Dynamics of Parasitism in Chameleonids

Zach Valois

New Member
Just looking for the best sum of information on what we know regarding internal parasites and chameleons. Is there any source or even a specific thread that you can think of that has best collected the general dynamics of this topic?

Some examples of what I'm looking for include, but are not limited to symptoms, parasite taxa, mode of infection (i.e. how it spreads), quarantine methodology, treatment results discussions, etc, etc. I figured if nothing else, someone must have had a good conversation over the forums about it.

Lol...I guess what I just listed sounds like a PhD dissertation..

Thanks guys.

Zach
 
There is a good book called "Understanding Reptile Parasites" By Rodger klingenberg available in the bookstore section of this forum. All the info you ask about is covered. Cheers!
 
There is a good book called "Understanding Reptile Parasites" By Rodger klingenberg available in the bookstore section of this forum. All the info you ask about is covered. Cheers!

I have seen this book around before, although I wonder how applicable such broad information would be to chameleons. I assume that reptile parasites are not species specific and much of the information would be of use. However, a study specific to chameleons would make for a very interesting project.

Thanks, I will check into these sources.

Zach
 
"Nematodes, cestodes, coccidian, flagellates and amoebae are all intestinal parasites of chameleons. Clinical signs of parasitism may include general unthriftiness, weight loss or poor weight gain, anorexia, regurgitation, vomiting and abnormal stools. Additionally aberrant migrating nematodes/cestodes may be found in multiple areas of the body and subcutaneously. Theses may appear as raised areas under the skin are often mistaken for abscesses. They must be surgically removed by a veterinarian."...
http://www.seavs.com/lizards/chameleons.html

Nematodes (Rhabdias)...(nematodes includes hookworms, BTW)...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19202762
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1383576909000968
http://www.izan.kiev.ua/ppages/rhabdias/ref.htm
http://pets.webshots.com/album/161798146QvpGuR
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=bioscidiss
http://www.revolutionmyspace.com/image-code-140/panther_chameleon
http://www.journalofparasitology.org/doi/abs/10.1645/GE-2514.1
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1653689

Microfilariae (Blood parasites)...these are also nematodes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpvOfNZ4lJI
Microfilariae (Foleyella)...
http://www.matthewbolek.com/publications/mattspapers/Foleyella.pdf

Pentastomids...also called tongue worms because of their shape...
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Texas-Journal-Science/128663799.html

Coccidia...
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20000808489.html;jsessionid=F4174E840E1827A7F876045BD2147CAD
Isospora Taizii (Apicomplexa Eimeriidae) in Yemen chameleons...
http://www.aun.edu.eg/env_enc/env mar/env oct/29-34.PDF

Cestodes (Tapeworms)...
http://is.muni.cz/dok/fmgr.pl?lang=en;furl=/th/106026/prif_r/


There's lots more out there.....you just have to look for it!
 
That's a wonderful collective of periodicals you posted there. This is great information to have around, however, aside from the time consuming process of tracking down the full papers of such work, I find the information straying from what a culturist/zoologist can ultimately pull from the given work. The majority of these papers are obviously more or less geared towards the specialized parasitologist. Using taxa specific terminology and information that will mostly benefit a well read reviewer (i.e. morphometric ratios). I work with arachnids for example, and much of the information (especially morphological/physiological terminology) is only usable for other entomologists/arachnologists. Even then, the terms used are often specific to the given order, or even sub-order.

I have not looked at most of the papers in full text you cited, however, they seem to be very straightforward in regards to a morphological/molecular description of the parasite taxa. Not much seems to be covered in the actual relationships of the parasite and it's host, life history, ecology, physiology, etc. Perhaps it seems more like alpha taxonomy work. Then again, I'm sure there are not a lot of people working on this group of parasites (comparatively speaking), and obviously, we must start somewhere. Also, different people will have different interests. I relish systematics myself.

All aside, I'm not really making a point or trying to say anything really. Just on a tangent now regarding zoology vs. taxonomic parasitology. Haha. I still
think a serious working covering -chameleons and internal parasites- would be a darn cool thesis or dissertation!

Thanks for sharing and spurring intelligent thought Kin. Now, I'm off to the shop. We have a ten lot of baby pardalis coming in!
 
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