HELP my cham has worms!!!

[actualchameleon]

I made a thread about 2 weeks ago because my chameleon was sleeping during the day and acting lethargic. Her belly is very distended and I thought she was gravid. I took her to the vet, and the vet assumed she was gravid as well. I put a laying bin in her cage and she hasn't touched it. Today I went to check on her and I found a worm next to her stool. What should I do? I'm obviously going to take her back to the vet, but do you think she is going to be ok? I'm trying to figure out what kind of worms she has, I attached a picture. The reason the worm has sand all over it is that it was in her laying bin.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon, about 6 months old, I've had her since october
• Handling - Once a day
• Feeding - Once a day I feed her about 7 crickets dusted with calcium. I also often feed her mealworms
• Supplements - I dust the crickets everyday with calcium powder not containing D3.
• Watering - I used to have a fogger for her but it broke, now I'm misting her twice a day. She hates the misting though, so I don't do it for longer than a couple seconds. I also have a little dripper that drips onto some fake plants. I only see her drink occasionally, it's hard to tell if she is getting enough water.
• Fecal Description - Her urates are white, her feces are solid and a dark brown color.
• History - I bought her from Petco.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage, reptibreeze large. Not sure of the exact dimensions.
• Lighting - I use a zoo med UVA light, I had a 60 watt for about a week, then I realized it wasn't producing enough heat. Now I have a 150 watt UVA. I use a reptisun 5.0 UVB light as well, and a red 60 w heat lamp at night. I turn her lights off and the red light on at about 9 pm every night. I turn her day lights on whenever I wake up. I need to get an automatic timer for these lights.
• Temperature - The overnight temp is about 75 degrees. The temp in the basking spot can range from 80-90 degrees.
• Humidity - I've been maintaining moderate to semi-tropical humidity levels without the fogger. I am looking for a humidifier that I can rig with a hose to go into the cage.
• Plants - I have one pothos plant that is barely hanging on. My plants haven't been surviving very well. I had a wax plant in there but my chameleon was eating it, and it couldn't grow fast enough to keep up with her.
• Placement - Her enclosure is in my basement, it's finished and is usually quiet and warm.
• Location - I live in PA

 

[jajeanpierre]

First, don't panic. Bag it up and put it in the fridge and take it and a fresh stool sample to the vet's.

 

[actualchameleon]

First, don't panic. Bag it up and put it in the fridge and take it and a fresh stool sample to the vet's.

ok thanks. i put the worm in the freezer in a bag.. ill hopefully be able to take her to the vet asap

 

[oneillchameleons]

She'll be fine until you can get to the vet. However you should not use any lights at night as it disturbs chameleons sleeping patterns.

 

[Virgil1972]

Its good for their metabolism if the overnight temps go down into the sixty's.

 

[oneillchameleons]

Its good for their metabolism if the overnight temps go down into the sixty's.

A ceramic heat element would be the optimum choice for that, but chams actually benefit from a nighttime drop in temps. Anything lower than 60 degrees would require a ceramic heater. As said before, and many times on this forum, chameleons can see all spectrums of light, including red.

 

[Bush baby]

Sorry to hear about the worm issue.

That being said, are you sure yo want to go back to that same vet? A good vet should have been able to determine whether she was gravid or not. I would find another.

 

[actualchameleon]

Sorry to hear about the worm issue.

That being said, are you sure yo want to go back to that same vet? A good vet should have been able to determine whether she was gravid or not. I would find another.

Yeah I was thinking I would not go back to that vet. Although the animal hospital did say that they treat chameleons, she didn't even mention parasites as a potential cause of her distended belly. I live near Philadelphia so I think I'm going to take her to the University of Pennsylvania veterinary center.

She'll be fine until you can get to the vet. However you should not use any lights at night as it disturbs chameleons sleeping patterns.

ok ill make sure not to use the red light anymore. I think the temperature in the room goes down to about 60 at night.

 

[bobcochran]

60F. at night is great for a veiled cham. Look on this forum for a vet list, Phili is a large area there has to be a good reptile vet there.

 

[jajeanpierre]

ok thanks. i put the worm in the freezer in a bag.. ill hopefully be able to take her to the vet asap

Refridgerator, not freezer.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Sorry to hear about the worm issue.

That being said, are you sure yo want to go back to that same vet? A good vet should have been able to determine whether she was gravid or not. I would find another.

Unless the eggs are obviously visible or able to be felt, an x-ray is the only way to tell if a female is gravid. Why would you think the vet was wrong?

She definitely needs to be back to the vet.

 

[FREDCO]

clean the terrarium. Baytril is the good medicine. Ask for it

 

[Andee]

Baytril would do nothing for worms... and is actually rather hard on chameleons. I prefer not to use it if I can.

 

[FREDCO]

that's the way i use in this case.

 

[Mawtyplant]

that's the way i use in this case.

FREDCO, i dont understand how Baytril can help in this case? im curious about the logic behind

 

[FREDCO]

it's not a worm Under skin, from my opinion, i am not a vet,

 

[Bush baby]

Unless the eggs are obviously visible or able to be felt, an x-ray is the only way to tell if a female is gravid. Why would you think the vet was wrong?

She definitely needs to be back to the vet.

Any good vet would be able to rule out whether she was gravid or not via a proper examination. This vet just assumed the cham was gravid, and now more time has passed between the initial visit; and as we all know, time is critical for chameleons. They go down hill VERY fast. If this issue had been properly identified from the get go, this cham would be well into it's treatment already.

She does indeed need to go back to a vet, just not the same one.

Oh, btw how big is that worm compared to the cham?

 

[Mawtyplant]

it's not a worm Under skin, from my opinion, i am not a vet,

ok it is not a bacteria too and Baytril is an antibiotic and not super sweet with the kidney (especially with the chameleon).. too me it sound like killing a plant with an insecticide it may work.. but probably not.
Maybe panacure can help yourself but it depend of witch parasite it is.

And yes.. maybe with another vet.. sorry for your bad experience.. Where are you come from actualchameleon? maybe someone can refer you a good ver not so far?

 

[actualchameleon]

Any good vet would be able to rule out whether she was gravid or not via a proper examination. This vet just assumed the cham was gravid, and now more time has passed between the initial visit; and as we all know, time is critical for chameleons. They go down hill VERY fast. If this issue had been properly identified from the get go, this cham would be well into it's treatment already.

She does indeed need to go back to a vet, just not the same one.

Oh, btw how big is that worm compared to the cham?

The worm was pretty big. I would say like half the length of my chameleon. She seems to be doing ok for the time being. She's eating and drinking. Her belly is pretty big though, which is making it hard for her to get around. I think she might have an upper respiratory infection too. She was standing with her head raised earlier, I haven't seen her gaping though.

 

[actualchameleon]

ok it is not a bacteria too and Baytril is an antibiotic and not super sweet with the kidney (especially with the chameleon).. too me it sound like killing a plant with an insecticide it may work.. but probably not.
Maybe panacure can help yourself but it depend of witch parasite it is.

And yes.. maybe with another vet.. sorry for your bad experience.. Where are you come from actualchameleon? maybe someone can refer you a good ver not so far?

I live outside of Philadelphia. I think I'm going to try to get her an appointment at the University of Pennsylvania veterinary hospital

Refridgerator, not freezer.

So, the worm has been in the freezer for a day. Should I take it out and put it in the fridge? Or is it too late?