Snail Poo Has Worms in it

[Angiewelly]

Can anyone help please? I got my friends little boy an Giant African Land Snail which he loves but when it poos it has white worms that wriggle. Is this serious or are they eggs? He only has one but it may have been pregnant when I got it. Many Thanks Angie.

[ian]

Hello, I ve had snails with worms which i brought from Brixton market. Just be realy careful with washing hands etc because if it has worms it may have other nasties!
I used sunflower seeds or any seed with thick kernels, these can help to push the worms out. Clean the substrate regularly to avoid reinfection. As long as the worms are kept under control they shouldnt affect the snail too badly. I thought I was rid of the worms in my brixton margies but last week ive just noticed a few more starting to show up, i think its quite hard to get rid of them completely.

[Val]

Pumpkin seeds are supposed to be quite good at "de-worming" as well, worth giving them a go.

Val

[LisaLQ]

Might be worth bare tanking them for a couple of weeks, maybe using capillary matting or (as I do in quarantine) damp kitchen roll. That way you can wash the matting or change the kitchen roll daily, to prevent reinfestation. Alongside the seeds and that

I'll pop this over to the Pests, Illnesses and Diseases board - you might get more replies over there. I bet Paul's got some ideas (if he's not too busy)

In the meantime - this thread might come in handy?
petsnails.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=pests&action=display&n=1&thread=4389

And this:
petsnails.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=pests&action=display&n=1&thread=4409

One last word of advice - be very very strict when it comes to handling and washing hands. I probably wouldn't let your little lad handle him while he's infested - if poss - otherwise I'd make sure you wash his hands really well afterwards. I dont know whether you just have the one snail, but if you have more - and they're not showing signs, it might be worth keeping them seperate from the new one too. Just to be safe

[Angiewelly]

Just wanted to thank you all for your advice. I have gone for the Sunflower seeds and bare tank for a couple of weeks. Must say Colin the Snail is getting better by the day. Again, many thanks to all who responded. Angie. ;D ;D

[pinkspider]

when using sunflower seeds as a natural wormer do you take off the kernel (hard skin) or do you crush it with the hard skin on and then soak it ? I'm not clear on the natural worming process i have no problems with my snails at the moment but would like to know for future references

thanks

[Paul]

Preparing seeds without cooking is vital but how it is done doesn't really matter. You want the best chance of it working so I think crushed so there is more surface area and it's less likely to pass through undigested, and served wet/damp because they're more likely to eat it in my experience.

It is pumpkin seeds that contain cucurbitin, a deworming agent known to work for fish. I'm not sure if sunflower seeds are of any use for this purpose.

[pinkspider]

arh thank you i will go get some monday they may be usfull to have are in i am guseeign a trip to the health shop is in order unless anyone knows if you can get them from asda? so i am presunming soaking and crushing them slightly will be the best option are pumpkin seed a good thing to add to a snails diet regurlarly and if so how often?

sorry if i sound like a thickoooo im learning

many thanks

natalie

[benm]

Wow, thats interesting , think i'll get some seeds in the week, may come in handy when i get some brixton tigers!

[Paul]

Pumpkin seeds are a healthy addition to their diet.

You can get them from Asda, but only in very small packets.