Reptile & Amphibian Forums

is it contagious?

>>is it contagious?
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Josh
My Email

so what should i do, i understand it's incurable, correct? i dont want my other geckos to get it.

do you have it in your collection? if so, it speards like wildfire and other reptiles can get it too. strict husbandry and quarentee is a must. try not to cross contaminate, using new latex disposable gloves befor after and inbetween handling any gecko, enclosure or anything is a must... clean.. clean all enclosures with 1:10 bleach solution and clean very often. no comunal housing. get antibacterial hand sanitizer. do not touch anything with the same glove or bare hand bofore putting a new one on or before using bleach, or alcohol to clean it. disposable items are the best, water bowls, paper towels and even hides. do not "reuse" prey items. its alot of work but by using these methods you might be able to save some....
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

it's not caged with the rest of the collection, but it was at one time caged with another. this other gecko is doing seemingly fine. what about corn snakes? can they get it too???????

first off the other gecko that was housed with it needs to be secluded by itself too because it could have it or be some sort of carrier. as far as the corn snakes, i believe colubrids, boas and pythons can get it as well...... crypto can litterally destroy a whole reptile collection consisting of various types of reptiles. it is one of the most contagious and scary reptile illnesses out there and every keeper and breeder shudders at the mere word.
is it for sure the one gecko has it? from my undersdtanding the only sure fire way of knowing an animal has crypto is by having a necropsy done (autopsy for animals). i have heard of people saying it can be ound through a simple fecal analisys but i do not know how true this is.
your best bet is to contact A & M unbiversity in Bryan/College Station Texas and i think the University of Florida is other university working with reptiles but i cant remember for sure and i forgot the Dr.s name (they are very well known for this type of stuff) you may also try contacting Dr. Douglas Mader, he has writen books and has a forum in reptiles magazine and also seems to be an authority on reptile medacine, i however do not know where to begin to contact him
good luck
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

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Just Another Herp Crazy Person
Allan
0.2 Leopard Geckos
0.1 Bearded Dragon
1.0 Fire Skink
Male Asian Forest Scorpion

I am not that sure; I actually just heard it for the first time today in the forum, but i did a little bit of research and it seems to be a virus in the fecal matter of the animal, which is very contagius...how they get it? Where?from who? i dont know. CAN SOMEONE HELP US A LITTLE MORE TO KNOW ABOUT CRYPTO!
Tundra Geckos

well i did a yahoo search and this is what i came up with

"Cryptosporidium is a parasite found predominantly within the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract of many classes of animals including mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. Diarrhea is the main clinical sign in infected mammals. Birds can also develop respiratory signs. In snakes, the most striking clinical manifestation in chronic infections is swelling of the stomach. Almost all animals infected with cryptosporidium die, although they may linger on for months or even years. Mammalian cryptosporidium or Cryptosporidium parvum can also infect humans"
taken from this page http://www.geocities.com/spsac/crypto.html

"Cryptosporidium - is a small parasite, measuring about 3-5 µm. Members of the genus Cryptosporidium are parasites of the intestinal tracts of fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals"
http://www.avianbiotech.com/Diseases/Cryptosporidium.htm

http://www.ksu.edu/parasitology/

"Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium is also a coccidian parasite but it is extremely pathogenic. One must use extreme caution when dealing with this parasite as it can be very easily transmitted to humans where it can cause disease.
Cryptosporidium has a direct life cycle and can easily threaten the health of any reptile that comes into contact with it. It is believed to be spread by exposure to food, water and the environmental items that have been contaminated with feces containing the sporulated oocysts shed by other reptiles. It is highly contagious!

Common Symptoms:

The symptoms exhibited will vary from gecko to gecko and will depend on the severity of the problem. Cryptosporidium can cause severe irritation to the intestinal walls of a leopard gecko. The symptoms could include:

Anorexia
Regurgitation
Diarrhea
- can include mucus in the stools
- can include cottage cheese-like stools
Depression
Listlessness
Weight loss
Dehydration
Failure to respond to therapeutics.
Death
Diagnostic Methods:

There are several different techniques available to your veterinarian to help determine the possible presence of cryptosporidium. These could include:

Complete physical examination.
Detailed patient history and overview of husbandry.
Fecal exams.
- It may be possible to identify the oocysts on direct smears.
- Acid-fast stain technique is preferable.
- Several fecal samples may be required until you have a positive identification.
Treatment Options:

At the moment, there is no known cure for Cryptosporidium although there has been a great deal of success in the past using Trimethoprim-Sulfadiazine administered PO (orally) to stabilize a reptile.

Supportive care is essentially all one can do at the moment for an infected gecko. This could include the use of fluid and electrolyte therapy, as well as nutritional supplementation.

The prognosis for an infected gecko is poor and euthanasia may ultimately be necessary depending on the severity of the problem. Some leopard geckos can live for several months after being affected while others may live for several years before passing away.

When dealing with medical problems such as cryptosporidium, proper personal hygiene, quarantine and disinfection techniques are absolutely necessary. Treating the gecko alone without treating the environment will NOT eliminate the problem! As with other parasites, it is recommended that you wear gloves while handling the infected gecko. " from http://www.drgecko.com/protozoans.htm

and here are the yahoo search results for more info

http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p= reptile CRYPTOSPORIDIUM
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

What are the symptoms? Is it just because you see a blackish blob on the stomach? What do the stools look like? Are the urates (the white part) runny, or just the brown part?

complete isolation of the animal from all others. Most any herps can catch it! Sterility is a must. If you have one that for sure has it I know it sounds cruel but whack it and incinerate the body. Completely soak the tank and any objects that came in contact in a strong bleach solution. Personally myself I would pitch the whole nine yards if it was not a big or expensive tank. Clean all animals tanks and objects throughly very good with a bleach water solution just in case. Alcohol hand sanitizer. I would not go to these extremes unless the animal was definately diagnosed with crypto. It is a big scarry word and is not as common as I think people believe. Though people have lost entire collections to it you can't be too safe. This is why qaurantine for no less than 60 days should be strictly obeyed when bringing in new animals even though I see alot of times it is not. Belive me though I would not chance all my herps lives by not. Good luck and I pray for you that you don't have a case of it.

is there a humane way for my to "whack it" myself. i cant pay to have it put down.

I guess humane is up to the person. I grew up on the farm and being an avid outdoorsman I would just take it by the back feet and crack it's head on something hard. Quick and humane to me. I understand though it is a loved pet to you and the best way I have found to do it is put them in a garbage bag and fill it full of car exhaust a couple of times. It will just go to sleep (carbon monoxide). Do not do it in a garage or inside and do not breath very much yourself. It will do the same to you if you breath alot of it. It simply displaces the oxygen in the blood because the blood attracts carbon monoxide better than oxygen. Do not ever kill feeders this way though it will taint them. Please Please be sure it is crypto or something deadly before you do it though.

Before you euthanize your animal, you need to be very sure it is crypto and I haven't heard anything that would confirm that at all.