Several keepers over the years have witnessed the melleri baby die-off phenomena, but no solid leads beyond signs of an unknown but rapid general infection.

So I was following a link from a keeper looking for help with parasite meds, and this struck me:

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/product_coccicare.mgi

Juveniles dying at 10-12 weeks of age
If your adult birds become infected during the breeding season, you will most likely start loosing your juveniles at 10-12 weeks of age. The nestlings are infected very early on and degeneration of the liver begins. At 10-12 weeks there is so little liver function left, that the juveniles begin to drop weight and "waste away".

Granted, chameleons do not raise their young inside the nest, thus the young are not exposed to the parent chameleon's feces/vent area. My thought is, during egglaying, can coccidia in the lower GI adhere to the eggs? Then, when they hatch, do neonates become infected by contact with the other shells around them?

The symptoms above and the age of death are frighteningly familiar. Asymptomatic parents could be carriers, but exactly how far can it be carried live on an eggshell? Or worse, inside an eggshell?

__________________
Kristina Francis
http://www.melleridiscovery.com/

"The human mind treats a new idea the same way the
body treats a strange protein; it rejects it."
- Peter B. Medawar
Nobel Prize-winning immunologist

Wow...very interesting, and scary.

Well due to the descriptions on that page
hatchlings that have to be misted and kept in humid environments
to offset body water loss are sure fire targets for infection.

Egg infection.. sure it seems to be that way with other reptiles
since they require a living cell to reproduce
long living cysts may be the culprit.

Crickets and (feeder flies?) are sure carriers of the protozoan.
my local reptile society had a presentation on this awhile back
it's a really difficult bug to get rid of.

Daves Weldon's reply + good treatment tips in thread
(OTC human product "sulfatrim" is Trimethoprim sulfa dosage at 30 mg per kg)
http://www.chameleonforums.com/coccidia-treatment-9983
reptile specific info
http://redtailboa.net/forums/feature...d-dragons.html
fecal microscope ID images
http://www.thegeckospot.com/fecal.html

__________________
"In Target earlier today I learned there is really no good way to answer a 5-year-old asking you why you are looking at his mother's butt so much..."