Quote Originally Posted by Lori P View Post
So... generally, do we worry about the feeder fish giving our snakes parasites? Do you check fecals on your snakes from time to time and deworm or is it not really a concern? When I got Fluffy, the ball python, I did run a fecal and found she had roundworms. So have dewormed her and the baby ball, Little Squiggles (which is what you get when you let your husband name your snakes, LOL).

Just trying to figure out if it would be prudent to set up a small community tank and raise my own feeder fish, which I could moniter the health of and also deworm from time to time...

Thanks wise snake people!!!! :-)
Yeh, you do have to be careful. Any "live" animals that are not captive raised have the capability of passing on parasites. I very rarely feed my garters live fish for just that reason. Flukes, tapeworms, lungworms and roundworms can all be passed on from fish prey. My snakes might get them only once every few months or so. Main diet is rodents and they also get frozen fish fillet and earthworms as well(usually once a month). If you raise your own earthworms, they're pretty parasite free. As far as raising fish, you can try doing platies or other livebearers. They'd probably be the best choice for pretty quick returns on them. I wouldn't randomly deworm though.....putting too many meds into animals is something I really try to avoid....don't think it really benefits them (or us for that matter ).