Fleas on feeders

[cahrens]

I recently got in some feeders that had fleas on them. I was already done feeding when I noticed them. There were several in my snakes water bowls and I checked the remaining rats and sure enough, they were on the rats. Other than being extremely undesirable, is there a health problem which could now surface? My doggy vet said that eating fleas can cause worms in dogs. Is this also the case with snakes? I'm sure they ate some of them. Anyone got any experience or knowledge in this area? Thanks in advance. -Chris

[varnyard]

That is 100% true, fleas are well known for carrying tape worms. Inside the flea, there could be (cysticercoids), these develop after your reptile ingests them. Then, when the reptile eats a flea on a rodent a host of new tapeworms develop in the reptile's intestine.

Taenia species of tapeworms have a life cycle that involves an intermediate host, in this case a small rodent. The reptiles eat the intermediate host and get these tapeworms, (Taenia taenaeformis). The fleas often carry tapeworm eggs. When your reptile eats the rodent, he may ingest the parasite and become infected.

You might want to contact your vet to see if you need to treat your animals for these parasites.

[cahrens]

Thanks Bobby. That makes a lot more sense now. I couldn't figure out how fleas or flea eggs could change into worms. Just didn't make sense to me. I'll have to address this issue now. Thanks for the explanation. -Chris