We have worm!!

[beeclaire80]

Got Floyd’s results back from his worm count!

Nearest exotic vet is 45 minutes away but I’ve spoken a practice in the next town who have a vet who is happy to look at the results and prescribe so I’m not sure whether to book with them or not.

Gah! Owning a tort is stressful!

[Nina]

Hi Claire,

That is a very interesting result! I think you can book an appt with your local vet, but I want to send you something first, so hold on until tomorrow morning because I need to find it and type it out for you.

Nina

[beeclaire80]

Thank you Nina. I will await your reply.

I’ve been doing some googling (never a good thing I know!) as I had never heard of this. It’s not a worm as such but a bacterial parasite?? And it can be found in humans as well. Google is telling me that treatment is an antibiotic??

The sample I sent off was tiny which is a worry if levels were this high.

[Nina]

I think it will be fine to consult the vet in the next town. The only problems come because ordinary vets aren't always aware of complications that come when medicines used on mammals aren't appropriate for reptiles. For example, Ivermectin is a medicine used to treat a wide range of parasites in mammals, but it is lethal for tortoises, and we know of at least one case where a tortoise died after treatment for worms with Ivermectin.

Protozoa are single celled animals (like amoeba) that are commonly found and can be easily treated. Stuart McArthur is one of the leading tortoise vets in the country, and I have consulted his book 'Veterinary Management of Tortoises and Turtles' (Blackwell Science, 1996). Here is the paragraph on Balantidium from his book:
"A ciliate protozoan organism regularly isolated in domestic tortoises. No specific disease has been attributed to it. It appears to be relatively easy to clear this organism using a single dose of metronidazole at 260mg/kg."
As this book was written in 1996, there might be new drugs that are now being used. The brand name for Metronidazole is Flagyl.

I also consulted the Tortoise Trust website who recommend the 260g per kg dose, but also a slightly different one (lower dose but repeated):
"The recommended treatment for balantidiasis is 125 mg/kg Metronidazole (brand name Flagyl or other) orally every day for three days, followed by tetracycline orally for 5-8 days at 25-50 mg/kg; or a single dose of 260 mg/kg Metronidazole has also been described as effective."
Here is a link to the Tortoise Trust Article which will tell you a lot more about Balantidium:
https://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/balantidium.htm

The fact that you sent off a small sample shouldn't be a problem at all. So good luck at the vet, and do politely ask what medicine the vet intends to treat the tortoise with. As far as I know, Ivermectin is only used to treat worms, so he won't be prescribing that.

Let us know how you get on!

Nina

[beeclaire80]

Thank you Nina!

As always your advice is perfect!

I did some reading this morning (published research papers) and have come away with the same recommendations that you have.

Floyd seems quite well in himself, especially since sorting his lamps/temps out, which is a bonus.

Will keep you updated!

Thanks.