Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Tell me your opinions on Coccidia. Much debate on the topic of trying to "clean" this out of chams. I have a female NoseBe that has been infested prior to my purchase or handling and have been treating her with Albon solution for two weeks. Coccidia is still present in the stole so I am continuing the medication. I am hopefully going to clear this up completely since she is a year old and will be breed soon. I personally would like to clean her up but I read about this being a common infection that people still breed through. Like I said, I personally am going to continue the meds and not introduce her to any others until I know otherwise (risk of passing this on). What is your understanding or knowledge of it? Have you heard the same or have personal experience? Actually, this could be intended for Tyler as well.

Coccidia is not technically a worm but a protazoan. It has a large family and includes crypto. From what I have read, it is mostly species specific but there have been a couple that I have read about that cross from one species to another. It is also location specific in a host....some go to the stomach, some to the intestinal tract, etc. It can cause dehydration in its host.

I don't think there is a medication that will actually kill it but I have read that coccidastatic medications will slow its reproduction so that the chameleon's immune system can get rid of it.

I have read that oocysts can stay dormant for years. Due to the hard shell protecting them, it is almost impossible to kill them when they are encysted in the lining of the intestines or other location in the body.

I haven't had much experience with it in my chameleons or other reptiles (thank goodness!)...but I did have a pair of WC globifers and one of them had it. Coincidentally, they were both on a sulpha drug for toe and ankle infections...so it was just continued.

I also had a WC oustaleti female who expelled "worms" in her stool. They turned out to be Apicomplexa Eimeria and I was asked to allow her to continue untreated so that they could get a male of the species so they could identify it. No male was retrieved until the necropsy several years after.

The oocysts expelled from the body are not always easy to kill. From what I've read dryness will kill them and ammonia will too...but it may need to be left on them for a long time. Disinfectants in the strength normally used won't kill them in most cases. Some are killed by UV light and some take extreme heat to kill. Steam can kill them if its over 160 degrees. Even freezing won't kill some of the species. Sorry I can't be more specific...but its a large family of parasites.

Its important to be clean and take care not to transfer the parasite from one tank to another. In some cases insects can spread the oocysts...so I would dispose of whatever is taken from the cage in such a way that it can't be reached by insects.

Here are some sites that you might like to read...
http://biology.unm.edu/biology/coccidia/home.html
http://biology.unm.edu/biology/coccidia/eimeriabiol.html

Hope this helps! Hope you get rid of it in your lizard!

Appreciate your insight on the matter. I am taking this case cautiously so not to infect or spread this. It is a very stressful situation since I thought I had done my homework correctly and purchased from a well known breeder of a bloodline that I desired the traits for. I have yet to contact the breeder. I would hope he could shed some light on the matter or should at least be aware, so other chams from his facility are not infected and shipped out. I have read very similar passages as well, with the medication not seeming to effectively kill off the infection. In your honest opinion, should I take the loss on the female and rear her as just a display animal? I can not have this infecting my other projects. Nor will I appreciate this passing on to offspring. This one case alone is driving me crazy as well as breaking the bank. I have spent three times as much in medication, visits and fecal results as I did for her. Not the point though, one most do what they need to no matter the price. Your opinions are greatly appreciated since I am at a loss for words at this point.

You asked...."In your honest opinion, should I take the loss on the female and rear her as just a display animal?" and then answered your own question..."I can not have this infecting my other projects. Nor will I appreciate this passing on to offspring."

Regarding how much it cost you...I can't count how many thousand dollars its cost me over the years taking chameleons to the vets....but I feel that its a resposibility I take on when I buy one.

I think its a good idea to give the breeder a heads up. S/he may not be aware of it.

Further comments...
Some species of coccidia are found on vegetables...some are thought to be carried by insects to their hosts...some coccidia are thought to be commensal and some are paratenic...most are species specific...but no matter what, they are still something that we would rather not have to deal with.

In bearded dragons, they are thought to be commensal...
http://www.seavs.com/case_studies/lizards/

Enough for now!

Thanks for all your input and I will be sure to express my concern with the breeder.

when I treated Darwin (bearded dragon) with Albon for coccidia I also gave him acidopholiz by Pet Authority. It is similar to when we are on antibiotics. They can kill off the good bacteria in our gut thus leaving room for other problems. Not expensive and can't hurt. If you look at this subject on the KS bd forum and beardeddragon.org has a very lengthy article on it. I do not know about the difference b/t it in chams vs dragon, but worth the read.

Good luck with it and definitely bring it to the attention of ht breeder.

lele
coccidia

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
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