Coccidiosis- Advice and Tips?

[bhollowell]

So I just got results from the vet on the fecal exams I had done for my female and male panther chameleons. The female tested positive for Isospora spp. (Coccidiosis). They are prepping some dewormer for me today to give to her. The male is in her old enclosure- he's been there for about a month now.
Should I ask for dewormer for him as well? Should I try to go in and clean/disinfect the enclosures? So far they're behavior has not changed and they are eating regularly.
How do chameleons get Coccidia? Is it transferred from bad feeders? The female was never in contact with the male and I purchased her from Roberson Reptiles about 2 months ago.
I did notice some freaky, short little grubby worms (looked like tiny larvae) eating the bodies of some dead crickets in their bin. I threw everything out but I did feed from the bin before I noticed this.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

 

[JacksJill]

Most likely she had it when you got her. They have to eat a feeder that has eaten or come in contact with infected poop. It is possible if you buy feeders from a pet store an infected feeder came in from there.
Some cleaning tips. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/cage-cleaning-•-sanitation-istyt-part-4-disinfection.2406/

 

[AmandaS]

@Beman

 

[Beman]

I am very sorry to hear about this... You can read through my thread about it... It is a sad thread though. So just know that not all have the experience I did. But there were wonderful people like Jacksjill that gave me feedback there. I managed to not spread it to my other chameleon that I had and was able to contain it to the new one that was sick. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/coccidia-help-and-cleaning-advice-please.170202/

If you did not thoroughly clean the enclosure prior to putting your male in it then yes there is a chance he has it too. They pick it up via fecal matter so if there was some on a branch or plants that contained the oocysts and your male drank from that area then contamination to him is very possible.

I would get his fecal tested as well. I would not give him meds unless he tests positive. Medications can be hard on their system.

 

[bhollowell]

Thanks. The male got checked as well and he wasn't positive. Here's to hoping Sally doesn't get worse and this goes away.

 

[jamest0o0]

Curious, where is the chameleon with coccidia from? There's been an alarming amount of people on here with coccidia infected chameleons. Your 2 biggest causes are pet store crickets(even good pet stores have a higher risk, I'd stick to online feeder focused companies for crickets) and breeders with an outbreak of it.

 

[bhollowell]

Curious, where is the chameleon with coccidia from? There's been an alarming amount of people on here with coccidia infected chameleons. Your 2 biggest causes are pet store crickets(even good pet stores have a higher risk, I'd stick to online feeder focused companies for crickets) and breeders with an outbreak of it.

I bought this girl from Roberson Reptiles. As for the crickets I haven't really been able to find a good, healthy supply locally. I had had some good experiences with the crickets from my local bait shop- they were quite healthy- but this last batch was bad. I'm waiting on an online order from greatlakehormworms to replace.

 

[jamest0o0]

Ook I'm not familiar with that breeder. As for crickets, it's not a matter of them being healthy or not, a very healthy cricket could carry coccidia. Just depends if they're exposed to it at some point. Safest route is getting from places that only raise feeders and don't have different reptiles coming in regularly(like most pet stores).

 

[Beman]

I bought this girl from Roberson Reptiles. As for the crickets I haven't really been able to find a good, healthy supply locally. I had had some good experiences with the crickets from my local bait shop- they were quite healthy- but this last batch was bad. I'm waiting on an online order from greatlakehormworms to replace.

In the future I would avoid getting feeders from your bait shop. Order direct from suppliers.

 

[JacksJill]

Any breeder who uses wild caught imports and doesn't go thru rigid isolation procedures is at risk for coccidia. Even trading with other breeders puts you at risk for introducing it into your breeding stock.