Panther has Flagellated Protozoa suggestions?

[rickd5]

I've made other post but a member suggested I make a separate post regarding my chameleons parasite treatment.

My 9 mo old panther had a fecal done and he had what the vet called "a small case of flaggelated protozoa"

He gave me panacur. One drop daily for 5 days. Repeat in 2 weeks.

My chameleon took the medication for the first five days with no problem and now that I'm on his 2nd routine 3rd day he has stopped eating for the last couple days.

I cleaned my cage thoroughly and replaced the plant plus all my feeders.
Is there anything else I should worry about? Like should I clean it again.. Thoroughly. I was also concerned( not until this point) that I'm using the right medicine for a 60 gram chameleon and dosage... I read panacur isn't right for flagellates, but Dr. Greek is my vet and I don't know why he would make a mistake like that.

Its in a dripper like eye drops. So one drop of that daily

 

[rickd5]

Just administered the medicine strait from the dripper. He didn't like it and turned all dark afterwards but it had to be done it the poor boy would eat this wudnt be so stressful

 

[Alexl]

It would be very interesting to know which "flagellates" your chameleon has. "Flagellates" is only an umbrella term for different species of protozoal parasites, e.g. Hexamita ssp. or Trichomonas ssp. to name only two. The first species can lead to ascending infections of the kidneys in worst case, the second species isn't really harmful to chameleons. So knowing the species is quite important to decide if treatment is necessary at all.

Fenbendazol (active agent of Panacur) isn't the best choice to treat protozoal parasites, although it's possible to use it in some cases. But there are really better working standard medications on the market against flagellates, e.g. Metronidazol, which hasn't more side effects or risks than Fenbendazol correctly dosed in chameleons. And by the way, Metronidazol or similar could be applied twice in 2 weeks instead of 5 days, break and 5 days again - less stress for a chameleon imho. Probably there was a reason the vet colleague decided to use Fenbendazol, just call him and ask, maybe you can also find out the exact parasite species.

 

[jackschamnewbie]

Vomiting and diarrhea are very common side effects of Fenbendazole and I assume that nausea is included. Call the vet if you notice heavy breathing, itching, swelling or lethargic behavior.
Chances are that only the most serious ailment and treatment of such was discussed at the visit. There might very well be a secondary parasitic infection which panacur is best suited to treat.

If your cham is not acting right, call and ask questions. Even with a diluted dose, daily use of panacur carries a higher risk of side effects. Metronidazole is more commonly used to target protozoan parasites such as karyosome organisms and most commonly the 6-flagella bearing species.

Here is a html rip of the identification chapter of Understanding Reptile Parasites 2nd edition by Klingenburg
http://www.arborealspecialties.com/Parasite ID.html

 

[Alexl]

Vomiting and diarrhea are very common side effects of Fenbendazole and I assume that nausea is included.

If this happens, the dosage probably wasn't correctly chosen. Panacur can be 100% overdosed without causing problems in field studies for mammals (no, you shouldn't try it at home ). It's a very safe medication in small animals - and in reptiles, too. I've never seen any of these side effects... where do you got these informations from?

 

[rickd5]

Everything seems to be fine with him except his appetite. He rubs his eyes a lot but he's always done that. Vet told Me cleaning my cage and trading out the feeders isn't necessary, but I did it anyways. He said the protozoa he had isn't deadly and a lot of reptiles carry it.. Since this cham is newly in my care he said he could be stressed therefore his immune system could be weakened so he said its best to treat it with panacur just to be sure. He told me coming back for a checkup isn't necessary. Ned should be fine

It's called Panacur Suspension 100mg/ml all white liquid

"Give 1 drop orally daily for 5 days. Repeat in 2 weeks"