Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just looking for some info on worming...
1. Do you need to worm chameleons yearly? Or just check fecals yearly to see if it is needed.
2. If you do worm, how much? Exactly how? How often?

I just talked with my vet who does not care much for worming unless absolutely necessary...another vet who recommends yearly worming and a host of other opinions....

I figured who would know would be those who either have or have not....

You said..."1. Do you need to worm chameleons yearly?" If you
don't do a fecal how are you going to know that/if your chameleon
has worms (or other parasites) or not? If you don't know which
parasite/worm it has, how are you going to know that what you
plan to use will kill that parasite? A shot-gun approach
(giving it any/one antiparasite medication and hoping that it
will kill off any parasites that the chameleon has), IMHO,
is not the way to go. You may do more harm than good.
I don't know of one single antiparasite med. that will kill ALL
of the different kinds of parasites. There are hookworms,
ascarids (roundworms), filarial nematodes, flukes, flagellates,
tapeworms, etc. and although some of the main
antiparasite medications will kill several of these,
there are some that require a different medication.

You said..."2. If you do worm, how much? Exactly how? How often?"
How much and how often depends on the antiparasite medication
that you will be using...and the weight of your chameleon.
How it is given depends on the medication...some are oral and
some are injected.

You said..."I just talked with my vet who does not care much for
worming unless absolutely necessary...another vet who recommends
yearly worming and a host of other opinions"...to treat or not
is something that I have wrestled many times over the years and
I still don't have a definite answer. I just do what I think
every case requires to be in the best interest of the lizard.

You might like to read this article...
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/index.php?show=4-0.Parasites.html

I know you didn't ask the following...but it might be of interest
to some anyhow...

Please be aware that I'm NOT a vet and that these are just my
thoughts/ramblings on the subject.

From my experience and from what I have read, some parasites are
quite harmful to chameleons and effect their health...so how
could we not treat them? For example...hookworms attach
themselves to the insides of the intestinal tract and
suck blood out of it. They release an anticoagulant to stop
blood clots from forming so that they can continue to suck
the blood...so if these parasites release themselves, the wound
will continue to bleed. They can contribute to anemia.

Then, other types of worms that reside in the stomach only eat
nutrients that should go to the chameleon which might be "solved"
by simply providing the chameleon with extra food.

Blood parasites and lung parasites and those that are found
under the skin that thus are not located in the digestive system
can be more difficult or maybe even impossible to kill....and
killing them can cause other problems. The body has to
get rid of the debris. Some of these have been known to kill the
chameleon. Unless these have a way to shed eggs, for instance,
into the digestive system, I don't think they will
show up in a fecal either.

Here are more sites with some information...
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/index.php?show=4-2.Lungworms.html
http://www.bioone.org/bioone/?request=get-abstract&issn=1042-7260&volume=032&issue=01&page=0115

I have had some chameleons treated with no adverse effects and
the parasites were gotten rid of....and in other cases the
chameleon had a heavy infestation or was too weak and died
when treated.

I'm not saying the parasites shouldn't be treated or that they
won't prove to be a problem for the host. Some definitely need
to be treated to ensure the well-being of the chameleon.

You should also aware that they can be transferred from one host
to another...through feces and other contact...so hygiene is
always important IMHO when working with animals....and this is
something to consider when deciding to treat a parasite. A lot of
these parasites can have little or no consequence when
transferred, some can be transferred and not survive in the host
they are transferred to and a few that get into the wrong host
can be serious. (Don't let this scare you...just let it make you
aware!)

This is intended just "food for thought" and may be worth
discussing. Any comments or corrections from any of the vets
on this forum would be welcome too.

http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections index-req-viewarticle-artid-50-page-1.html
"the surprising thing is that many of these studies are
introducing the same or similar parasites/worms to cure disease,
that we are knocking out of our animals!!"
"do we treat or not, obviously if the animal's health is being
compromised, there is no doubt we should, but I think we all
need to think real hard on treating an animal that shows
something on a fecal float or smear when there are no other
symptoms present."

http://www.angelfire.com/al/repticare2/page10.html
"If all parasites where to be harmful to their host causing
their death than the parasites would eventually bring about an
end to their own existence by eliminating the very hosts that
they need to survive. This is only true of some species of
parasites and in some cases the existence of parasites can
cause serious illness and may even lead to
death if left untreated for an extended period of time."

http://www.drgecko.com/nematodes.htm
"Pinworms typically reside in the lower gastrointestinal tract
of leopard geckos and may not cause any overt signs of disease. They may
even be beneficial in small numbers as they can prevent
constipation by breaking up fecal matter."

Any comments?

I am in full agreement with what you are saying. I have never been one that likes to introduce insecticides to ANY of my friends (horses, dogs, cats, goat.(mini-goat) chameleon..asian leopard cat..). I use a more "prevent them from starting" i.e. natural parasits of the parasite....and do not use insectides as a rule and have have had very little if any problems. Most of the problems I have had have been from the most recent member of the family.

I will get fecals done in either event.

Thank you for taking the time to give me some much needed info and I will look at this sites!!!!!!!!