Rocks and the digestive track?

[luckykarma]

It looks like the Panther who got Pinworm did so by eating dirt in the garden. He did it in a flash when I turned for a moment (damn those long tongues )

Anyway, when I checked his stool after Panacur treatment there were about 4-5 rocks in there and the second day about 4 more with one being pretty big. I would say 3/8".

He seems to have cleared them now. What does this do to their small GI track? Couldn't have been painless passing these things.

 

[lbesok]

You are EXTREMELY lucky!!! We've done necropsy on chameleons that haven't been so fortunate where a small pebble impacted the GI tract was declared the cause of death
I'd suggest not letting them free roam the garden....chameleons are very good at escaping
You may be correct with your assumption that the pin worms were contracted from the garden dirt, but only if it was fecally contaminated. Feeders are the most likely culprit.
The Understanding Reptile Parasites book pretty much says thee primary way of contract pin worms is through "exposure to fecally contaminated food and water." These pin worms also infestate the GI tract, and have also been know to obstruct and impact this tract....

 

[luckykarma]

Thanks Liz. He was on a potted tree we keep away from flower boxes that he likes to eat from in the past.

Dave Weldon suspected dirt but it could only have been that flower box so unless somehow a bird dropped in there I don't know how it could've gotten fecal contamination.

What feeders could have it? Crickets? He hasn't eaten crickets for a while.

Do you think there's any permemant damage or scarring in the digestive track? This morning as I was checking his stool with a toothpick I found a tiny hard substance at first I think was a rock chunk but it was something crystalized as it broke apart when I put pressure on it from the toothpick.

 

[lbesok]

Crickets would be most likely.... I'd suspect if their were serious internal damage you would see external results, such as lethargicy, sunken in eyes, sitting on the bottom of the cage etc. I would prob also assume that if it crushed so easily then it most likely wasn't a rock. Good luck with his recovery!

 

[opihiman]

some potting soils are enriched with feces from cows, but most are sterilized. but it is possible to pick up pin worms from the soil or even sand which may be mixed into to the soil.

HOPE That helps

OPI

 

[luckykarma]

The crystallized piece this morning wasn't a rock. The other days they were the small white rocks in potting soil these days.

I've read crickets can come containment. There's no way to tell is there? Aside from crushing it and doing a float?