Medicated Guppies

[vanillacokeit]

I have 4 baby T. s. sirtalis. One still hasn't eaten and the others have only eaten once but they are just over a week old. I am setting up a tank to keep guppies in and I want to treat the water with some anti-parasite medication. Would it be bad for the garters to eat fish that are medicated? One of the fish had a tumor like thing and another just died randomly. I just really don't want my snakes to get any parasites from the fish but I also don't want to feed them fish that are going to make them sick.

[guidofatherof5]

Very good question. I would contact the maker of the medication and ask them their opinion. You might also check with your Vet or a Vet.
What medication are you going to use?

[vanillacokeit]

It's called parasite guard by tetra. active ingredients: praziquantel, diflubenzuron, metronidazole, acriflavine.

[guidofatherof5]

It's called parasite guard by tetra. active ingredients: praziquantel, diflubenzuron, metronidazole, acriflavine.

Here's what I could find on those 4 chemicals:

Praziquantel- PubMed Health - Praziquantel (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000474)


Diflubenzuron- Diflubenzuron (http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/dienochlor-glyphosate/diflubenzuron-ext.html)

Metronidazole- metronidazole (Flagyl) - drug class, medical uses, medication side effects, and drug interactions by MedicineNet.com (http://www.medicinenet.com/metronidazole/article.htm)


Acriflavine- Kordon LLC - Kordon - Acriflavine (http://www.novalek.com/kordon/Acriflavine/index.htm)

[ConcinusMan]

I'm no expert but I would say that extreme caution is warranted. Most anti parasite medications are poison. Baby garters would of course be extremely sensitive to such things and the risk of the medications might just be worse than the risk some parasites would have on them.

Remember that garter snakes originally came from out there-- mother nature. And they have evolved into all the wonderful snakes we now enjoy, and they have been thriving and living with parasites. I'm not saying parasites are OK but I am saying that sometimes it's better for them to live with a few parasites as long as there is balance, than it is to treat them and harm them with the treatment.

You have had no luck getting them to eat f/t fish or any other f/t food appropriate for garters? I'm just saying that if it were me, I would avoid the live fish altogether if I could get them to eat anything else.

[vanillacokeit]

Yea I tried other food. Except for worms, which the reptile shop was out of. I plan to go get some nightcrawlers from them when they get a restocked and cut them up. I tried pinky pieces and tilapia pieces. I could try again now that most of them are eating but I just wanted to get some meals in them before I put more stress on them. They won't eat when I am near so I have to leave the fish in there for a while, even for two days, before it gets eaten. I would want any f/t food to be rotting in there for that long. How long would I want any dead food in there for? Mice, fish or worms? I'm just at a total loss with these little ones. I really want them to be on mice but more than anything I want them to eat and grow a little. They are impossible to hold just for a few seconds to clean. I'm always so scared they will wiggle out of my hands and be lost forever. :(

[mustang]

im not sure bout using that better read more about it...i had to look up wierd chemicals in enviormental science last year ill post a link to the site if i can remember it

[MlizGr]

I would like to point out that nearly every fish medicine I've ever used has stated that it is not meant to be used on fish meant for food. If it's not safe for me to eat, I don't consider it safe for my pets to eat.

[Tyrel26]

I agree! My snakes are my family, if I have any doubt about a food type I avoid it.

[zirliz]

I got my checkered garter when she was just a day old, she was born in the pet store and I took her home, it took weeks to feed her I contacted the pet store and he suggested worms but she wanted nothing I offered her,
so out of desperation I went looking for live fish but she was so small, I brought home a platy (new born) put it into a container and she went for it, after this she shed for the first time and then ate everything.

I'd be very careful feeding fish that have been medicated having said that I did used to feed my dead fish to my male garter and he's fine years later (of course I've stopped now),

[brain]

I have been feeding the 4 WC on guppies, salmon, tilapia pieces and NCers.

I treat the guppies in a tank with "Quick Cure" for ick & protozoan parasites. The stuff has formalin and malachite green. 1 drop in a gallon of water, let them swim in it for a day then dip them out to the snakes no problems I can see.

[zooplan]

Bigger than the risk to harm the snakes with poisonous medivine is the risk to breed resistant strains of parasites because the medicine dose in the snake is too low!

@ Brain
Formalin is causing cancer and offspring deformations!

[brain]

@ Udo TY
Is that documented somewhere I haven't read?
I always want to be educated.