worms

[kel]

just wondering how do torts get worms when captive bred ?

[Andy n Claire]

they can get them from weeds or anything they eat out doors thats come in contact with them EG bird poo's on a weed and your tort eats it,

hope this helps

[incrisis]

The get them the same way as most animals do, through what they eat, as said in the above post bird poo etc contains a variety of parasites,, rats, mice, cats or any other animal that may enter the area you pick weeds from carry parasites in one form or another.
Washing the weeds before you give them to the torts helps to reduce the problem but doesn't eliminate it.

Originally Posted by kel

just wondering how do torts get worms when captive bred ?

[michael keeling]

so torts could have them all there life so to speak so does this mean the need to be wormed on a regular basis or would it be yearly
mke

[incrisis]

I may get shot down for this, but....
my vet is in close contact with a zoo reptile vet and we were told that most torts have a species of worm living naturally within the intestines and they can be beneficial in helping to break down food.
However in captive torts any stress caused by poor diet or living conditions can make these worms become harmful to the tort, especially if the tort is young.

Originally Posted by michael keeling

so torts could have them all there life so to speak so does this mean the need to be wormed on a regular basis or would it be yearly
mke

[fantapants]

in a nutshell, a wild tortoise will probably have worms. they automatically control the burden by travelling miles every day, so they dont really come accross their own poo to re-infect themsleves. They have a much more varied diet than we can provide, and would probably eat the odd plant that will give them the tort runs. so they will get a clean out. they manage quite happily like this until we catch them, and ship them across the world. then they are put in a little box, they poo and are constantly re-infected by the tiny, tiny eggs (oocysts) that are toosmall for us to see. And if you add transport stress into that equation, a torts immune system collapses and lets the worms/ nasties multiply as quick as they like. so an animal can be quite happy with a few parasites, but as soon as one or two things go wrong, their immune system takes a nose dive and the parasites take advantage of that. its important to get them wormed everyyear, just like with dogs and cats. then we stay on top of the problem.

[kel]

strange question !!!

so is this how kids (human) get worms also ?

[fantapants]

again, it depends on the type of worm. alot of human worms are actually from undercooked meat. the worms eggs migrate into the flesh of the cow and turn into a ( for want of a better word) embryo type lump. then we butcher the animal, cook the meat and eat it. if the meat is well cooked, nothing to worry about. if its not, the tapeworm develops in the stomach.

other types of worm are passed on by contact. so a person that has worms will scratch their bum and get the eggs under their nails, not wash there hands, and then pass them on via food or personal contact.

just as a bit of useless information, in the 3rd world, there have been studies on kids that have worms. they had what WE would consider a heavy amount of parasites. when the doctors treated them and cleared the worms in all of the kids, allergies went through the roof. kids started to develop allergies to everything from food to grass and dust. as soon as the kids became "re-infected" with worms , their system went back to normal. so yes, in some cases parasites are beneficial. then they are known as commensal parasites. Our natural gut bacteria can be classed as commensal.

[-EJ]

Tortoises can pick up worms anywhere outdoors... plants, water... animal droppings... the ground (nematodes in grass).

All tortoises can carry a certain parasite load and some believe that some parasites might actually be beneficial.

If a tortoise is mildly diseased... as long as it is healthy and unstress... this is usually not a problem. If the tortoise becomes stressed the disease can gain the upper hand.

Frequent worming is not really a necessity as a precaution considering how easy it is to detect most worms. I always suggest only medicating when necessary.

Ed

[aerofine]

How often should you worm?

I have 2 one year Horsfield's and I don't think they have ever been wormed.