Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there,
I was wondering about how to clean up W/C panthers, as far as internal and external parasites. What should I use and how should I use it? What should I expect when dealing with W/C ambilobes? Any information will be appreciated, and thanks in advance.

swich

You said...."I was wondering about how to clean up W/C panthers, as far as internal and external parasites. What should I use and how should I use it? What should I expect when dealing with W/C ambilobes?"...in many years of keeping WC chameleons, I have never found one with external parasites. Not saying that they can't have them...just that I have never had any with them. As far as internal parasites are concerned, it needs to be determined which parasites the chameleon has and the appropriate treatment should be given. Different medications kill off different parasites...and no single medication will kill of all of the ones possible. You need to see a vet to have a fecal (and maybe bloodwork) done to determine what parasites the chameleon has and then get the proper treatment for them/it. Even if the first fecal shows no parasites, the chameleon could have some. They will only likely show up in the fecal if the parasite is shedding.

Many dealers and vets seem to default to "shotgunning". In other words, they give the cham one of the general deworming meds like Panacur or Flagyl without doing a fecal analysis first. I think that's a bad idea for several reasons. If the cham doesn't have some parasites the med will treat, you are poisoning it for no good reason. If the parasites the cham has are not sensitive to the med, you still poisoned your cham for no good reason and will have to treat again with the right med. Most chams will have some parasites no matter what, as most feeder insects carry some. I don't think it's possible or necessary to get rid of all parasites. If the cham is eating, drinking, acting normally, is good weight and has no other health problems the parasite load it may have is being tolerated well. Also, freshly imported chams may suffer a bloom in parasite populations as they have been under stress from capture and shipping. But, treating heavy parasite loads can also kill the cham by overwhelming it with dying or dead parasites blocking the intestine, lungs, heart, or causing secondary infection.