Where do PARASITES come from?

rickd5

New Member
Hmm my poor chameleon had a minor case of a parasite. I forget the kind I'll call vet tom. Anyways he's on Panacur now so should be fine in five days. . And then administer again in 2 weeks.

My question is what can I do on my part.

I replaced all his feeders and tomorrow I will replace his plants just incase aswell as do a thorough cleaning of the cage. (even though Dr. Greek told me all of this isn't necessary) I'm paranoid.

Do I need to worry about replacing his gutload materials. I have cricket crack, bug burger, and Dino fuel

Any tips/advice would a ton of help thanks!
 
It really depends on the parasite but for the most part parasites come from food exposed to contaminated matter in the environment.

Your dry gutloads are probably safe, as are any commercial feeders not exposed to anything contaminated by your chameleons fecal matter. Wash fruits and veggies well before using as a gut load.

Depending on the parasite it would probably be a good idea (if not a little overkill) to wash your plants with a mild soap and re-pot them just in case.

Wild caught insects or those raised in unsanitary conditions are a risk. Normal commercial feeders are most likely safe. The vast majority of parasites in captivity need to be ingested.
 
And to answer more generally as to where parasites come from, most of really bad ones seem to come from law schools...
 
Parasites can come from commercially bought insects as well. Some people will test their feeders for parasites. I have heard of crickets and roaches from commercial sources coming up positive.
 
Parasites can come from commercially bought insects as well. Some people will test their feeders for parasites. I have heard of crickets and roaches from commercial sources coming up positive.

Agree! All it take is for a WC anole to get in with the crickets at the cricket farm and poop. Since most WC anoles carry parasites, if the crickets eat the poop and crickets eat everything and now you buy these crickets and feed them to your chams they get parasites. So basically if your chameleon eats it can get parasites and I highly recommend fecals every 4 to 6 months.
 
Hmm and I could just bring a sample of his feces in rather than bringing the whole chameleon in. I got lucky I took him in because I thot he had an RI because of stringy saliva and he was sleeping vertically...turns out he dosent the vet said a swab isn't even necessary. He pooped on the car ride.. The vet said he had a minor case of a parasite that's common. Most Chams can deal with it but since he is under stress his immune system could be weakened so he gave me Panacur.

Thanks for the information on the plants and stuff
 
A biologist I know once ordered crickets from all the major distributors and tested them for coccidia. All of them came back positive.

That's why it's a good idea to get a fecal done on all chameleons at least a couple times a month, to manage parasites if and when they pop up. Because they can get them from CB feeders, not just the WC grasshopper you found outside.
 
We are all lucky there is so many well informed members on this forum. Thanks for the info guys. I will be regularly having fecals done on my Chams from now on.
 
A biologist I know once ordered crickets from all the major distributors and tested them for coccidia. All of them came back positive.

That's why it's a good idea to get a fecal done on all chameleons at least a couple times a month, to manage parasites if and when they pop up. Because they can get them from CB feeders, not just the WC grasshopper you found outside.

What materials/ magnification level would I need to do fecal exams myself? I have heard that only 400x is needed but I find that hard to believe.
 
hmm I need to call my vet and ask him what type of parasite it was. I forget but he said it was a single celled one. Panacur to my knowledge is for like worms and stuff but I could be wrong.
 
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