Parasites

PabloTheCham

Chameleon Enthusiast
I was just wondering, why do we test for parasites every six months? How are they transmitted in captivity?
 
Feeders and cross contamination from other chameleons in the household. Sometimes a fecal can be negative simply because no parasite eggs made it into that particular poop. I only do yearly unless I suspect and issue, smelly poop, poor appetite or unexplained weight loss. Six months is more thorough.
 
I don't test every 6 months, not even every year. I only do if I suspect a possible problem, or if a new reptile is coming into the house. And in those cases it's good to do a series of fecals, not just one.

I don't have money like I used to, to be spending on random maintenance fecals just for the vet to tell me there's nothing in it :)
 
I don't test every 6 months, not even every year. I only do if I suspect a possible problem, or if a new reptile is coming into the house. And in those cases it's good to do a series of fecals, not just one.

I don't have money like I used to, to be spending on random maintenance fecals just for the vet to tell me there's nothing in it :)
Yeah, I also don't want to waste money like that XD
 
I take in a fecal every 6 months. And he gets a yearly vet check up. I take in a fecal a week prior to his check up so that if there is an issue my vet can treat for it. Then he gets the second one six months later. I prefer to be safe then sorry. They hide illness to easily to not be careful and by the time they show it they can be very sick.
 
I take in a fecal every 6 months. And he gets a yearly vet check up. I take in a fecal a week prior to his check up so that if there is an issue my vet can treat for it. Then he gets the second one six months later. I prefer to be safe then sorry. They hide illness to easily to not be careful and by the time they show it they can be very sick.

Don't take this as me being combative, cause obviously there's nothing wrong with you doing that, but I just don't find it completely necessary(to each their own). If you're getting responsibly sourced feeders, the chance is so incredibly low. And if they're not showing any signs, there's also a good chance nothing will show up in the fecal. I guess the most you could find is pinworm which isn't that serious. Chameleons really don't hide illness to the trained eye most of the time, though there are cases of course. For years I've fed tons of wild insects, bought them from pet stores, bred my own, etc. Never had a parasite problem. Not to say it can't happen, but if it does it does I don't worry about it.

And yeah yeah, I get it, it's not that expensive and "have money saved for vets" but most of us can't just throw money away for no other reason.

I was very well off as a young 20 something year old, I could afford it all... several years later things have changed. I've realized how important saving money is now lol.

Don't get me wrong... new reptiles... maybe new feeders... or anything else suspicious going on. Definitely get fecals! I'm not saying don't in other cases, just sharing my personal thoughts. In times like this, I gotta have money ready for other things.
 
I only get fecal test done when I suspect something isn’t right. I know all my Chameleons personalities very well so the moment they start to deviate from their normal personality I know something is off. Earlier this year Larry started to show signs that something was not quite right so I had a fecal test done on him and find out he had coccidia still from when I first got him a year before that. He learned to live with the parasite and when I brought him in to the vet the vet didn’t even notice he was sick.

like @jamest0o0 said an experience keeper will notice when something is wrong with the reptile before they start showing visible signs of sickness. Sometimes it’s just simply not basking as long as they used to sometimes it’s going to bed earlier than used to sometimes it’s they don’t want to come out of their cage like they used to want to it all just depends on what you know your Chameleons personality is like.

I personally chose to opt out of parasite treating my willsii just due to feeling uncomfortable about giving such a strong medication to such a tiny Chamaeleon. They are all eating fine and acting normal doing what they do best bask, hunt, poop, sleep and repeat lol

I personally don’t want to spend $50 on a fecal every six months for six chameleons, Just when the warning bells in my head go off. I also breed my own insects.
 
I only take fecals if their poop dosen't look right or if they look unhealthy. I also take one if we buy another cham or start buying feeders from a different website. I agree with @JoXie411. My chameleons both have distinct personalities, they both sort of do the same things daily. Also the place where I buy feeders has a whole entire parasite free filter thing and policy so i'm not so much worried about that. But if something looks abnormal, even if it's very minor, like going to a stange spot in their cage, take a fecal!
 
I would love to hear more about this and where you get your feeders
It's not very big or COMPLETELY guarenteed. Theres just a page at the back saying that the feeders are bred in a high hygiene facility more about the food being fed to the insects.
 
Don't take this as me being combative, cause obviously there's nothing wrong with you doing that, but I just don't find it completely necessary(to each their own). If you're getting responsibly sourced feeders, the chance is so incredibly low. And if they're not showing any signs, there's also a good chance nothing will show up in the fecal. I guess the most you could find is pinworm which isn't that serious. Chameleons really don't hide illness to the trained eye most of the time, though there are cases of course. For years I've fed tons of wild insects, bought them from pet stores, bred my own, etc. Never had a parasite problem. Not to say it can't happen, but if it does it does I don't worry about it.

And yeah yeah, I get it, it's not that expensive and "have money saved for vets" but most of us can't just throw money away for no other reason.

I was very well off as a young 20 something year old, I could afford it all... several years later things have changed. I've realized how important saving money is now lol.

Don't get me wrong... new reptiles... maybe new feeders... or anything else suspicious going on. Definitely get fecals! I'm not saying don't in other cases, just sharing my personal thoughts. In times like this, I gotta have money ready for other things.
I did not say everyone should do what I do. I said what I DO because that was what the OP asked.

And I am starting to feel like you do go on the offensive with everything I post lately. And honestly after what I went through last year if my choice is to do fecals every 6 months then that is my choice. And it is what MY VET recommends. I will gladly "throw away money" if it gives me the peace of mind. If you have to start out with Don't take this as me being combative in a reply to me then obviously you know your comment is not going to be received well.

In my situation last year those many trained eyes that I talked to about what was going on... NOT ONE SAID TO GET A FECAL. I got it because my Vet recommended it and because I knew something was not right. I was told by everyone that he just needed to adjust... And we know how waiting turned out for me.

So again for everyone reading this. I happen to do fecals for the above mentioned reasons... You do what you want. If you feel $25-$60 bucks is not worth it and would rather let it go, then do that.

But getting a brand new chameleon and not getting it checked is a time bomb waiting to happen. Getting regular fecals either every 6 months or yearly is part of their care. IN MY OPINION.
 
When I first got my boy Luie, I took him to my chameleon vet for his new pet check up but of course he didn’t give me a poop to take. My vet said he was in great condition and one of the healthiest veileds he’d ever seen. Two days later I dropped a fresh poop by and he was loaded with cociddia. He had absolutely no signs of anything being wrong. Since then, I’ve had two other chameleons that I purchased from breeders, that looked perfectly healthy, that had parasites, one was tiny and had cociddia and the other came with pins.
 
For my reptiles I test every time I get a new animal prior to introducing them to their permanent enclosures, and every six months or so for everyone else. If their behavior is "off", then they may well get a fecal run more frequently.

I run bioactive enclosures, and I don't necessarily trust commercial feeder insect suppliers (at least, not for the crickets). Considering the amount of time and money I've spent on my enclosure builds and the care of my animals... ~$50 for peace of mind is absolutely nothing imo, and I'm not willing to take any chances. Once my roach colony is mature enough to feed from, I may consider cutting back the frequency of testing.

I understand that this might be less practical with a larger collection, and if I ever personally own more than 10 individual reptiles (which is likely to happen) I'll be investing in a microscope and supplies. I have an excellent relationship with my vet, and am confident that she'd work with me.
 
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