sickness transmitted from your chameleon

dodolah

dodolah

Retired Moderator
I got conflicting opinions that i need help to clarify.
Can you get infected by the parasites nematodes (round worm, pin worm) or the protozoan coccidia from your chameleon?
Since coccidia is almost impossible to be eradicated (the oocyst), this worries me a bit.
How do you kill/ clean the cage from those parasites? beside burning everything down. Because I heard Bleach and Nolvosan will not kill coccidia at all.

Thanks
 
Yes, from what I understand you can become infected with all of the above, and should always observe the appropriate precautions. Washing your hands after you handle your animals is important. I notice some people wear gloves, which is prob a good idea too.
Here is an article that I found about parasites:
http://www.lbah.com/intpar.htm
After further research, it does appear that bleach does not kill coccidia, though very hot water will. A steamer is an effective way to rid your cages of a variety of micro organisms. I think I need to get a steamer!
 
Practice good hygene and make sure you wash your hands well after handling your chameleon or anything that has to do with it.

Here's what I found...
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cach...meleons+AND+zoonoses&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ca
"An important feature distinguishing Cryptosporidium from other Coccidia is the lack of host species-specificity."

http://www.thereptilerainforest.com/article1.html
"Cerain zoonoses (most commonly Salmonella) can be contracted through some exotic animals."

http://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080110171430AA90o4T
"Potential zoonotic risks: Aeromonas, Campylobacter, Citrobacter, Cryptosporidia, Enterobacter, Erysipelothrix, Klebsiella, Mycobacterium, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Salmonellosis, Serratia, and Yersinia enterocolitica."

"The best way to avoid these and any other zoonoses is to maintain sanitary conditions and to wash your hands before and after handling"
 
Howdy,

Interesting about bleach not killing coccidia :eek:. Here's something about a drug that isn't in the USA yet that might be helpful in actually killing coccidia. The current drugs that we use, like Albon, don't kill coccidia but just limit their numbers enough to hopefully allow the chameleon's immune system to take care of the rest.
 
If bleach won't kill coccidia, will antibacterial soap? You can't exactly steam your hands, although steaming a cage sounds like an awesome way to clean it. Steaming is also a great way to cook burgers!
 
Howdy,

Antibacterial soap won't help with coccidia other than to help with physically washing it off :). 10% amonia is supposed to kill it but you'll want to take the items to be treated outside because the fumes are pretty strong.
 
Dave
You mention a new drug which may kill coccidia. Can you please elaborate on that statement? You know, I have a hard time believing that a strong bleach solution would not kill these guys.
 
is the steamer basically the one you use for wrinkled clothes?
I will buy it if necessary to kill the coccidia.
(hopefully able to kill roundworms egg too..)
I put my chameleon in my bedroom... eepppp..
 
Hi,

Well I was battling Coccidia it seems like forever, I bought a cham last year from a breeder, who sold her to me with load of parasites and my fav coccidia. We wont get into how the breeder bailed when he found out she had coccidia within the 7 day guarantee. Anyway ...... so the coccida, I recently won the battle after ummm 7 months :) What I did, I had one of those mesh cages that break apart (Reptarium) and I bought some thick wire clothes line from home depot so she would have something to walk on easy to clean and remove from cage. I took the cage apart everyday and washed it in hot water and ammonia. At first the vet tried albon, we tried that for a long while it didnt work :( So the vet looked into some alternatives and found Sulfamethoxazole w/tmp susphit. Now she doesnt have coccidia anymore. All the medicines did run her poor little immune system down though, the coccidia is gone but she has trichomonads and clostridium, she is on metronidazole for those and has a recheck fecal in two weeks :) wish me luck that my battle is finally coming to an end :) If youd like to know who I got her from so you wont make the same mistake I did feel free to personally write me, and Ill give you the name :) Hope this helps all ...
 
I believe that washing your hands with very warm water would be the best preventive measure. From what I understand a regular household steamer should do the job well. I personally will be keeping my receipt, just in case the steamer doesn't work out as planned :) It would be interesting if someone with a microscope could test this out. I find it hard to believe that the steam would extract out those nasties from a fresh fecal! Good luck glitter girl with the battle with your female, being sulfa is one of the primary drugs used to combat coccida you should have successful results.
 
coccidia and the nematodes unfortunately is one of the wild cards that can attack pretty much anybody (experienced keepers and beginners).
They are part of the environments. You can definitely try to reduce the risk of having your cham getting infected. But, it does not mean that your chameleon will never get it.
Dr Tom Greek says to me that it's pretty common.
I do not know about chameleon.. but when i was researching the darn thing, i found one website claiming that reptiles are actually born with coccidia in their digestive track. And actually benefit them as long as the cocccidia populations are under control by the reptiles' immune system.
Once the balance is out of whack, coccidia then will start attacking the host.

I am a religious cleaner when it's dealing with sanitary.
Nolvosan, Virosan are constantly used to clean my chameleon cage.
I never let poop stay for more than 5 minutes (my chameleon poop in the morning).
I clean the vines and everything once a week.

And Unfortunately one thing slipped from my guard.
The feeder!
I always keep a good sanitary for my feeder too.

I rear my feeder (silkworm and dubia) and has never had any parasite attack (i sent my chameleon's poop samples to my vet regularly).
But, lately, he has a hunger strike.
I bought crickets at a reptile store. Lo and Behold, the next 2 weeks, he contracted with parasites while i am still being sanitary.

Now, I learn my lesson. Nolvosan is not that effective in cleaning.
So, I am just gonna pour hot water on my chameleon cage every major cleaning (or use a steamer).

as far as parasites infected humans, i would say that it is not that rare.
Isn't there used to be a thread in here that the whole family of a chameleon owner get a case of round worm?
So, basically, you just need to practice strict hygiene.

Ever since Dave advise me to wear gloves, I have always wear nitrile gloves everytime I need to make contact with my chameleon.
I kinda glad i did now.. knowing that my cham has developed a mild case of Coccidia and nematodes. sigh :(
 
Last edited:
kinyonga said:
...This must be it Dave...
http://www.showcatsonline.com/x/coccidia_new_treatment.htm
I wonder how it will work on chameleons?
Click to expand...
Howdy K.,

Thanks :o! I didn't realize that I hadn't left the link :). I saw several drugs out on the web that claim to kill coccidia but that don't seem to be available in the USA. You are right... Who knows what would happen with reptiles but I 'd sure be willing to try it with the stubborn case that I've been treating ever since my male Veiled caught it during "stud services" many months ago.
 
Glad to see this thread.......

I'm glad to see this thread.....I hope we can keep it going so as many people as possible can see it. I think I've been pretty vocal about getting fecal checks done whether the chameleon looks healthy or not. I've also politely suggested a few times that anyone who lets their chameleon out and about in their home should have a fecal check done first. Imagine all the surfaces involved as your chameleon wanders around!

It may be true that bleach won't kill these things, but vigorous washing and spraying action will remove them. I take everything outside and use the bleach, soap and water solution on every thing in the cage. I let it sit and soak. Then I use the power sprayer to rinse everything off thoroughly. The wet solution loosens the offending parasite eggs and the sprayer removes them. The same is true with your hands and clothes. The soap won't kill the eggs, but washing will make them go down the drain. They can have a party down there for all I care! I will try the amonia the next time. I'm curious as to what it will do to the plant leaves though.

I have a lot of cages to clean and a lot of wild caught animals. I try not to wear long sleeves when I clean the cages so the sleeves don't touch the bottom of the cage as I clean the back of the cage. I wash off my forearms frequently during cleaning cages.

Another serious issue I have not seen addressed. What about other pets you have in the house? Your dog or cat is actually more likely to contract the parasite than you are. Think about all the sniffing and licking they do. They are susceptible to every parasite that chameleons can get. Think about your dog or cat sniffing the area a chameleon has touched if your chameleon has been out in your home...........

Coccidia is a real issue. I've known it was in the captive bred population for a long time as I found it in several purchases from several different breeders. I get fecals done after I aquire something as a matter of routine. I've been able to get clean fecals after treatment with Albon and frequent cleaning of their cage. I think it can be handled most of the time. But there are always exceptions like Glittergloomgirl's case. I hope that cham is doing well now :)
 
This definitely is a good "heads up" thread. I thought that parasites and diseases were only a concern for wild caught animals, or animals exposed to wild caught animals. Now I understand that even my small, new chameleon is at risk too. Especially since he wasn't feeling well for a few days. I have to have him checked out for it now.
 
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