Well, as you see, expectations are sometimes hard to guess. A lizard could live in captivity on one eye if it was treated properly.



As far as HL's goes...the presence of nematode or other parasites does not necessarily mean death. Almost all HL's in the wild you can be for sure have nematodes. They infest the harvester ant as well as part of their life cycle. This is why I treat my HL's with Panacur at least twice a year, and all new arrivals, upon arrival.



It's not clear how much these parasites can shorten the life of a HL, or how many it takes to be fatal. But they can cause problems like an impaction and maybe even infections or some other disease. I also think it's fair to say that it's not a good thing to have hundreds of these things attached to the stomach walls and intestines of your HL....sucking the nutrients out of him.



I think these nematodes might have played a part in the deaths of 2 of my juvenile solare. They appeared to have the exact symptoms of an intestinal enteritis. Maybe bacterial or viral. I'm not sure. Treatment of the first with acidified water and tetracycline seemed to have outstanding results. I had her on a feeding tube early in the ordeal. She had marked improvement over 2 weeks and was about to be out, back into general population. The she died suddenly. Despite immediate quarantine, the smaller one died shortly after, within 1 day of showing symptoms. A necropsy on her revealed several dozen nematodes in her digestive system, some causing possible blockage and a discolored area of the lower intestines. She was rather small to begin with.



The nematodes could have contributed to their deaths by allowing them to be susceptible to an enteritis causing bacteria or virus. This is the likely reason they both died within a short time of each other. The spread of the infection. I now treat all with Panacur before hibernation, and after hibernation without exception. When they eat harvester ants, they will get nematodes again. I just try to keep it manageable for them.
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246

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