I ordered my fecal “kit”
- Thread starter Trailgem
- Start date
I know it seems scary but honestly even my vet only runs a fecal annually. The only reason why I have had to do soooooooo many is due to the the circumstances I dealt with a few months ago. Which is a rare thing to happen. I think in larger collections it is important to run fecals. If you buy from a breeder ensure they have run a fecal. If you get one from a pet store quarantine the new cham from all other chams and get a fecal run to ensure there are no issues. Most parasites are not horrific.
However it is the getting rid of them that can suck. Right now Beman's cage is bare bones I lost 4 huge pothos due to not being able to adequately clean them for the Pinworms. He has two tiny pothos now and I spot clean like a crazy person. It is when you get into the crappier parasites like coccidia that you are honestly screwed. Killing it is well a sh*t show. I tossed absolutely everything I bought for Bahari. EVERYTHING to ensure cross contamination did not happen.
Beman got Pinworms from the pet store feeders that I brought in when I possibly contaminated over 250 dubia with the coccidia by tossing feeders that Bahari would not eat that were walking on his branches back into the feeder bin.
So don't buy your feeders from pet stores. They tend to not keep them clean. And make sure your keeping your feeder bins clean as well. And use a feeder run cup either like the shooting gallery or the full throttle run. That way if you do have parasite issues you can contain expose and re contamination. This is really hard to do when they are used to free eating from tossing feeders in the cage and walking away.
As with any other animal/pet we care for what I have learned is that this is just another part of keeping chams. Granted my experience has put me off of getting any more in the near future but those experiences are far more rare.
However it is the getting rid of them that can suck. Right now Beman's cage is bare bones I lost 4 huge pothos due to not being able to adequately clean them for the Pinworms. He has two tiny pothos now and I spot clean like a crazy person. It is when you get into the crappier parasites like coccidia that you are honestly screwed. Killing it is well a sh*t show. I tossed absolutely everything I bought for Bahari. EVERYTHING to ensure cross contamination did not happen.
Beman got Pinworms from the pet store feeders that I brought in when I possibly contaminated over 250 dubia with the coccidia by tossing feeders that Bahari would not eat that were walking on his branches back into the feeder bin.
So don't buy your feeders from pet stores. They tend to not keep them clean. And make sure your keeping your feeder bins clean as well. And use a feeder run cup either like the shooting gallery or the full throttle run. That way if you do have parasite issues you can contain expose and re contamination. This is really hard to do when they are used to free eating from tossing feeders in the cage and walking away.
As with any other animal/pet we care for what I have learned is that this is just another part of keeping chams. Granted my experience has put me off of getting any more in the near future but those experiences are far more rare.
Trailgem
Avid Member
I think your story is what scared me the most, so thank you for replying.
Once I have max finally of crickets, I’ll feel better too. I don’t buy my feeders local anymore, it’s still a concern.
Anyway, I already purchased everything. Soooo, if anyone lives in SC... I’ll do free fecals for you Chams lolol
Once I have max finally of crickets, I’ll feel better too. I don’t buy my feeders local anymore, it’s still a concern.
Anyway, I already purchased everything. Soooo, if anyone lives in SC... I’ll do free fecals for you Chams lolol
If you have any questions on the weird things you will find let me know. I read fecal floats and smears on a variety of animals professionally for decades and now do my own at home.
Do you have a way to take photos so you can take them with you to the vet if necessary? You can get OK photos with your phone camera on the viewer.
Some vets will accept images taken at home some will insist on running a confirmation fecal before prescribing meds. All will have to have done a current exam to prescribe any medication.
Do you have a way to take photos so you can take them with you to the vet if necessary? You can get OK photos with your phone camera on the viewer.
Some vets will accept images taken at home some will insist on running a confirmation fecal before prescribing meds. All will have to have done a current exam to prescribe any medication.
Trailgem
Avid Member
I actually ordered one of those usb connectors too, so I should be able to hook it up to my laptop and take pics.
Ok probably will have many questions, so thank you
I see nothing wrong with you getting the stuff and learning about it. You have a wealth of people here like @JacksJill that can help you id what your seeing. She is amazing and helped me daily understand what I was dealing with and how to try to fight it.
I just wanted you to understand because I had a feeling it was due to my story that it is very rare... Wild caught chams are a whole different ball game when it comes to coccidia risk. It really is rare in captive collections.
Your gonna do great
