parasites

[jeremy_mott]

After feeding my hatchling this morning, I discovered about 4″ of thin white ribbon extending from his… err… rear end. Looks like some kind of tape worm to me. I haven’t seen many postings related to this topic in the archives, has anyone dealt with internal parasites in the past? Can anyone offer a course of action for my little guy? FYI – he seems like a very happy healthy turtle at this point, almost growing before my eyes! Thanks in advance for any input/advice. Jeremy

[Richard M. Biondi]

Jeremy, Two years ago I had the same experience with some Florida snappers. Long, thin ribbons protruding that didn’t appear segmented upon cursory examination. I simply pulled them out. After it happened a second time I took the four to a vet. Went through the examination for worms—which proved negative. Had them wormed anyway, but nothing else was expelled. Moral: It seems expedient to take them to the turtle vet with a sample stool and the offending worm. In my case it cost some $400 to treat four little guys, and it turns out I had solved the problem myself.

[Michelle E. McGuffin]

I think what you may be seeing is a cast. Turtles, humans, dogs and cats all shed skin cells. Turtles seem to do this in actual sheds rather than gradual continual loss. It is possible that what you are seeing is a shed of some internal lining of his/her gi or urinary tract. In the vets office when doing urinalysis I often would find casts. They look like tubular structures visible under microscope. These casts are sloughed tissue from the urinary tract and from inside the kidneys. It would make sense that a cast coming from a GI tract would be much larger and therefore visible with the naked eye. Stool from land animals is___ how do I say it___normally dry. And how many of us really get down and snoop in the toilet bowl as if it were a clear glass tank? I know under the microscope you can occasionally see pieces of sloughed lining when doing a stool analysis (when looking for parasites, bacterial infections etc). Often times you can see a thick mucusy looking material on the actual stool as well. This is not necessarily a cause for concern. The body does this to clean and protect itself and it___s just a part of everyday life. Sometimes though it is due to some sort of infection___ parasites, bacterial etc. In this case excess mucus, soft stools, foul odor, obvious worms and blood are all things to take note of and present to a veterinarian. Hope this helps some. Michelle —–Original Message—– From: Richard M. Biondi [mailto:rmbion@…] Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 11:46 AM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [diamondbackterrapins] parasites Jeremy, Two years ago I had the same experience with some Florida snappers. Long, thin ribbons protruding that didn’t appear segmented upon cursory examination. I simply pulled them out. After it happened a second time I took the four to a vet. Went through the examination for worms—which proved negative. Had them wormed anyway, but nothing else was expelled. Moral: It seems expedient to take them to the turtle vet with a sample stool and the offending worm. In my case it cost some $400 to treat four little guys, and it turns out I had solved the problem myself. — No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.5 – Release Date: 2/3/2005 — No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.5 – Release Date: 2/3/2005

[Diamondback Terrapin World]

Hi Jeremy, I personally have not had any problems with worms but I do have some information on my website on how to deworm a dbt. This information was given to me by a vet student. Look under my Health Issues section and go to Worming. As the others had mentioned it might not be worms. Best of Luck Jonathan http://www.diamondbackterrapin.comjeremy_mott

[jeremy_mott]

Thank you for the suggestions and feedback. As an update for the group… I GENTLY applied slight pressure to the dangling “ribbon”. To my surprise, it slid out with very little resistance. A good 10″- 12″ worth! If I’m not mistaken, I think the little guy actually smiled as it made it’s exit (the turtle, not the parasite)! Closer examination reveals a white segmented bi-lateral fluke type parasite. I popped the parasite into a zip-lock and then the freezer for a positive ID from the vet. Pray that I get that speciman to the vet before my fiance finds it. The consequences will be swift and severe… Anyway, as luck would have it my regular vet is listed on the ARAV website (finally, some good news!). Once I have a positive ID and a plan of treatment from the vet I will update the group. Since I’ve had this little guy for less than 4 weeks, I’m curious as to where he may have picked this up from??? — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “Michelle E. McGuffin”

[Michelle E. McGuffin]

Nasty! Wow. I bet he’ll be happy to not have to compete for as many nutrients if it is in fact a tape worm. Hehe. If the fiancͩ finds it… remind her its better to find out now if the little guy is carrying worms… to prevent HER from getting them down the line. Good solid cold freezing will kill any latent eggs laying around too (should she worry you just contaminated her freezer). Tapeworms come from any number of sources: live foods especially snails (intermediate host), fish that lived with snails, plants that lived with snails. Most fish foods are considered to be parasite free… but sometimes I wonder. It is “only” pet food after all… not designed for human consumption. Even just handling in the pet store I think could easily pass them on. Hands rooting around in a tank with snails then go fill up a bulk bin or stock shelves. If you can bring in a fresh stool sample as well. Suck it up with a hose/straw and keep in the fridge in a small container. Eggs are not always seen. Just because you don’t find any, doesn’t mean there are not any worms. Best of luck with his appt and treatment (if any deemed necessary). Michelle —–Original Message—– From: jeremy_mott [mailto:jeremy_mott@…] Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 6:04 PM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Re: parasites Thank you for the suggestions and feedback. As an update for the group… I GENTLY applied slight pressure to the dangling “ribbon”. To my surprise, it slid out with very little resistance. A good 10″- 12″ worth! If I’m not mistaken, I think the little guy actually smiled as it made it’s exit (the turtle, not the parasite)! Closer examination reveals a white segmented bi-lateral fluke type parasite. I popped the parasite into a zip-lock and then the freezer for a positive ID from the vet. Pray that I get that speciman to the vet before my fiance finds it. The consequences will be swift and severe… Anyway, as luck would have it my regular vet is listed on the ARAV website (finally, some good news!). Once I have a positive ID and a plan of treatment from the vet I will update the group. Since I’ve had this little guy for less than 4 weeks, I’m curious as to where he may have picked this up from??? — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “Michelle E. McGuffin”

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