Pinworms

[BlusMom]

Well I got Picasso's fecal test results back today and he has pin worms.

I have a large bioactive terrarium. Do I have to change out all the dirt and trash all my plants? I was reading other threads and it's like everything has to go.

I'm going to go pick up his medication and ask the vet too but I'm panicking from what I've read even though it's a few years old.

 

[BlusMom]

Well I got Picasso's fecal test results back today and he has pin worms.

I have a large bioactive terrarium. Do I have to change out all the dirt and trash all my plants? I was reading other threads and it's like everything has to go.

I'm going to go pick up his medication and ask the vet too but I'm panicking from what I've read even though it's a few years old.

I spent over $400 on this damn dirt that's why I'm upset.

 

[Beman]

Uggg. Well Pinworms are easier to get rid of compared to others. But yes when dealing with bioactive you are exposed to having to clean out the old and replace with new. If you are only removing the plants and washing them down you are not getting rid of the potential for re exposure since it is in the dirt from the fecal falling.

If your wanting to ensure they do not get recontaminated then it would mean removing everything and washing it all down. Fortunately pins can be cleaned out fairly easily by using dawn and warm water on branches and plant leaves. But the bioactive layer would need to be replaced.

The re contamination cycle would be her eating a feeder that walked through old fecal that contained oocysts or licking water from a place that contained old fecal with oocysts.

Since Pins are so easy to treat and do not have the same effects as other harsher parasites I would focus your cleaning on pulling the branches and plants to clean. I do not think I would bother with re doing all of the bioactive set up. But that is me lol.

 

[BlusMom]

Uggg. Well Pinworms are easier to get rid of compared to others. But yes when dealing with bioactive you are exposed to having to clean out the old and replace with new. If you are only removing the plants and washing them down you are not getting rid of the potential for re exposure since it is in the dirt from the fecal falling.

If your wanting to ensure they do not get recontaminated then it would mean removing everything and washing it all down. Fortunately pins can be cleaned out fairly easily by using dawn and warm water on branches and plant leaves. But the bioactive layer would need to be replaced.

The re contamination cycle would be her eating a feeder that walked through old fecal that contained oocysts or licking water from a place that contained old fecal with oocysts.

Since Pins are so easy to treat and do not have the same effects as other harsher parasites I would focus your cleaning on pulling the branches and plants to clean. I do not think I would bother with re doing all of the bioactive set up. But that is me lol.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me. I've only had him since mothers day and took him to get a check up about 5 days after I got him. Took me a couple days to find a fresh turd to bring to the vet. I think he may have had it when I bought him but who knows, you know? That's why I took him to get a check up lol. Also, now that I have a boy,I don't really need the 2 feet of bioactive soil I have in the terrarium other than for the plants. I guess it's time for some remodeling.

 

[Beman]

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me. I've only had him since mothers day and took him to get a check up about 5 days after I got him. Took me a couple days to find a fresh turd to bring to the vet. I think he may have had it when I bought him but who knows, you know? That's why I took him to get a check up lol. Also, now that I have a boy,I don't really need the 2 feet of bioactive soil I have in the terrarium other than for the plants. I guess it's time for some remodeling.

Your welcome. I prefer bare bottom but that is mostly because if I had CUC in a bioactive enclosure my male would hunt them all and go off his diet lol. Also I have had experiences in the passed with both pinworms and another worse parasite. So bare bottom enclosures make it easier if you have to deep clean for treatment. I do not deal with bioactive but 2 ft of soil is extreme no wonder you spent so much money lol.

 

[BlusMom]

Your welcome. I prefer bare bottom but that is mostly because if I had CUC in a bioactive enclosure my male would hunt them all and go off his diet lol. Also I have had experiences in the passed with both pinworms and another worse parasite. So bare bottom enclosures make it easier if you have to deep clean for treatment. I do not deal with bioactive but 2 ft of soil is extreme no wonder you spent so much money lol.

Lol it was for my female. I really did try my best to keep her alive and happy. I'm still very devastated that I lost her. I wasn't really mentally ready for another chameleon but I just kept staring at her empty terrarium all day and it was killing me.

 

[Beman]

Lol it was for my female. I really did try my best to keep her alive and happy. I'm still very devastated that I lost her. I wasn't really mentally ready for another chameleon but I just kept staring at her empty terrarium all day and it was killing me.

well males are easier in some ways. But still need proper care since they can have issues with prolapse and hemipenes as well. So just make sure your husbandry is on point and you should be good with the little man.

 

[BlusMom]

well males are easier in some ways. But still need proper care since they can have issues with prolapse and hemipenes as well. So just make sure your husbandry is on point and you should be good with the little man.

Well tomorrow will be a busy day, I'll have to go get new plants or really deep clean the current plants and I'm thinking I will ditch the dirt and go with pots so I can have a mostly bare bottom cage. We picked up the medicine but I don't want to give it to him until we've changed the terrarium.

 

[jamest0o0]

No disrespect to @Beman at all, I get where she’s coming from, but considering the expense of a bio enclosure and how they’re probably pinworms from before you got the Cham, I’d try treating first. Chances are decent they won’t recontaminate and pinworms as it is aren’t very dangerous, many animals have them and never even show signs of an infection. Not to say do nothing, but it might be worth trying to treat first without tearing things down. Maybe remove any leaves poop touched and add a small layer of dirt over what you have. Then after treatment do several follow up fecal checks over weeks/months.

 

[jamest0o0]

Another thing, my chams always had wild insects, bio enclosures, lived outside part of the year even. Never had pinworms once. Not sure why, but JME.

 

[Beman]

^^^^^^^ listen to @jamest0o0 if you want to keep the bio going.. He is an expert here.

Also James what I was thinking is she said she had 2 ft of bio soil.... Which seems excessive to me. Couldn't she pull quite a bit off the top and remove most of the pinworm risk?

 

[jamest0o0]

^^^^^^^ listen to @jamest0o0 if you want to keep the bio going.. He is an expert here.

Also James what I was thinking is she said she had 2 ft of bio soil.... Which seems excessive to me. Couldn't she pull quite a bit off the top and remove most of the pinworm risk?

I wouldn’t say expert hah just about 5 years of it with multiple chams and no problems. I’m with you though don’t get me wrong(didn’t read everything), just thinking if it cost a lot, might be worth trying to just treat first and see if reinfection happens. Would be like an experiment too, might teach us a little about bio and pinworms lol.

That is a lot of soil, can’t hurt, removing a top layer also sounds like it might be a good idea!

My thinking is just with pinworms not being too urgent we can experiment a little?

 

[Beman]

I wouldn’t say expert hah just about 5 years of it with multiple chams and no problems. I’m with you though don’t get me wrong(didn’t read everything), just thinking if it cost a lot, might be worth trying to just treat first and see if reinfection happens. Would be like an experiment too, might teach us a little about bio and pinworms lol.

That is a lot of soil, can’t hurt, removing a top layer also sounds like it might be a good idea!

My thinking is just with pinworms not being too urgent we can experiment a little?

I agree. Pins are my dream parasite if Beman is gonna have one lol.

 

[kinyonga]

Lol it was for my female. I really did try my best to keep her alive and happy. I'm still very devastated that I lost her. I wasn't really mentally ready for another chameleon but I just kept staring at her empty terrarium all day and it was killing me.

Was your female ever tested for pinworms? Did you disinfect her cage before putting the male in it...including the substrate?
Sorry you lost your female.

 

[BlusMom]

Sorry I fell asleep. My husband wants to try to treat and re-test. My female did not have pin worms, she passed trying to lay her 2nd clutch . I did not disinfect the cage I just keep tending to it like a personal garden while it was empty.

 

[BlusMom]

https://www.thebiodude.com/collections/bioactive-chameleon-habitat-kits

This is what I started with but I added a wax tree and made a bamboo table, purple jew, another little palm, that's all been in there for over a year.

 

[jamest0o0]

Let us know how it goes, like @Beman said, may just remove a couple inches of the top layer even? I’d think that would make chance of reinfection pretty low.

 

[BlusMom]

Ok I have removed more than just the first layer of dirt, put down fresh leaf litter, plucked any leaves that looked "dirty" and treated him for pinworms. Fingers crossed now.

 

[bbyoda]

Ok I have removed more than just the first layer of dirt, put down fresh leaf litter, plucked any leaves that looked "dirty" and treated him for pinworms. Fingers crossed now.

When my chameleon had pinworms I just gave the medicine and hoped for the best. I had a bioactive enclosure and just got him over coccidia and threw out one bioactive setup so I wanted to try the easy way out. He didn't get reinfected. Pinworms aren't that big of a deal parasite wise thank heavens. Good luck to you!

 

[BlusMom]

When my chameleon had pinworms I just gave the medicine and hoped for the best. I had a bioactive enclosure and just got him over coccidia and threw out one bioactive setup so I wanted to try the easy way out. He didn't get reinfected. Pinworms aren't that big of a deal parasite wise thank heavens. Good luck to you!

I'm hoping I will get lucky