deworming a chameleon

[robertjgreenwald]

I am a veterinarian with more than a casual knowledge of deworming medications. Yet, I am new to this chameleon care and was wondering how one administers these medications. I have been told that one could dip a cricket in the meds, but I find that too inaccurate. What has been found as a successful way to do this?

 

[Mike Fisher]

I use a dropper. It is the only true way to get an accurate dose IMO. Just take it slow otherwise they can aspirate it, or regurgitate it. Most are bitter and they do not like the flavor so I always run a mist/drip cycle afterwards so they can drink if needed.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Welcome! Here is a brief section on how to adminster oral medications to chameleons. As you know, dose is very important so it should be done as accurately as possible.

Administering Oral Medications

 

[little leaf]

I have to worm my cham next week- is a .04 cc panacure - I was going to just put it in a small roach - is this ok- I have never wormed a cham - I do not want to put it in her mouth - I would never get it open anyway w/o hurting her I dont think - this is a good post- just how DO you worm a cham ??

NO- lol .01 cc

 

[little leaf]

awwww - this is what I get when I click the link ?

little leaf, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

is that a vet only link ?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

You can inject it into the feeder directly as long as they'll eat that bug reliably when you put it in there. If they're not going to eat it quickly then the best way is to force it unfortunately to make sure that they do get the medication.

Edit: Shoot, the link must not be active yet. That's a new section of the resources we've been working on and it must not be a live link yet. It will be available to everyone when it is. That's okay, I'll copy here.

Most take home medications are meant to be given orally (by mouth) and giving this can be challenging and potentially stressful to both the chameleon and the owner. The easiest way to give an oral medication to your chameleon is to inject the proper amount of medicine into a feeder insect and then feed it to your chameleon immediately. This eliminates the need to hold your chameleon, force its mouth open and cause undo stress on a sickly animal. However this only works if the chameleon is hungry and accepts the insect right away. Medications hidden in food may have a delayed absorption and/or degrade before being eaten and utilized if not eaten immediately.

In the case of stubborn or non feeding chameleons gentle restraint is sometimes needed. Wrapping the chameleon loosely in a towel will stop the struggling and fighting. In many cases gently rubbing the nose or placing your fingers over the nostrils will elicit an open mouth response and the medications can then be administered into the back of the mouth. If that doesn’t work gently slide a credit card, soft spatula or other thin pliable utensil between the jaws until they open up enough to insert the syringe and administer the medication. Be careful not to injure sensitive lips and teeth when doing this. After dosing, wait for your chameleon to close its mouth before letting them go. This will allow the medications to stay in the mouth, swallowed and not be expelled or spitted out on release. Hold your chameleon with the head tilted up higher than the rest of the body to help them swallow the medication.

Make sure you finish the medications completely as prescribed even if the symptoms seem to improve before the medication is finished. Always verify that you have the right amount of the medication in the syringe or dropper before you give it to your chameleon. Some medications have serious side effects if they are accidentally overdosed. The amount of the medication to be given is written on the bottle and if you have any questions about the dosage do not hesitate to call the veterinarian for further explanations. Remember to keep all syringes and medications up and away from children and other pets and dispose of them properly once the course is complete.

George demonstrating:

 

[little leaf]

You can inject it into the feeder directly as long as they'll eat that bug reliably when you put it in there. If they're not going to eat it quickly then the best way is to force it unfortunately to make sure that they do get the medication.

we are talking about Olive- she would eat a horse if I put it in there-
thanks Ferret - U R the best

 

[robertjgreenwald]

Thank U Ferret and others

I am new to this stuff and not sure how it works. I hope this gets to Ferret and others to let them know I found their threads helpful. As a veterinarian I have dewormed other lizards but never a chameleon. I am now addicted to these lizards and we have a Mellers wild capture but with a great disposition.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Chameleons are definitely fascinating aren't they! Feel free to ask any other questions or post some pics and introduce your Mellers.

 

[robertjgreenwald]

They R interesting and I am new to threads etc. and do not know how it all works. I have never done this b4 and do not want to seem rude. I am leaving the country for several weeks and do not anticipate getting back to this site b4 then. I am just so happy to have met all that gave me their advice, and it is possible when I return, I might be able to return some of the favors. For those that R interested, this morning I did a fecal exam on my newly purchased Mellers, and after exhausting searching I found nothing. My hypothesis is, being a tree dweller it drops its feces to the ground and hence is not as subject to parasitism as the ground dwelling lizards. I know that parasites can enter other ways than direct contact with feces, such as eating an insect or another lizard that might be the host for parasites. In any event I was awed that on first exam no parasites or ova were noted. Again, thank U to all. And as we used to say with ham radio, roger and over and out.

 

[d3s5]

You can inject it into the feeder directly as long as they'll eat that bug reliably when you put it in there. If they're not going to eat it quickly then the best way is to force it unfortunately to make sure that they do get the medication.

I just finished deworming my two new Mellers. One was SO easy. I didn't even have to touch him. I just hand fed him something and then put the syringe back in his mouth and administered the meds. He never even stopped chewing. The other one was a nightmare! She would run and hide when she saw me, I had to pry her off the branches, she clamped her mouth down tightly, then I had to carefully get her mouth open, and she wouldn't swallow the meds - she spit them out on more then one occasion. Needless to say, injecting her with antibiotics was MUCH easier then her oral meds - much to my surprise. I'm just hoping her next fecal comes back clean!

Deb

 

[little leaf]

They R interesting and I am new to threads etc. and do not know how it all works. I have never done this b4 and do not want to seem rude. I am leaving the country for several weeks and do not anticipate getting back to this site b4 then. I am just so happy to have met all that gave me their advice, and it is possible when I return, I might be able to return some of the favors. For those that R interested, this morning I did a fecal exam on my newly purchased Mellers, and after exhausting searching I found nothing. My hypothesis is, being a tree dweller it drops its feces to the ground and hence is not as subject to parasitism as the ground dwelling lizards. I know that parasites can enter other ways than direct contact with feces, such as eating an insect or another lizard that might be the host for parasites. In any event I was awed that on first exam no parasites or ova were noted. Again, thank U to all. And as we used to say with ham radio, roger and over and out.

I am no vet but I would run another- I had one done on Olive , it was clean, and 2 weeks later, I did another- HA- guess what... she has "friends" - pinworms but hopefully, your chams have no friends have a safe and fun trip