Feeding & Tapeworm

[kendalyn]

I'm not quite sure what to do here. I just noticed awhile ago that Buck probably had worms. So I took in a sample and the vet confirmed he was infected with a tape worm. :-? So I gave him the medicine and so far I don't see any signs of it. So that's all good.

But now I'm wondering if I need to adjust the amount of food I give him. I have been giving him 2 cups of Wellness ( switching between Super 5 Mix and Fish and Sweet Potato) a day. I've noticed the last couple feedings he has left some in the bowl and come back and eaten it later. Should I remove the food he didn't eat? I don't want him to eat to much knowing any extra will be removed though.

I'm basically just wondering if he needs less food, now that I'm not feeding a tapeworm.

[Canis erectus]

You shouldn't need to make any diet changes unless Buck had a serious parasite load. A slight infestation isn't typically a signifigant nutritional burden.

His appetite change could be coincidental, maybe due tp the warming weather?

[kendalyn]

Oh ok, that's good to know.

Yeah, you're right that his appetite change could be coincidental. I'll just watch him and see what he does in the next week or so.

[anne3149]

I would worm him again in two weeks to take care of any immature worms as well.

Do you use a flea preventative? They get tapeworm from ingesting fleas.

[kendalyn]

I checked and he doesn't have fleas. The vet said he probably got it from eating another animal with tapeworms. Buck finds and eats small rodents quite often. :roll: I've pretty much given up trying to stop him. He's too good at it and he eats them so quickly that I can't get them away before they're gone. :-?