hanging worms!!

[ScreamingIncognito]

so i found tiny tiny worms hanging off my cham and off the roof of the cage today they are so small they are almost invisible. i have no idea what these are. did they come out of my cham? or are they just in the cage? does it sound like a parasite to anybody. if so which one and what should i get to treat.

 

[Triceros]

Maybe post a pic of them so everyone can get a better idea of what your dealing with.

 

[ScreamingIncognito]

yeah. i would love to post a pic but they were sooooo small my camera would never pick them up. i even have a decent camera.. they were a milimeter long IF that and really really thin hanging from a thread so small you cant see it

 

[ChameleonNerd]

what color are they, and what part of your cham were they hanging from

 

[TyggyToo]

? pinworms ?

Pins ar parasites that don't usually cause problems unless there is an overgrowth. They're the most common parasite (across all vertebrates!), and can be treated with fenbendazole. Take a stool sample to a vet for confirmation, but if the animal needs to be treated, it will need to be seen by the vet.

Submitted for your consideration,
Tyg

p.s. - all the above info came from vet who got the results from Mort. Mort is going in to the vet tomorrow.

 

[Elizadolots]

when you say "worms" do you mean something that is alive and wiggling?

 

[Trace]

I highly doubt they would be an internal parasite that you are seeing as most of those are microscopic. The bugs could be a bevy of things but what comes to mind first is perhaps you have an explosion of grain mites (http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/flour-and-grain-mites) and beyond being creepy aren't necessarily harmful to your chameleon. Do you keep your insects on any type of bedding? Maybe it's an abundance of springtails coming from your plants.

 

[ChamBust]

that doesn't make much sense....you claim you can see "worms" yet they're too small to take a picture of?? that's kinda backwards.

 

[DekuScrub]

sounds like an inchworm to me.... or at least what i always called them. do they pull their buts up to their heads and then extend their front forward in locomotion?

 

[ScreamingIncognito]

they are worm looking things yes but very very small you can see them with the naked eye. and maybe i COULD get a picture of them if i owned a camera good enough( which i dont). i replaced all the current plants and cleaned all the vines and fake plants with hot hot soapy water. i think when a buddy of mine was looking after them when i was gone for a week he put in a few outdoor branches. then once i got them home back in my room (which i keep very warm for them during the day) the little bugs crawled out of the sticks and stuff. i havent seen much since. i just thought maybe like tapeworms in humans or animals something could have grown inside him and crawled out. the thought of which somewhat horrified me.

 

[Elizadolots]

Try taking a picture with your good camera....sometimes cameras capture things you can't see with your eyes so they might well capture something you can see.

 

[mcleodschams]

a pic will be the only way to get any answers without a vet but get a fecal done anyway they are cheap to do i pay $27.00 per test here in london ont best of luck hope you get this figured out sounds kinda creepy maybe eggs were layed on that stick and the warmth hatched them