Worming advice

[Tarajane77]

Hi,

I'm enquiring about my 3yr old Horsfield Jemima...again

I think I will be enquiring weekly about her for the foreseeable decades!!

As i rehomed Jemima she had never been wormed. I did read though that July was when you are supposed to get them tested?!$?

I've just had her results from her poopy sample test and every thing was clear in the green.

Therefore as I'm swaying on not hibernating her this year as I only got her in May, when should I retest her again...or do you have to keep retesting or just worm every often??? I'm panicking as worming often makes our creatures unwell Do you worm them yourself or does a vet do it.....

Please help....

JODY FROM WIRKSWORTH

[Nina]

Hi Jody,

Great to hear from you and apologies for the late reply (lol I took break to catch up on some telly I'd missed!).

That's great news that Jody's test results showed she doesn't have a worm infestation. Some people worm every year or two without a test, but i think that is not to the benefit of the tortoise because the worming medicine itself plays havoc with their digestive system (and it's why you should never worm just before they go into hibernation). I would always advise worming if you think there is a reason to do so: obviously seeing worms in the poo would indicate worming is needed, or have a test done if she seems really off colour and had gone off food or seems unwell in another way. To make you feels safer you could have her tested every year, but it's probably not essential.

Regarding worming itself, this will sound very strange, but most reptile vets now say that a light load of worms is actually beneficial to a tortoise (it has something to do with digestion). A heavy load of worms definitely needs treating, but if a test shows a very light load (just a few eggs in the poo) then the best tortoise vets now advise not to treat, but to test periodically and if the load gets heavy then to treat it. I know it sounds very odd, but I have heard this from several of the most respected reptile vets in the UK.

If you do decide to hibernate her, let us know and we'll send you lots of good information on hibernation and preparation for hibernation (which is a really important aspect of it), but we do usually advise having a tortoise for a year before hibernating. It's not a strict time limit, but it's just so that you have time to get to know the tortoise and so are able to spot of she is off colour at all, because it's important that a tortoise is fit and healthy before hibernation.

And do keep asking questions! We love to hear from you, and I always think that asking questions is the best way to learn about something.

Nina

[Tarajane77]

Thanx Nina,

I'm glad you have caught up on your programmes!

Thankyou for the great advice...you did make me chuckle when you said you were glad JODY has had the all clear for worms!!

Look forward to hearing from you next week with another round of questions!

THANKYOU
JODY FROM WIRKSWORTH

[Nina]

Ha, ha -- I did say 'Jody' didn't I? Just shows how rattled your brain becomes when you've spent the day catching up on episodes of The Repair Shop and Gardener's World!
Anyway, I am really glad that both you and Jemima are free of worms!

Nina