Is It OK to Have the Bearded Dragons and Chameleons in Same Room(Coccidia)?

[sweetmisery]

Im not talking about putting them in the same enclosure. lol. But I meant both their enclosure in the same room, esp. since Bearded's coccidia as stated can be very lethal to chams. Is it even airborne?

Just wondering.

THANKS!

 

[mczoo]

handwashing is the key

The answer to you question is depends:

Coccidia are a group of single cell protozoa that causes infections mostly of the gastrointestinal of their hosts. there are many different species some infect human some animals. these little guys are passed by the fecal oral rouute. (you have to ingest an infected animals poop) to get the disease. If being in the same room causes you to combine cage furniture, wash food or water dishes near your cup feeder or handle possibly beardie stool contaminated items and not wash before touching chams or their stuff then yes.

However this could happen from room to room for same reason.

Isolation of pet specific husbandry supplies and thorough handwashing this a an example http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hand-washing/HQ00407 (although there are many on the web) is your best answer

Sean

 

[sweetmisery]

THANKS A LOT! So unless there are physical "sharing", Im pretty safe huh? THANKS AGAIN!

 

[mczoo]

i am not a vet but considering the science behind the disease process the answer is a matter of comfort level. Remember the virus that causes stomache flu is passed the same way and despite information on proper human "husbandry" it still spreads like crazy in households

PS the link i posted uses warm/hot water IMHO Warm water will dry out your hands faster. For years we were told to use warm water. Unfortunately to get the water warm enough to kill most germs would be quite detrimental to skin. proper technique and washing off the germs is much more important. I consider Proper technique: Turn on water, wet hands use soap (any kind) and rub hands together; time yourself for about a minute (sing mary had a little lamb if that helps) next drying with paper towel THEN turn off water with towel (do not recontaminate yourself by touching faucet)

dry hands break down our skins natuaral barrier to disease and we will get sick easier.

maybe others will chime in on their experience.

 

[sweetmisery]

THANKS! My gf being a nurse taught me how to wash it properly too. lol

Well, for peace of mind sake, Im gonna keep them in seperate rooms for now.

THANKS AGAIN!

 

[SoCaliSon]

You also want to worry about them being able to see eachother... Both are very observant animals... I actually have my beardie enclosure in the same room but I had to arrange it so they could not see eachother accross the room because the presence of another animal can be stressful for them. At first I thought they couldn't see eachother... Then I noticed my cham was doing what looked like a stare into space as I waved my hand in front of his face and i noticed he could see one of the dragons. They just stare and won't pay attention to anything else... obviously not good. I still have them in the same room, I just had to get a little creative with the fung shuay(spelling?).

 

[Washoe]

"Feng shui". It's pronounced 'Fong' (rhymes with 'bong') 'schway' (rhymes with pay, way, etc.).

 

[chamlover]

I have my beardies in the same room as well but now that i know that 1 has coccidia i will make an extra effort to keep all his stuff seperate. Kinda always did and my NosyBe that has coccidia isn't even in the same room and never shares anything so i think it is a coincidence because the cham is a w/c anyway. Still trying to find out more info on it . Anyone know of a good site? I am more interested in things like cleaning the cage, how often, with what, etc. Right now i do clean up poo when i see it and sanitize nightly with healthy habitat. I do that with all my chams and beardies. Is washing hands with anti-bacterial soap good enough?

Debby

 

[SoCaliSon]

I don't even use soap...I use that Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer that causes you to scream in pain if you have any kind of scratch... Lets you know it's working. I use that and have a bottle everywhere I have my herps. Just a Dab-L-Dooya and your all clean... I actually rinse my hands with water to after just cause it's so intense I don't know what it would do on Reptile skin... I imagine it wouldn't hurt them but still.

 

[chamlover]

Sorry. That is what i meant, anti-bacterial sanitizer. I just got used to calling it soap. That is enough to kill the coccidia?

Debby

 

[SoCaliSon]

You know... I am not sure... But it sounds like a great experiment... Is the bacteria big enough to be viewed by a microscope? I bet we have some Bio freaks that could do this experiment for us. Where are those commercial demo's that show the germs when you need them? I was always told this was the best stuff to use to sanitize your hands... but as far as how much sanitizing it actually does I am not sure.