04:23 PM   #2
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I feed the panacur between 2 slices of cucumber then chopped small, less stressful for the tortoise than trying to get him to swallow the panacur. I know some people squirt it on to a dandy leaf then roll it up, a bit like a sausage roll.

Make sure he is well hysdrated if he is not eating. If this doesn't work a return trip to the vet to have the vet do the worming.

Did the vet check for the type of worm? and for parasites?
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Old 23-03-2009, 04:41 PM   #3
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Thanks Laraine. We are bathing him every day to try to keep him hydrated. We cannot use the cucumber sandwich method as he is not eating and he used to love a bit of cucumber! The vet did not say what type of worms they were, but they were only visible under the microscope, he kindly took me to the lab and let me have a look. In a tiny sample from his stool there were three worms and he pointed out their heart and long stomach, disgusting little things!
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Old 23-03-2009, 07:50 PM   #4
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have you tried giving butternut squosh,this is a very good wormer for tortoises.
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Old 23-03-2009, 07:54 PM   #5
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That's an interesting one, Jayne! That would be good as a preventative measure when he is better.
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Old 24-03-2009, 12:07 AM   #6
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Hi Crazee,
Don't worry too much about him not eating, I think hydration is far more important. I had to worm both of mine last year and they both went off their food. I'm sure you're doing it anyway but its a good idea to keep them on paper towels whilest worming. They hate it but its easier to clean and stops them becoming reinfected. Lil anf Fro sulked for weeks
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Old 24-03-2009, 09:43 AM   #7
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Thanks for the advice, Mel.

We continue to bathe him daily. I had been wondering at what point to change his substrate to avoid reinfection, so paper may be a way to achieve that. At what point are the worms dead, today is the fifth and last day of his treatment, are they dead now or does it take longer? The vet wants to retest in two weeks from the end of the treatment, so is it only then?
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Old 24-03-2009, 10:02 AM   #8
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Dont panic about him/her not eating, they can go months without eating. Its hydration that you need to worry about. Make sure you give him/her lots of baths. This will once the wormer has taken its effect, help with appetite.
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Old 24-03-2009, 10:06 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazee View Post
That's an interesting one, Jayne! That would be good as a preventative measure when he is better.
I have read elsewhere on the www that chicory and pumpkin are natural wormers (particularly pumpkin). I had wondered how torts in the wild cope with worms but as chicory is common in the Med area it may be that eating it helps keep worms at levels that don't trouble the torts.

According to what I've read pumpkin is the better of the two but only available at certain times of the year.

I'm quite new to tortkeeping - less than 4 months and this is only what I've read elsewhere so I don't know how good that info is, I've never seen it mentioned on these forums about chicory and pumpkin. I posted excerpts from the original articles somewhere on these forums but no idea if they are still around. I give mine chicory regularly anyway.

Edit> There are some posts here by nina from before I joined, one in particular a few posts down the page http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...mer#post106444

Last edited by Alan1; 24-03-2009 at 10:33 AM.
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Old 24-03-2009, 10:29 AM   #10
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Wow, puimpkin, chicory, butternt squash. He is going to have one exotioc diet when he recovers!

Thank you all so much for your advice, it is so comforting to be able to "speak" to people with so much experience. We have been so worried about him and you are not able to read the signs or understand their behaviour in the same way as you can with more conventional pets like cats and dogs (and indeed babies!). It is really great to be part of this community, thanks!
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