Common Parasites in Imported Chameleons?

[FancyRaptor]

Hello, what are the common parasites found in Imported Chameleons? I am considering buying one and I have a friend that is a vet and can do fecals on them but doesn't have the capabilities to do everything. (He is a vet at a large zoo so he has to cover a lot of ground) My Dad however is friends with one of the best reptile vets in the country but of course he will have to charge us as he is very busy. I want to know what I should be expecting so I can figure out how much my friend can do and then how much and what I will have to have the other vet do. (Sorry if this is confusing, basically I want a list of the common ones for him to check and tell me what he can do.)

 

[CharlieCharmingo]

http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/parasites-warning-this-health-chapter.html?m=1

Here's a blog where someone is talking about the different parasites and their effect on your chameleon. Hope this helps.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Hello, what are the common parasites found in Imported Chameleons? I am considering buying one and I have a friend that is a vet and can do fecals on them but doesn't have the capabilities to do everything. (He is a vet at a large zoo so he has to cover a lot of ground) My Dad however is friends with one of the best reptile vets in the country but of course he will have to charge us as he is very busy. I want to know what I should be expecting so I can figure out how much my friend can do and then how much and what I will have to have the other vet do. (Sorry if this is confusing, basically I want a list of the common ones for him to check and tell me what he can do.)

What species of chameleon are you looking at buying?

Any vet can tell you what kind of parasites you have. A reptile vet will tell you what medications to use and what dosages. A zoo vet probably has a lot of experience with dealing with newly imported reptiles and chameleons.

I've had various round worms, hook worms, giardia, lung worms and coccidia (once). Maybe flukes, can't remember.

You don't want to treat a new import for a long time. They need to get over the stress of import. Their immune system will be a mess from the stress of import and the parasite load will likely be huge. They are in no condition to handle the additional stress of medicating them, especially if they have a particularly heavy load of parasites. A mass die off of parasites can cause toxic shock. I believe medicating them close to import is what kills an awful lot of newly imported animals. Let them get over import and once their immune system is working again I think you will find they deal with a lot of parasites on their own. I have many wild caughts that I have never given worming medication to. I'm sure they have parasites but they are doing extremely well and I believe--as do my vets--in leaving them alone. You will never irradicate parasites completely. There is even new research suggesting that a minimal parasite load is beneficial to the host.

There are occasions when you do need to treat before the animal has sufficiently acclimated but that is really rare. Let the animal tell you when it needs some help and not before.

Medicating stressed, dehydrated new imports kills them.

What kind of experience do you have? Wild caughts can be quite a challenge but you will learn a tremendous amount from them if you are successful. They are a little tricky and need more hydration than their species "should" need. They also desperately need to be left alone and not even looked at .

 

[FancyRaptor]

What species of chameleon are you looking at buying?

Any vet can tell you what kind of parasites you have. A reptile vet will tell you what medications to use and what dosages. A zoo vet probably has a lot of experience with dealing with newly imported reptiles and chameleons.

I've had various round worms, hook worms, giardia, lung worms and coccidia (once). Maybe flukes, can't remember.

You don't want to treat a new import for a long time. They need to get over the stress of import. Their immune system will be a mess from the stress of import and the parasite load will likely be huge. They are in no condition to handle the additional stress of medicating them, especially if they have a particularly heavy load of parasites. A mass die off of parasites can cause toxic shock. I believe medicating them close to import is what kills an awful lot of newly imported animals. Let them get over import and once their immune system is working again I think you will find they deal with a lot of parasites on their own. I have many wild caughts that I have never given worming medication to. I'm sure they have parasites but they are doing extremely well and I believe--as do my vets--in leaving them alone. You will never irradicate parasites completely. There is even new research suggesting that a minimal parasite load is beneficial to the host.

There are occasions when you do need to treat before the animal has sufficiently acclimated but that is really rare. Let the animal tell you when it needs some help and not before.

Medicating stressed, dehydrated new imports kills them.

What kind of experience do you have? Wild caughts can be quite a challenge but you will learn a tremendous amount from them if you are successful. They are a little tricky and need more hydration than their species "should" need. They also desperately need to be left alone and not even looked at .

I am looking at Oustalet's Chameleon. I plan on letting those vets decide how we do everything with them as they will be supplying the meds. I have had reptiles and other animals for as long as I can remember (Had my first chameleon at 5 and that wasn't just my parents taking care of it, I helped a lot) I have helped raise a ton of animals and deal with nearly dead animals and get them back on there feet. My Dad is the one with a lot of the experience however and he will help me. He has done way too much to list but he has worked with animals for 40ish years now. The vet from the zoo doesn't work on reptiles, at least smaller than an alligator very often so that is why I mentioned the really good reptile vet my dad is friends with. I am still researching and deciding if I want to go with this but this is an important factor in getting a wild caught so I thought I should ask before I get too much farther into this idea. Thank you for the information!

 

[FancyRaptor]

http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/parasites-warning-this-health-chapter.html?m=1

Here's a blog where someone is talking about the different parasites and their effect on your chameleon. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info!