Methods for acclimatizing WC reps

[NachoTacular519]

I have the opportunity to get some WC oustalet at an insanely low price. I know the conditions that chams go through to get here if they are WC. Out of curiosity does anyone perform any "special rituals" or have any home methods for acclimatizing/de-parasitizing/etc newly imported specimens? I'm only considering buying these wild caught beauties because:
A) my favorite species and I love giant chams
B) price is insanely cheap for Canada.

 

[chameleoman]

Do you know the proper care for chameleons? as well as the proper care for this species?

 

[pssh]

I would be weary of a really low price on WCs like that. If you haven't actually seen them in person, it could indicate that they are in really poor condition. If they do appear to be in fairly good shape, the first thing you want to do is hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate some more. After they have settled in well and are still in good shape, take them to a vet and have fecals done. See what the vet recommends as far as parasites go. I wouldn't get them if they are not in fairly good health though, as it will be much harder to acclimate them and they will be less likely to live and thrive for you, especially since you aren't used to taking care of fresh WC chameleons.

 

[NachoTacular519]

I've kept WC reps before but nothing big. Skinks and anoles mostly. I understand the care of Oustalets and have kept and bred veileds. I figured this was a good step up. Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to check and hopefully sex them today. Hoping to see them in good condition, fingers crossed lol. I say fingers crossed because I've seen pictures of the facilities many come to N.A. from. I'm going to assume potential filarial or nematode infestation though. We shall see.

 

[Chameleo 29]

i learned my lesson against Wc when i found out my rusian tort was sick

 

[Carlton]

I've kept WC reps before but nothing big. Skinks and anoles mostly. I understand the care of Oustalets and have kept and bred veileds. I figured this was a good step up. Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to check and hopefully sex them today. Hoping to see them in good condition, fingers crossed lol. I say fingers crossed because I've seen pictures of the facilities many come to N.A. from. I'm going to assume potential filarial or nematode infestation though. We shall see.

If you can hand select them plan on looking each over very carefully. They'll probably all have parasites which isn't fatal if the individual doesn't seem to have other health issues going on on top of it. That's when they bloom. Any sitting quiet and unresponsive to light and available water, with eyes closed, sunken eyes, rostral scabs, injuries to lips and gums, missing claws or cuts on the pads of their feet, odd large patches of dark coloration, no energy to threaten you, pass them by. Assume any adult sized females are gravid and set them up that way. Assume they are all dehydrated, but some that have energy to be active may not be in organ failure yet. Make sure you know what a healthy oustie looks like in relaxation, stressed, and gravid.

 

[NachoTacular519]

Thanks a lot for the input guys especially Carlton. Russian Tort is probably my favorite herp that I've never owned. Plan on starting a breeding operation at some point down the line but that's a long way off. I saw them today. Looked em over for about an hour for signs of filarials(not sure if common in oust?), signs of ill health, etc. Aside from obvious stress they didn't seem in bad shape at all. Very responsive and fed for me. Eyes were shiny and active. Definitely responded to my presence. I had to "hide" to observe normal coloration but they honestly looked much better than most WC chams I've seen. No major scarring or signs of fused bones. Should I treat Cham with Flagyl for parasites? I understand not to O.D. them as I've administered it to mammals before including myself lol. Since I've only kept one cham species I may have more questions and rambles, but to keep this on topic I'll post a separate thread for Oust questions and/or browse the archives. Thanks for your time guys

 

[pssh]

I wouldnt just pick a medicine and shoot blindly, hoping to get rid of parasites. You will have to get fecals done to determine which parasites they have. Some are easy to kill yourself, others require more agressive treatment (like coccidia for example,) and some can be dangerous if killed too quickly. Several fecal tests are the only way to know what they have and if you have gotten rid of them with treatment.

 

[Lovereps]

I've kept WC reps before but nothing big. Skinks and anoles mostly. I understand the care of Oustalets and have kept and bred veileds. I figured this was a good step up. Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to check and hopefully sex them today. Hoping to see them in good condition, fingers crossed lol. I say fingers crossed because I've seen pictures of the facilities many come to N.A. from. I'm going to assume potential filarial or nematode infestation though. We shall see.

In addition to the aforementioned serious hydration, injury and organ failure issues, numerous parasites are extremely common in wild caught chams.
One European study found that approximately 86% of the wild caught chamleons studied had parasites.

Unfortunately, you don't need to only worry about nematodes and filaria.
There is quite a variety of parasites known to infect chams.
Some of them besides coccidia are especially pernicious and difficult to eliminate without very strict quarantine and sanitatition procedures.

Try to get hold of a copy of this book to get a better understanding of them http://www.amazon.com/Understanding...=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357065909&sr=1-5

Even after reading this book, I am wishing for an even more up to date book on reptile parasitology because there have undoubtedly been more discoveries made over the past 6 years as to what works, what doesn't and most effective/safe dosing--as well as possibly previously unknown types of parasites.
Just for knowledge's sake, Flagyl does not work against nematodes.

 

[NachoTacular519]

I wouldnt just pick a medicine and shoot blindly, hoping to get rid of parasites. You will have to get fecals done to determine which parasites they have. Some are easy to kill yourself, others require more agressive treatment (like coccidia for example,) and some can be dangerous if killed too quickly. Several fecal tests are the only way to know what they have and if you have gotten rid of them with treatment.

Good point on the coccidia. The reason I asked about flagyl is because my "Essential Care of Chameleons" by Philippe de Vosjoli mentions it. I had failed to notice his point of fenbendazole(Panacur?) as a nematode killer. Another good point on just treating them without knowledge of parasite.