Not treating wild caugh for parasites, pros and cons?

[Dracorex5]

Ive been trying to find a vet in my area to do a fecal the past few days on my little garter snake, and im stuck. The cheapest fecal around here is $44.... All others require a $60+ check up and then a fecal. Ive been keeping reptiles a while, i know there are only a handful of vets who actually know what they are doing. I have checked this little guy up and down, and he is healthy as a horse externally and his mouth and vent are clean and clear. I know when you take in an animal you are supposed to know the possibilities and be willing to do what it takes, but i dont really know what to do at this point. I have to get a fecal, pay for medications, and get up to three or more fecals to make sure they are clear, all with a risk of the snake getting reinfected because it poops while im at work and decides to roll in it! What do you all suggest? Also, regardless of if i treat or not, how do i keep my other snakes safe? I just have to be careful with poop and tool contact right? I love this little garter, but my older boys are a bit more golden to me.

[ProXimuS]

Hmm, from what I've been told, it doesn't hurt to deworm if you're not sure if they're positive for parasites.(This is what I've been told by two vets, one for my dog, one for my snake.)Also from what I understand you can buy Fenbendazole(Panacur) at a feed store, at least around here. So if you can find out, or if someone can tell you how much to give for your snakes age/weight, maybe you can treat him yourself? I haven't personally done this, just an idea..If not I'd just shell out the $44, better safe than sorry

[guidofatherof5]

Reinfecting usually occurs then they ingest fecal matter.
I've never heard them requiring 3 checks.
Getting fecal matter on their body shouldn't cause any problem I'm aware of.
Try to find a Vet. that will allow you to bring a fecal sample in without a visit. See if a college will do the fecal check. They might do it for free.

[Dracorex5]

A college might be a good idea! Theres a college here that does pre vet and is the herp capital college of the south! Id try treating myself, but ive never dewormed a snake before, and i wouldnt know who to ask hen it comes to pancur perscriptions for garters unless theres a vet enjoying the forum here its always been suggested to me to do fecals until three come clear in a row.... But that seems like a bit much!

[Selkielass]

Excellent post on Deworming.

Kingsnake.com - Herpforum - RE: Metro/Panacur info. looong

Lots of videos and detailed instructions on tube feeding and medicating snakes via google

[infernalis]

WC captives will have only the parasite loads with which they arrived, and most such infections will decline over time as adult parasites die off -- unless the animals are reinfected via their prey.

Dr. Sam Sweet - Biologist. University of California, Santa Barbera

[stevenrudge]

TBH l only treat if there is a problem,l'm a bit against blanket treating animals to me its a mis-use of antibiotics and pesticides

[Magnarock the 2nd]

WC captives will have only the parasite loads with which they arrived, and most such infections will decline over time as adult parasites die off -- unless the animals are reinfected via their prey. Dr. Sam Sweet - Biologist. University of California, Santa Barbera

This is interesting; do you think a wc from 2011 would still have worms/internal parasites? It hasn't eaten anything that would have a high parastite load, except some tuffy minnows he ate when I first captured it. Im considering finding a cb mate for him but I'm worried he might have parasites because he was wc.

[Selkielass]

I haven't treated any of my wild caught snakes.
The one fecal float I had done came up negative, but I hear false negatives are common with reptiles.
I've looked into worming, but the process seems moderately stressful, so I've hesitated to inflict it on snakes who seem to be thriving as they are.

[guidofatherof5]

In my opinion all w/c snakes should have a fecal float done. Not to sure about the false negative thing. If the tech. knows what they are doing there shouldn't be an issue. Many of the parasites in reptiles are common to mammals so the techs are used to seeing them under the microscope.
I know that many wild snakes live with parasites but removing them in captivity protects any other (c/b or w/c) from getting the parasites. It also eliminates the chance the parasites will be an issue later in life or at a time of weakness in the snake.