Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Regardless of what it is, I am taking my Chameleons to the Vet as soon as possible. However, I would kindly ask the community on their input on what specifically these 'things' could be:

I have noticed clear white 'rice' shaped things in my chameleon's stools. They are small and slender, about 3mm long, white to transparent and rod shaped. My chameleon has it bad, and his large stools are filled with these clear white rod things. Another thing of note is that a piece of freeze dried cricket fell into the water yesterday, and now it too was filled with these white rod egg like things. I was wondering if anyone knew what these were and if they have had any experience with this. Any knowledge would help the anxiousness i feel for my chameleons. Thanks for any help!!

Without seeing the objects, its obviously difficult to diagnose what it is. Typically with dogs and cats, when an owner describes "rice" in their pets poop it is usually tapeworms, but in reptiles, it could be different. Take a sample of the "rice" with you, as tapeworms are a bit tough to diagnose by looking for eggs in feces (called a fecal floatation, which is the usual way labs diagnose what parasites your pet has; there are other specific ways for specific worms, also). It is not uncommon to have parasites introduced to your colony through your feeders (esp crix), so it is a good idea to find a quality feeder supply that is clean and consistent, and not just the cheapest around. As always, be extra vigilant in washing your hands and keeping all fomites (inamimate objects that come into your chameleon's contact and/or your own after touching the chameleon) very clean. Be sure to ask your vet what disinfectants are appropriate for killing the parasite eggs that may be lurking in the cham's cage and on the fomites (i.e., feeder enclosure); not all products will kill what you want killed and some may even kill the chameleon!

Good luck,
~Kerry, LVT, VTS-ECC
Licensed Vet Tech, Emergency & Critical Care specialist

Hi,

Are you sure you are not seeing cricket eggs? From the way you described the objects they sound like cricket eggs.

Carl

A simple test. Try feeding smaller crix to your cham for a day or two. I agree with both posts above. It could either be tapeworms or cricket eggs. If you feed your cham large adult crickets, cricket eggs are undigested & passed out through the stool. The same happens with other lizards as well. By feeding smaller crickets, you eliminate the eggs, and you'll no longer see them in the feces. If it is tapeworms, you'll need Droncit. This is only available from a vet, and he/she will need to weigh your chameleon to prescribe the correct dosage. I'd strongly avoid any OTC dewormers. The are ineffective against tapeworms and may cause even more problems. They can even build up a resistance if used incorrectly.
Hope this helps,
Cricket

Just a quick update on this issue...It took a while for the vets to identify what these 'things' were. However, according to the pathologist at the vet lab. He said that those were fly maggots. Its strange however because I haven't fed my chameleons flies for over 2 months. Anyhow, they gave me Fenbendaz 100mg/ml x cc, a dewormer, .04 ml orally once every 24 hr for 3 days, which i will give all my chameleons. Thank you all for your help, those who posted!