I work for an exotics vet, Jill patt here in mesa Arizona. I also am pretty communicative with Rich Funk who is a long time reptile dvm.

To answer your first question about ectoparasites. No it is generally not a concern bc mites are host specific. Even trumbiculids which are like chiggers and not host specific only feed on lizards, in their armpits usually.

And for endoparasites, FREEZE THE LIZARDS FIRST. If at all possible. Since we all have internet obviously I would point anyone reading this to read up on pentastomids, which are lung worms, not host specific, and not killed by feeding.they have in a couple rare cases been inhaled by an owner while cleaning g cages and stirring up dust and migrated into a human brain causing death. Obviously rare but possible. Pinworms are host specific but are NOT KILLED BY FEEDING. Panacur is a good means of treating pinworms if neccessary usually dosed at 50mg/kg every 24hours for 7 days then repeat two weeks later. The second is to cover the newly hatching babies. The second treatment varies depending on the prepatent period for the species of parasite and a recheck fecal exam is recommended . Now on another note, trichomonas and other bacteria are serious issues. Even just read Bob Applegates report on pyro and greeri and you will see that when he resorted to feeding wc lizards he found himself treating animals for those infections.

So, when feeding lizards. MOST will eat them frozen thawed in a paper bag left alone for a while. I've done it with longnose pyros and with one milksnake. A good book to look through is the most recent Mader. Reptiles and amphibians clinical pathology.

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