pin worms?

[DrewNYC]

can anyone tell me if there are any symptoms for pin worms? i was told they aren't a killer but a drain on the system little by little. i was given panocur for the medicine does this sound right? i asked the vet if i should give all my chameleons a round of this due to there close proximity, are they very contagious? i was told it would not hurt? any reason i shouldn't?
drew

 

[kinyonga]

You asked..."can anyone tell me if there are any symptoms for pin worms?"...
http://www.chameleonsdish.com/health/parasites.htm

You said...."i was told they aren't a killer but a drain on the system little by little"...often chameleons can handle small loads of parasites without any apparent signs of ill health...but sometimes they do cause problems.

You said...."i was given panocur for the medicine does this sound right?"...the vet should have done a fecal to determine if she did have pinworms or not IMHO.

You said..."i asked the vet if i should give all my chameleons a round of this due to there close proximity, are they very contagious?"...they are passed from the feces to the chameleon...so unless your hygiene is not good, I wouldn't expect them to be passed from one cage to another...unless an insect could move from one cage to another.

You said..." i was told it would not hurt? any reason i shouldn't?"...this is just my own personal opinion...but I don't like to give meds unless there is a reason. I don't like shot-gunning.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Drew,

As Kinyonga pointed out, shot-gunning with parasite treatments can have mixed results. My old "Grandpa" Veiled went out for stud services last year and it may have been the stress of "having to perform" triggered a bloom of (dormant?) parasites. He came back after a month or two with his weight down 10% and then continued dropping another 10%. The weight drop wouldn't turn around and his appetite dropped too. I had the vet do a fecal check and he found 3 different types of parasites. It took three different drugs to treat him. If your vet did a microscopic fecal check and found pinworm eggs then Panacur should take care of it. Note that it takes several treatments spaced weeks apart to be effective. Another fecal check should be done to see if there is anything else left. Panacur may take care of the pinworm problem which might make it easy to spot any other types of parasites still present.

I recommend the parasite book in my signature. It's a cheap investment. If you have access to a decent microscope, you can keep an eye on things yourself. I bought a decent 'scope and fecal float accessories to keep an eye on things between vet visits. It's handy to follow the progress of the parasite drugs.

(This may be a repeat of posting these photos a while back...)

Here's a photo that I took of a pinworm egg:

More of my parasite egg photos:

 

[jleahl]

What are the vectors of pinworms? I still would like to feed wild moths to my brevs, but my local pet store recommends against it, simply because of parasites. Of course, it might be irresponsible of them to say, catch all your food, but I'm sort of riding the fence on this. Which worms are found in moths or flies?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Remember all the great advice we get from petstores!
I think you will be safe with moths but I would not feed wild caught flies.
Chances are they would be gut-loaded with poop, which in my opinion would be a great way to introduce parasites to your cham.

-Brad

 

[jonthefb]

The book that Dave has in his signature is amazing. We are fortunate enought to have Dr. Klingenberg practicing here in town, and any time we have issues with herps at the shop he is the first person we call.

another question about parasites to you all. Is it important to have a fecal done on a baby cham that was captive born and bred? Im just wondering if i should have my new panther examined, or if i should pursue a vet if i begin to see signs of parisitizing. Any thoughts?

thanks for your time~!
cheers~!
jon

 

[jleahl]

Brad, you're probably right about the wild flies....rotting food might not be the best gut-load, either! But darn it, there are lots around...my dog hasn't learned how to shut the door yet! Yeah, I don't put a LOT of stock in pet store advice...but this guy generally knows what he's talking about. This is the one w/the 11 year old veiled....