Back when you could only get wild caught, that would obviously usually only take live I used to worm my snakes until they were on defrosted. I did this after that time too.
I believe its illegal to feed live in the UK now but i think there are caveats.
I know ball pythons can be difficult to get started and some breeders use the caveats to save the snake and feed live initially if needed.
I have recently been in a stable position and with space to start a new snake collection.
So over the last few months have bought 14 ball pythons (not stopping there)
I only feed defrosted but don’t know about the snakes past.
So I am worried about worms 
- should I be worried?
- should I worm my collection ?
- If so How and which product?
I used to divide the recommended mammal dose by the weight. Then put it in the mouse/rat butt (not a live mouses butt obviously 
.)
I am sure things have moved on since then.
Not talking about regular worming, just to eliminate the risk from my collection. Any advice welcome
It’s illegal to feed live in the UK unless the snake needs it to survive or it is in the best interest of the snake. I would get them tested and see if it’s even necessary. There’s no point using unnecessary drugs and/or antibiotics if they don’t need them. A lot of people feed live and their snakes don’t get worms or parasites. Feeder mice are often healthy and don’t transfer parasites to the snake. To see which product to use you should check with your specialized herp vet and talk to them about the pros and cons of deworming and if you decide to deworm see how to safely go about it. I would think that would be the safest and stress-free way to go about deworming.
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@erie-herps Sound advice thanks. The thing is lots of vets claim to be specialists but when I have used them they are not. Does anyone have any recommendations. (Im in crawley) If its not ok on the forum you could message me.
Obviously in the past I sought specialist advice, but the advice was different then. Hence this post.
Also I had contacts that are gone now. for example I worked with the center for life studies at london zoo or the specialist vets I trusted are no longer around.
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A lot of the resources I use are for the United States, from what I’ve found this should work.
ARAV
Just add the details and you can see which vets are closest to you. I would recommend calling them to “test” them. Just explain your situation and see what knowledge they have. If you think it’s important enough you might also explain another situation (shedding) and see if they have any idea what you’re talking about. Unfortunately most vets don’t know what they’re doing and this might help to find a vet who is able to give you advice that will be safest for your snakes.
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Again sound helpful advice, thanks alot
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Before randomly worming your entire collection, get some fecal tests done to determine if any of your snakes are infested. Worming is hard on the animal and shouldn’t be done unnecessarily.
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Thanks, I kind of thought that might be the case but hoped there was a safer way these days.
Cost is a factor for multiple fecal sample analysis by a vet but the animal comes first.
Fecal sample analysis was easy when I had contacts or when I was a lab technician and had access to equipment at work but i don’t now. (I am in human health care consultancy now)
I am thinking it might be better in the long run to get my own microscope, that way I can look for other parasites like flagellates etc. But for now I think finding a good vet and following your advice is best.
Edit: and of corse combined with erie-herps advice
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