Broad Spectrum Parasite Treatment- Please Advise Which Drugs

[Franquixote]

At about a year old, my panther is showing runny stools and based on the sheer number of the variety of feeders and numerous sources of feeders it would be miraculous if there weren't parasites.
The nearest vet that specializes in reptiles is hours away, but my local vet said she would prescribe whatever I asked for- she knows I have been dealing with exotics for over 30 years and advised that bringing in a relatively delicate animal and spending hundreds of dollars would do more harm than good for an initial (and perhaps even prophylactic) treatment regimen.
We both feel that the risks of transport, stress, and money vastly outweigh the benefits of just doing a thorough prophylactic treatment, so please don't flame me - I understand that medication is also stressful etc. but I'm not interested in debating that.

If you are an expert, please advise on your preferred regimen - my initial thought is panacur and flagyl. Of course I will consult with the vet and research the dosages, time frames, and full course of treatments, but I would greatly appreciate suggestions on which meds treat the widest variety of parasites.

After this initial treatment, I am going to then bring him to a specialist in June to do a full workup of blood and fecal testing. I don't want to go into the full list of reasons why my local vet and I feel that this is the better plan, just asking that you offer advice on the best broad range parasite regimen.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[jannb]

Have your local vet do a fecal. It doesn’t have to be a reptile vet to do a fecal. He should be getting regular fecals every 4 to 6 months anyway. Once you find out which parasites he has, if any at all, then you will know how to proceed with treatment. My vets always say to never treat without knowing they need to be treated. He says why would you want to put poison in a fragile animal like a chameleon if it’s not needed. Flagyl is a rough drug on their system anyway, even when needed.

You are lucky to have a good reptile vet only an hour away. I use to have to drive 4 & 1/2 hours to mine until be moved to get closer to him. Now I only have to drive and hour to an hour and a half depending on traffic.

Here’s a list of reptile vets in NJ. You can call around and see which ones have chameleon experience.
http://thereptilereport.com/new-jersey-reptile-veterinary-directory/

 

[Decadancin]

I'd agree. You should get a fecal test and find out exactly what you are treating for. I don't think a broad spectrum would necessarily work and you would just prolong issues and likely make recovery more difficult. Your Vet should be able to reach out for advice from the vet community if she needs specific dosage and type.

 

[Franquixote]

I tried all but one of those vets listed and none have chameleon experience and the extent of their reptile experience is mostly 1-2 clients that had a bearded dragon or treated a single client with a green iguana in the late 80's.

Which vet is claiming they have solid experience with a variety of reptiles? The answer I got was as above.

I haven't used any of the meds that have come out n the last 20 years or so, I just want to know what is out there now and not beat around the bush for this initial treatment.
I am going to bring him to a vet in June when my summer break starts (I'm a teacher). I need a solid week of work done to disinfect and completely redo the enclosure for a variety of functional and aesthetic reasons.

The only reason that any of this makes sense to me is that in the first few months I had him I was getting feeders from vendors, I now have my own colonies except for crickets which I am getting from Josh's (so should be parasite free)

Maybe better questions would be:

You folks think it's stupid to treat now considering he is eating and doing OK and that there's a decent chance he's just going to pick up parasites again from the enclosure vs. riding it out until June?

Any way to test feeder colonies for parasites and if so any treatment options for feeder colonies?

 

[Darthroastcoffee]

I live in Jackson New Jersey I’ve been to the ocean county veterinarian hospital. But I would recommend North Star if you can get to it every vet I talk to recommended it here’s the link-
http://www.northstarvets.com/mobile/

 

[Darthroastcoffee]

I’ve seen a couple in New York that’s not to far from you it looks like maybe give them a call and see what they do and don’t do