Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. I just took over the reptile section at a local pet store, and I have found that about 10 leopard gecko babies have coccidia! I don't know much about this parasite, only that I have been told different things. One is that they will die no matter what, the other that you can save them with panacur and albon. Can anyone clear this up for me? I can't take these guys to a vet, but the previous reptile person says that it is coccidia. I assume that they had at least a few fecals examined at one point. I am going to try to get the leos from some where else from now on, but for now, I have about 10 dying babies, and need HELP!!!! Thanks!!
Angela
-----
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Super Hypo-Tangerine Carrot tail
0.1.1 Whites Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Huge Black Cat
0.1.0 Cocker Spaniel
0.1.0 Brittany
0.0.1 Brother

Classical anticoccidial therapies (all coccidioSTATIC: it means they block the reproduction of coccidia, and the host immune system must then eliminate the parasite) are to my knowledge:

SULFA DRUGS (Albon, Socatil, Bactrim, ecc.);

CLAZURIL, TOLTRAZURIL: Clazuril is less toxic than Toltrazuril (it does not accumulate), and the dosage is 10 mg/kg;

But...a vet friend of mine (very updated and prepared in reptile medicine) has confirmed and repeated to me that:
PANACUR is effective and safe in eliminating coccidia (this is a very NEW experience) at a dosage of 25 mg/kg 7-8 days long.
My friend says dr.Frye has recently written about this, but, on the web, I've found nothin to confirm this. Nothing...

And then I think (I'm a physician) about another medicine which is used to treat Cryptosporidiosis in human AIDS patient: paromomicin (Humatin).
It's an antibiotic which is not absorbed from the gut, and which is certainly active against reptile coccidia (I've found one source on the web, that can confirm this) but NOBODY tries or uses paromomicin. Why ?
It could be also interesting in reptile crypto, but really nobody recurs to this drug.
I really don't know the reason...

Ruggero

So is coccidia CURABLE or just treatable. Would you recomend euthanisation?
-----
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Super Hypo-Tangerine Carrot tail
0.1.1 Whites Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Huge Black Cat
0.1.0 Cocker Spaniel
0.1.0 Brittany
0.0.1 Brother

I think the same disease can be either curable or treatable:
it depends from the host.
Human infectious diseases such as Cryptosporidiosis or Cyclosporiasis or Cryptococcosis are benign and curable in normal patients: in AIDS patients they are only treatable or can
be even fatal.
I had 2 Spilotes (snake of south and central America) which
carried Coccidia: they were NOT ILL ! They were only carriers, with no symptoms at all.
After treatment with Clazuril and Toltrazuril one snake is totally free from parasites; the other snake still eliminetes
very few oocysts.
In one case Coccidia were "curable" (I mean they have been totally eradicated); in the other case, some of them still live...
But in the books, one reads that the coccidia, after several sexual moltiplications (from which the oocysts arise), stop to moltiplicate (if there is no reinfection from feces) and die.
I really don't know if it's always true: but the hope is alive !

Euthanize is not a solution.
I would recommend to separate your animals; to remove promptly feces; and to treat (with your vet help) all the animals with, for instance, Clazuril.
If your pets are only carriers (just like my snakes) and do NOT suffer actually from coccidiosis, the problem is even lighter...

Let us know !

Ruggero

See, I just started working at a pet store, and the other reptile person seems to think that the baby leopard geckos have coccidia. I have only heard that coccidia is NOT curable in leos. Other animals, it is curable. that is my delema.
-----
1.0.0 Normal Leopard Gecko
0.1.0 Super Hypo-Tangerine Carrot tail
0.1.1 Whites Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Huge Black Cat
0.1.0 Cocker Spaniel
0.1.0 Brittany
0.0.1 Brother

Ruggero is correct in his assessment of Coccidia and treatment vs. cure. I haven't seen the same results he cites with regard to treating Coccidia with Fenbendazole (Panacur), but I will try treating that way next time and see what happens. Coccidia infection is really not normally an emergency situation, so I'll have ample time to try Fenbendazole first and see what results are produced, then if that is unsuccessful, treat again with Sulfadimethoxine (Albon). I have successfully eliminated Coccidia a number of times with Albon in conjunction with strict cage hygiene.

Another thing that Ruggero has correctly stated is that Coccidia will be self-limiting with good cage cleaning regimen. They are a direct life-cycle parasite, and depend upon being able to re-infect the host. They shed oocysts which are eliminated in the feces, then the young reinfect the host by contaminating water, food, etc. They have a finite life span, so if the young are not allowed to reinfect, the adults die off and they limit themselves. This can take some time...the drugs accellerate the process. Most snakes with Coccidiasis are asymptomatic. Some with extremely heavy loads may exibit symptoms such as diarrhea, anorexia and possibly death. In cases where the snake is exibiting symptoms, treatment is necessary because the deterioration of the host animal can be fairly rapid.

In any treatment for Coccidia, strict cage hygiene is critical.

The reason that Rugerro mentions Cryptosporidia is that they are, in fact, Coccidians. In reptiles, they do not seem to respond to any of the conventional treatments, however. Cryptosporidia infection in reptiles is usually fatal. It is thought that these protozoans are benign and, in fact, usually present in small numbers in healthy reptiles, but in stressed or immunodepressed individuals they are able to multiply in large numbers and overwhelm the host. Once again, cage cleaning is a key factor.

I have not tried any of the other drugs that Ruggero mentions.

As to whether your Leopard Geckos actually need treatment is going to depend on how heavy the load is. Normally, if I do a differential fecal floatation and find 5 or 6 oocysts (on average) xfield, I will treat. If I see 1 or less xfield (on average) I don't treat. The problem with your Leos is that they are juveniles and very small. Dosing is difficult and critical in small juvenile animals like this and really should not be attempted unless you are very experienced in calculating dosage, diluting and administering meds to very small animals. Unless there is a very heavy load I would be more inclined to concentrate on keeping a sterile environment for them and try to limit them that way. If they are feeding and otherwise acting normally, then they should come around. If they aren't feeding (sometimes a problem with juveniles), then you may want to get a vet to help you devise a "cocktail" of meds combined with food and supplements to force feed them. I have successfully used strained baby food mixed with pedialyte and meds, fed with an eyedropper or syringe in the past.