Coccidia... Help and cleaning advice. Please..

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

Thank you! Next Fecal is in two weeks for him. I am praying that it stays clear. I tested too early according to the vet but I really needed the peace of mind that he was ok at least right now.

Would've done the same. GODSPEED and the prayers from me and my family go without question. Still have my piggies crossed.

 

[Rst_Cham]

If crickets are fed moldy grain a toxin builds up in their system and the toxin, 'Aflatoxicosis' can kill chameleons that eat the crickets. This has nothing to do with parasites. The crickets would have to have been exposed to chameleon feces to transmit coccidia. Most species of coccidia in chameleons can only reproduce inside a chameleon.
Pet stores that sell chameleons are a very bad place to buy crickets or other similar feeders. The risk of exposure to infected feces is higher.

Would crickets be a safer feeder if you breed them yourself? Or would that not help?
I have other animals who eat crickets as well so I'd rather not take them out as feeders all together but now I'm really scared. It sounds to me like Bahari probably got infected by crickets (or maybe exposed to a sick cham) before he was even shipped to Becca, like James said (since she doesn't feed crickets and Beman is healthy) and other feeders don't carry coccidia, right?

This whole thread is terrifying, it's sounds like a complete nightmare to deal with. I'm so sorry Becca. I'm incredibly relieved to hear that Beman's fecal came back negative. Thank god.

 

[JacksJill]

Would crickets be a safer feeder if you breed them yourself? Or would that not help?
I have other animals who each crickets as well so I'd rather not take them out as feeders all together but now I'm really scared. (It sounds to me like Bahari either got infected by crickets since other feeders don't carry coccidia (right?) or maybe exposed to a sick cham before he was even shipped to Becca, like James said (since she doesn't feed crickets and Beman is healthy.)

This whole thread is terrifying, it's sounds like a complete nightmare to deal with. I'm so sorry Becca. I'm incredibly relieved to hear that Beman's fecal came back negative. Thank god.

Yes and no. You can avoid parasites that way by never putting a loose cricket or feeder back in the box or cage. Make it so crickets can't get back in on their own.
It is easy to have your dry gut load get moldy and get toxic crickets from that. It is entirely dependent on your cricket husbandry. As with everything else chameleon related husbandry, husbandry, husbandry.

 

[Beman]

This whole thread is terrifying, it's sounds like a complete nightmare to deal with. I'm so sorry Becca. I'm incredibly relieved to hear that Beman's fecal came back negative. Thank god.

Thanks hun. It is pretty sucky. But I will get him through this and hopefully I have not exposed Beman. And everyone here will get me through this lol. xoxo

 

[Rst_Cham]

Yes and no. You can avoid parasites that way by never putting a loose cricket or feeder back in the box or cage. Make it so crickets can't get back in on their own.
It is easy to have your dry gut load get moldy and get toxic crickets from that. It is entirely dependent on your cricket husbandry. As with everything else chameleon related husbandry, husbandry, husbandry.

OK, thanks, that makes sense. So I cup feed crickets to my cham Max. Any uneaten ones should be thrown out instead of back in the cricket bin then, right? I dont know, maybe I just need to keep the crickets for my other animals but stop feeding them to Max altogether.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

OK, thanks, that makes sense. So I cup feed crickets to my cham Max. Any uneaten ones should be thrown out instead of back in the cricket bin then, right? I dont know, maybe I just need to keep the crickets for my other animals but stop feeding them to Max altogether.

So we're just supposed to throw away uneaten crickets @10¢a pop? I got into the wrong hobby. Should've bought a sail boat

 

[snitz427]

I leave my crickets in there... I feed appx what I think they will eat. If one goes uneaten, it spends the night. They may climb around the plants but usually hang out in the corners of the screen all night.

My guys eat a variety, not solely crickets. And every other day... so it is a rare occasion a cricket even makes it to the top of the cage.

 

[JacksJill]

OK, thanks, that makes sense. So I cup feed crickets to my cham Max. Any uneaten ones should be thrown out instead of back in the cricket bin then, right? I dont know, maybe I just need to keep the crickets for my other animals but stop feeding them to Max altogether.

I still feed crickets but I buy in bulk and and house them away from my chameleons. I don't buy crickets from pet stores or other places that house chameleons. I keep any dry gut load in a tray that doesn't get any damp gut load near it. I keep things ventilated so condensation doesn't build up.

So we're just supposed to throw away uneaten crickets @10¢a pop? I got into the wrong hobby. Should've bought a sail boat

I use a feeder that keeps crickets in and I have a pretty good idea how many to feed per day. The occasional cricket could get into the cage but rarely. Other feeders not at all. The feeder is covered on the top so chameleons tend not to poop in it. It's very easy to clean.
If you don't want to do that you can just keep any uneaten crickets in a deli cup and gut load for the next day. They just need to go back to same cage they came from.

 

[Beman]

So we're just supposed to throw away uneaten crickets @10¢a pop? I got into the wrong hobby. Should've bought a sail boat

Right there with you!!!! Can I take up painting at this point and just scratch the Cham keeping idea? Lol cause all I do is collect poop and deal with poop all day now. My life is a poop show
This post has been made PG rated for our younger readers lol

 

[Beman]

I still feed crickets but I buy in bulk and and house them away from my chameleons. I don't buy crickets from pet stores or other places that house chameleons. I keep any dry gut load in a tray that doesn't get any damp gut load near it. I keep things ventilated so condensation doesn't build up.

I use a feeder that keeps crickets in and I have a pretty good idea how many to feed per day. The occasional cricket could get into the cage but rarely. Other feeders not at all. The feeder is covered on the top so chameleons tend not to poop in it. It's very easy to clean.
If you don't want to do that you can just keep any uneaten crickets in a deli cup and gut load for the next day. They just need to go back to same cage they came from.

Hey hun what was that feeder that you hook to the screen? Do you think I could use that? I could not get him to eat from the spoon, cup, or holding a branch today.

 

[JacksJill]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/shooting-gallery-screened-cage-chameleon-feeder.169011/
I'm a big fan of these. I feel like they save be money on bugs constantly and I'm not a fan of loose critters in my house. I think they are great for breeders or multi cham households. I know who's eating and who isn't. It's hard to watch multiple chameleons eat and bugs can hide fast.
I did help test and develop them so I'm a bit partial but I make nothing off of them.

 

[Beman]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/shooting-gallery-screened-cage-chameleon-feeder.169011/
I'm a big fan of these. I feel like they save be money on bugs constantly and I'm not a fan of loose critters in my house. I think they are great for breeders or multi cham households. I know who's eating and who isn't. It's hard to watch multiple chameleons eat and bugs can hide fast.
I did help test and develop them so I'm a bit partial but I make nothing off of them.

With me having to control coccidia exposure if I clean the screen really well before I attach it it should stay clean so it would not matter if Bahari is eating off the screen each day right?

 

[Rst_Cham]

I leave my crickets in there... I feed appx what I think they will eat. If one goes uneaten, it spends the night. They may climb around the plants but usually hang out in the corners of the screen all night.

My guys eat a variety, not solely crickets. And every other day... so it is a rare occasion a cricket even makes it to the top of the cage.

I only feed crickets 2x per week or so and Max almost always eats them all. But when he doesn't, I've been throwing them back in bin! So this is excellent info!

 

[David Esparza]

Yeah I may try rigging it to the ceiling lol.

Unless he stops eating all together I don't want to force it on him yet. He still does not trust me fully. And I don't want to break the little trust we have.

I think tomorrow I am going to move my chair over and just hold it in my hand. See if he will eventually take it from me. He has only taken 2 silks from me but that was the first few days he was here. Otherwise everything he has eaten has been off the branches.

I have more silks coming in this week as well so I might have better luck with hand feeding those.

someone please help me I have a question I recently posted on general discussion

 

[Rst_Cham]

I still feed crickets but I buy in bulk and and house them away from my chameleons. I don't buy crickets from pet stores or other places that house chameleons. I keep any dry gut load in a tray that doesn't get any damp gut load near it. I keep things ventilated so condensation doesn't build up.

I use a feeder that keeps crickets in and I have a pretty good idea how many to feed per day. The occasional cricket could get into the cage but rarely. Other feeders not at all. The feeder is covered on the top so chameleons tend not to poop in it. It's very easy to clean.
If you don't want to do that you can just keep any uneaten crickets in a deli cup and gut load for the next day. They just need to go back to same cage they came from.

OK, this is great info, thank you! I usually buy from Rainbow but by from store sometimes if I run out. Never again! I keep all my bugs in my laundry room so far away from cham. So dry here that condensation isn't an issue...
THANK YOU!!!

 

[JacksJill]

With me having to control coccidia exposure if I clean the screen really well before I attach it it should stay clean so it would not matter if Bahari is eating off the screen each day right?

The feeder isn't porous so you can just spray it down with the rest of the cage. As long as he doesn't poop in there and that isn't likey you should be fine.

 

[Beman]

Ok I just don't know what to do... He will not eat. I have tried everything suggested for hours today. I have silks coming tomorrow that I am praying he will hand feed.

He keeps falling from the screen. He has a little bruise on his chin. He has fallen a few times from the branches. I don't think he is weak enough to put in a hospital bin but I do not know. I can't get him to stay off the screen. His nails are so short that he is unable to grip it. I am so freaking stressed. He fell about 10 minutes ago and just laid there until I opened the door and reached in. Then he puffed at me and got up on to his feet.

Should I get a hospital bin set up? Am I over freaking out at this point? I am so upset and frustrated...

 

[GoodKarma19]

Ok I just don't know what to do... He will not eat. I have tried everything suggested for hours today. I have silks coming tomorrow that I am praying he will hand feed.

He keeps falling from the screen. He has a little bruise on his chin. He has fallen a few times from the branches. I don't think he is weak enough to put in a hospital bin but I do not know. I can't get him to stay off the screen. His nails are so short that he is unable to grip it. I am so freaking stressed. He fell about 10 minutes ago and just laid there until I opened the door and reached in. Then he puffed at me and got up on to his feet.

Should I get a hospital bin set up? Am I over freaking out at this point? I am so upset and frustrated...


View attachment 239879

At this point I'd consider a hospital bin, which has the added benefit of being very easy to keep clean! Then, while Bahari's in the bin, you can deep clean his current enclosure for when he's stronger.

Has he been climbing the ceiling, or just the walls? If it's the walls, it might be worth trying a bamboo/willow/etc coveringthe screen on the inside of the cage. Lily is also prone to screen climbing (especially right after i bring her in from her sun time), and I was thinking of doing something like that for her, and then making the door panel a "clearside" with the window shrink stuff on the interior so that it was too smooth for her to try scaling it!

 

[Beman]

At this point I'd consider a hospital bin, which has the added benefit of being very easy to keep clean! Then, while Bahari's in the bin, you can deep clean his current enclosure for when he's stronger.

Has he been climbing the ceiling, or just the walls? If it's the walls, it might be worth trying a bamboo/willow/etc coveringthe screen on the inside of the cage. Lily is also prone to screen climbing (especially right after i bring her in from her sun time), and I was thinking of doing something like that for her, and then making the door panel a "clearside" with the window shrink stuff on the interior so that it was too smooth for her to try scaling it!

Someone else just told me to do a bin too. He was still climbing when I had the bamboo frame before I had to deep clean. I am afraid he will break himself falling. I am just soooooo worried about causing more stress. I just want to throw up.... Cry.... Scream... This sucks so much Amanda.

 

[jamest0o0]

@JacksJill without going too much off topic, do we know of any cases where aflatoxins actually hurt a reptile? Not arguing. Genuinely curious how much of a threat it is. I've had my dry gutload get moldy before and i toss it, but it worries me if any of the feeders got into it.