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Posted by oldherper on April 24, 2003 at 22:56:03:
In Reply to: Panacur questions posted by pulatus on April 24, 2003 at 20:33:35:
Yes, Panacur needs refrigeration. 100mg/kg is about the usual dose. The strength it normally comes in is 100mg/ml, so I just use 1cc per kg of body weight. I usually go ahead and put a little Flagyl in with it, about the same dose (it comes in 50mg/ml), because usually when I've had a worm problem, it was food borne and protozoans and/or amoebic parasites are usually present, too. I'm not one for "shotgun" medicating techniques, but if I'm medicating for worms, I might as well get the other bugs while I'm at it. I don't know of any danger with mixing the two meds or their suspensions.
One word of caution (OK, a few). First off, vermifuges (or anthelmintics), such as Panacur, are essentially pesticides. Your animal has the pests inside his gut, so you induce or force him to swallow something that is toxic to the pests in order to kill them. It will, in all likelihood, also be toxic to one degree or another to your snake.
Panacur is not a "cure-all". It is only effective against certain parasites. For instance, it will have no effect at all on tapeworms (Cestodes) of most species, but is apparently effective against tapeworms of the Taenia sp. For other tapeworm species you would use Praziquantel (Droncit) or Niclosamide (Niclosan). Panacur is effective for many species of Nematodes, such as Hepatic worms, Lung Worms, Hook Worms and Round Worms. It has no effect on Pin Worms. For that you have two choices, Piperacine citrate or Ivermectin. Ivermectin is extremely dangerous for use in reptiles. The effective dosage (.2mg/kg)of Ivermectin is a near fatal dose for the host animal (your reptile) and is reputedly particularly dangerous in certain species, such as Drymarchon sp. Panacur is also effective for some (but not all) Strongyles and Pentastomids.
So, you can see that it's sort of important to know exactly what the offending bug is before you start using medications. Most of the worms can be identified by:
A) Finding and identifying adult worms or tapeworm segments in the stool.
B) A Fecal float test for eggs. This won't usually find tapeworm eggs.
C) A direct smear test for Tapeworm eggs.
I do random fecal floats and smears on my animals every few months, or if I see evidence in the stool of a problem. I would suggest that if you think you have a problem with parasites, take a fresh stool sample to a vet and let him identify the culprit and give you the meds and dosages you need. Your Vet will have references as to which meds are safe for which species.
:Could you tell me:
:1.) Does one have to refrigerate panacur if kept a week or more?
:2.) Is 1mg per kg sound about right for worms?
:3.) How common is it to transmit worms via rats? Do those of you who have to feed live get fecals done with some regularity, or just let things be till you see problems?
:Thanks,
:Joe
