So my female veiled chameleon was diagnosed with having pinworms on January 25th and started treatment on 26th,27th and 28th of January. I was wanting to know what the side effects are when they have pinworms and getting treatment. She also now and then has what me and my fiancé call “ seizures “ like behaver. If any one can help me that would be great. Thanks.
Questions about chameleon having pinworms
- Thread starter Fintalian
- Start date
Bigsky
Established Member
Can you give more information? Where do you think she contacted pinworms? In humans, you can be infested by waking barefoot in water that has feces from another infected person.
Was she captive bred? Where did she come from? Was she exposed to other chams
Sorry, I cant help with treatment or symptoms. Please keep us posted.
Well we got here back in Oct at petsmart so we believe that is where she got the pinworms.
Lennoncham
Chameleon Enthusiast
What type of medication are you giving her? That can tell you a lot about side effects. With most parasite meds you will want to keep her well hydrated as they can be hard on the kidneys. You may also want to raise your basking temp a bit to help her fight it off.
#Chams4life
Avid Member
She could have also gotten them from infested crickets. If she's had them for that long chances are she would have stopped eating and drinking because she would feel full. (My girl had pinworm really bad and we first though she was eggbound). I'm not really sure what you mean by "seizure", I know chams do a vibrating thing (sorry about my lack of knowledge and correct terms on this) as a warning, that sometimes looks like seizures. Sever dehydration can cause seizures though. If you think she's dehydrated and that is what's causing her "seizures" you can go to your vet and ask if they can give her fluids. They'll put it under the skin and she'll slowly absorb it. Definitely get her poo checked again, if she had a really bad case then she may still have some worms and need more treatment.
I don’t remember what we gave her. I think was just gave her the standard medicine you give a cham when they have pinworms.
Oh ok. What do they look like when they are doing the vibrating warning thing ?cause that could be what she is doing. I don’t believe she is dehydrated cause I make sure she gets a lot of water even though she hates the spray bottle.
Bigsky
Established Member
Oops, I was thinking about hookworms.
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So she had to have a another round of medicine for her pinworms and the medicine is called panacur. Do u know that side effects to that?
#Chams4life
Avid Member
they just kinda shake a little
I don't know if any side effects from it, sorry. Did you talk to the vet about it?
I haven't seen any side effects in mine from Panacure or Fenbendazol. After deworming those affected did put on weight and had better appetites. They are transmitted by infected feeders, feeders that have eaten or walked thru infected poop. I believe they can get infected by the fecal oral route as well.
Once ingested they begin their life cycle in the tissues and as adults migrate into the bowels to mate and lather eggs that are passed in the feces.
Once ingested they begin their life cycle in the tissues and as adults migrate into the bowels to mate and lather eggs that are passed in the feces.
Franquixote
Established Member
Treatment from my vet was a single dose and he didn't even want to do that... healthy reptiles can handle them no problem. In fact, we are starting to realize that just like bacteria, s number of parasites have a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with their hosts... even humans.
The panacur is tough on them and chances are it will get reinfected immediately. Don't worry.
Your water issues are huge though, make sure you mist by hand using a micro mister (Amazon, $9-15), or mist system and be patient- it sometimes takes mine 10 minutes to even start licking water and another 20 mins to lick enough drops before he stops.
The panacur is tough on them and chances are it will get reinfected immediately. Don't worry.
Your water issues are huge though, make sure you mist by hand using a micro mister (Amazon, $9-15), or mist system and be patient- it sometimes takes mine 10 minutes to even start licking water and another 20 mins to lick enough drops before he stops.
GoodKarma19
Chameleon Enthusiast
I respectfully disagree with your vet and believe that it's generally more beneficial in the long to keep captive reptiles parasite free, even if there is some degree of symbiosis at hand.
Healthy reptiles have been known to handle shockingly high parasite loads well, yes, and many captive reptiles have some form of parasite(s). The real problem occurs if/when their immune system is compromised! Look at my boy, for example. He's most likely had pinworms for most of his short life, but due to other stressors (poor husbandry in his previous home, etc.) The parasites have had an extremely negative impact on his already dubious health and his ability to absorb nutrition effectively, and drastically slowed his recovery. Karma's only just beginning to show some degree of appetite after two courses of deworming medication (Strongid T)! He was so weak when he first came in that we (my vet and I) were concerned that a stronger dewormer (i.e. fenbendazole/Panacur) would tip him over the edge. It's a pretty precarious position to be in, when your pet isn't responding properly to treatment due to parasites, but is potentially too weak to be safely dewormed!
Reinfection is always a risk, especially immediately after being dewormed. This is why scrupulous cleaning of all cage surfaces is necessary immediately afterward, with extra care to clean up thoroughly for an additional week or so and a recheck fecal float two weeks after the initial dose. An additional dose may be necessary.
My 2c.
~Amanda
Franquixote
Established Member
Agreed on all points.
The mist frustrating part is that his diet and supplements schedule is very meticulously planned- lesson here is that this particular panther at least needs a LOT of supp dosing... his feeder variety and the level of gut loading I do borders on extreme. There may be keepers that provide the same variety and gut load as obsessively, but definitely no one could possibly put more effort in.
The mist frustrating part is that his diet and supplements schedule is very meticulously planned- lesson here is that this particular panther at least needs a LOT of supp dosing... his feeder variety and the level of gut loading I do borders on extreme. There may be keepers that provide the same variety and gut load as obsessively, but definitely no one could possibly put more effort in.
GoodKarma19
Chameleon Enthusiast
I fully understand your frustration, believe me! Sometimes we can do everything right according to the most current research available, and still have something go wrong. There is definitely a degree of variation between individuals, and some may require adjustments on a case by case basis. Not every animal responds perfectly to the general usage guidelines!
Franquixote
Established Member
The Repashy Vit A made a huge difference in 48hrs and ships free from Josh's Frogs.
His eyes are half as swollen now(they were not horrible to begin with).
His eyes are half as swollen now(they were not horrible to begin with).
