How often do you worm your tortoises?

[rodneypig]

Sandy,
No it's a shame they don't! The guinea pigs quite like them though
Deb

[sandy]

Multi use fruits are great.

[Beetlebabe]

Sorry to hijac this thread, but it seemed silly to start a whole new thread about worming...

I have had my 1 yr old Marginated for just over a week now, and was under the impresion he would need to be wormed, so i have contacted the two nearest recommended vets. They told me that because he was bred in this country, he does not need to be wormed yet? Is this true, and if so when will it need to be done?

I have tried checking his poo, and cannot see anything odd - but maybe im not looking right !

[sandy]

If it were my tortoise I wouldnt worry about worming yet. You need to have a few tortoises using the
same piece of ground, over a few years before you need to worm.
There have been some good advice about natural wormers, which you could think about using.
The time to worry about worming is if you know your tortoise is wild caught. These need to be wormed
as can have an over load.
Both who have posted have more than one tortoise, so need to be more aware of worms.
Always better to be informed and prepared for it to happen though.

No need to starve the tort at all LInda when feeding pumpkin - I think you read that wrongly
Sue

thanks darren thanks sue

yes i did read it incorrectly

but now i know what i am doing

[veebee]

Hi Sue/Darren/Sandy, great advice given above ie. giving pumkin/carrot for worms, you have mainly mentioned this is ok for ref foots and I think Sue mentioned her russian, my question is, is it ok for all other tortoises, in my case leopards, spur thigh (and horsfield which I think was mentioned) :P

Vivienne

[piglet]

Hi Vee
Yes it si ok to feed any tortoise spp, but remember this is only beng used as a natural worming aid and not as a supplement to there diet .
Sue recommends when using pumpkin to feed for one day with no other foods then leave the next day without food to allow the pumpkin to pass into the gut alone , this has a paralizing effect on the worm which will pass out generally in faeces.
If you notice your tortoise has a large worm burden ie worms in abundnce seen in faeces then a chemical basted wormer is best used like panacur or systemx
Darren

Hi Darren
LOL - eventually we will ubderstand what the other is saying<g>
I posted **To the person who posted the question about how much to give - I would personally give nothing else for a few days, to make sure the gut is clear.**, meaning that I feed nothing but pumpkin for a few days to make sure the pumpkin clears the gut of rubbish. I don't give them any fasting days - it seems to do the trick OK withought, a bit like a gentle colonic irrigation<g>

Oops meant to mention too Darren that systamex has been withdrawn due to some problems with sheep. Pity as it was great for torts. If you hear of it being back on sale please let me know. Thanks