Worms

[Crayola]

Is it possible for chameleons to get worms? my guy is about a year old. I went to take a some feces out of the bottom of cage and then a few white worms started running off? Is there something i can do for it if its possible for them to get worms! I also just put a new ficus plant in there so...

 

[TheLivingLegend]

Is it possible for chameleons to get worms? my guy is about a year old. I went to take a some feces out of the bottom of cage and then a few white worms started running off? Is there something i can do for it if its possible for them to get worms!

Im pretty sure they can get parasites.

 

[rsepiphyte]

Yes they can have worms both internal and external. I use pyrantel pamoate for my chameleons and also metronidazole. I worm once every month. Ruth

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[Crayola]

Should I take him to the vet?I mean I'm not getting many responses so....

 

[AngieL]

Hi! Yes take him tothe vet, or rather take a fresh poo to the vet for testing. The vet can then give you medication for that specific parasite

 

[Alexl]

I worm once every month.

Is there any reason for doing so? Chameleons are no pets you would try to avoid worm expulsion due to possible infection in humans (as in dogs and cats with Toxocara, other Ascarids, Taenia...). I wouldn't advice to deworm chameleons every month. As long as there are no parasites, there's no need to treat. Every medication is a strain for a chameleon, so I always treat only if necessary. Better way of prophylaxis would be bringing fecals to your vet regularly. And I even wouldn't use metronidazol without knowing there are definitely pathogenic protozoa harming the chameleon inside the gut (it's not a big threat in chameleons as lots of nematodes and some protozoa aren't even known to harm the animal).

 

[pssh]

They can have worms in their poop. I would take a poop to the vet and have a fecal done to see if he has any. They can give you the meds you would need to treat it.

It's also possible that there are nematodes in the soil of the new plant, but to be sure you need to have a fecal done.

 

[Alexl]

It's also possible that there are nematodes in the soil of the new plant

Most pathogenic parasites are brought into the cage with the animal itself, by owners (not only by hands, but by equipment, too) or new reptiles coming into the house without quarantine. Most soil nematodes aren't harmful to chameleons and easy to differentiate from pathogenic ones under the microscope. Plants carrying infectious pathogenic nematode stages must have had contact with reptiles' feces, which artificially raised plants in garden centers hardly have. And even if the plant carried some and Crayola put the new ficus inside the cage just some days ago, the parasite stages had not enough time to develop into adult worms as she probably saw in her chameleon's feces. So the source of parasites is probably another one in this case.

 

[pssh]

Oh I meant soil nematodes not the parasitic ones that end up in the chameleon.

 

[Crayola]

So should i be worried? do i need to take him to the vet?

 

[Alexl]

You should at least definitely collect feces and bring it to the vet as soon as possible (as other members already told you). By reason that you found something looking like a worm and you never brought fecals to a reptile vet yet, your chameleon has an obviously very high risk of having parasites. A high parasite burden can cause sickness, in worst case death. Your reptile vet can check fecals, identify parasite species and give you proper medication for your chameleon - and advice about cleaning and desinfecting the cage, too.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Yes they can have worms both internal and external. I use pyrantel pamoate for my chameleons and also metronidazole. I worm once every month.

Any particular reason to be wasting so much medication? Metronidazole is an antibiotic btw, not a dewormer. It can treat a few parasites like giardia, though that's not something I would expect your chameleons to have. And one dose of metronidazole would not be effective enough to kill any parasites. The only thing exposing pathogens to a medication without it killing them is doing is building resistance to that medication, which makes it really hard to treat when you actually do have a problem. Deworming monthly is completely unneccessary, far too frequent and you don't even know if you are treating the parasites you actually have. If you have parasites every month that need treating then you have very poor sanitation and hygiene in your set up.

Crayola: yes you should take him to the vet and get his fecal sample testing as Alexl said. If he has parasites he will need to be treated...with the appropriate medication and dosage.

 

[Crayola]

Any particular reason to be wasting so much medication? Metronidazole is an antibiotic btw, not a dewormer. It can treat a few parasites like giardia, though that's not something I would expect your chameleons to have. And one dose of metronidazole would not be effective enough to kill any parasites. The only thing exposing pathogens to a medication without it killing them is doing is building resistance to that medication, which makes it really hard to treat when you actually do have a problem. Deworming monthly is completely unneccessary, far too frequent and you don't even know if you are treating the parasites you actually have. If you have parasites every month that need treating then you have very poor sanitation and hygiene in your set up.

Crayola: yes you should take him to the vet and get his fecal sample testing as Alexl said. If he has parasites he will need to be treated...with the appropriate medication and dosage.

I made a appt he will be seen on monday. thats the only time the chameleon expert doctor will be there.