Parasite Under Panther's Skin?

[Hail3yNo3lle]

I recently purchased a WC juvenile ambilobe panther chameleon. He is eating extremely well and gaining weight steadily. The other day I saw some sort of lump under his skin (photo attached) and after some research, found this is common in WC.

I am thinking of treating with Panacur as I have some on hand and removing the parasite surgically (under forum recommendations).

Firstly, how do you administer Panacur to chameleons and what is the ratio to body mass?

Secondly, as per the photo does this look like a parasitic infection?

TYI for your assistance.

 

[Beman]

Hey there. Should be taken care of by a vet that actually knows chameleons and how to treat these types of parasites. Not something I would recommend doing yourself. I would not treat with meds unless the type of parasite has been identified and medicine prescribed by the vet as not all meds kill off all parasites. I have read a tiny bit about the ones that are under the skin. To my recollection the eggs with these are excreted the same as other parasites via the fecal. So literally everything would be contaminated and reinfection rate would be high since they lick surfaces. Cross contamination with other chams is high risk and the sick cham should be totally quarantined from all other reptiles.

https://www.madcham.de/en/parasiten/

https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-medical-parasites/

 

[Beman]

Also a lot of wild caught chams come in with coccidia as well. This is not what your seeing under the skin... But it is another very contagious parasite and this one is very very hard to kill off. Need to have a fecal run to see what all this baby has going on.

 

[Hail3yNo3lle]

Thank you! The reason I was researching it on my own is because the nearest reptile vet for me is over 2 hours away. I was hoping I could treat it on my own but I'll call around to see if I can find anyone closer.

 

[Beman]

Thank you! The reason I was researching it on my own is because the nearest reptile vet for me is over 2 hours away. I was hoping I could treat it on my own but I'll call around to see if I can find anyone closer.

If you tell us what city and state we might be able to help you find one.

 

[Hail3yNo3lle]

I am actually in Canada. Deep River, Ontario, Canada. Thank you

 

[Hail3yNo3lle]

My other issue is my terrariums are bioactive and I am unsure how I would go about disinfecting this.

 

[Beman]

Ok hun... So I won't be much use to you but let me tag in people that may know.

Do yall know vets in Deep River, Ontario, Canada?
@kinyonga @Kaizen @jannb

 

[Beman]

My other issue is my terrariums are bioactive and I am unsure how I would go about disinfecting this.

Yeah with these ones I am pretty sure it is pulling basically everything and spot clean like crazy... But it would also depend on the exact parasite and my knowledge on the ones that are under the skin is very very small. @JacksJill can you help?

 

[Hail3yNo3lle]

Thank you for the help! You are awesome!

 

[Beman]

Thank you for the help! You are awesome!

Sorry I can not be more help.

 

[Hail3yNo3lle]

Sorry I can not be more help.

You've been a lot of help with resources and on the plus side the other guy just ate a super.. so at least there's that!

 

[JacksJill]

I believe the under the skin parasites are spread by biting flies or mosquitoes not by the fecal oral route.
I don't know that Panacure is the correct choice. You really should get a vet to prescribe the proper medication at the correct dosage and schedule.

 

[jamest0o0]

Was reading mosquitoes in Africa spread this. And old thread @ferretinmyshoes posted in, she mentioned that the large worms would need removed surgically. Not sure if things have changed in the past 10 years?

 

[jannb]

This vet is fairly close by and sees chameleons.
Dr. Daren Auger
Crowne Pointe Animal Hospital
8-900 Watters Road
Ottawa, Ontario
K4A 0B4

 

[kinyonga]

I absolutely feel that you need a good vet to look after this issue.
Darren should be a good choice! Nice work @jannb as usual! I knew Darren many years ago when I first started keeping chameleons!

You might like to read this...
http://matthewbolek.com/publications/mattspapers/Foleyella.pdf

 

[Hail3yNo3lle]

This vet is fairly close by and sees chameleons.
Dr. Daren Auger
Crowne Pointe Animal Hospital
8-900 Watters Road
Ottawa, Ontario
K4A 0B4

Dr. Daren Auger has since moved to Mississipi Mills Animal Hospital but just called them this morning and unfortunately they are not accepting new clients

 

[javadi]

Some great advice has been posted here already, so I won't add much. However, panacur, dosed normally, will not resolve the issue of worms under the skin. The concentrations required to kill the worms under the skin in particular isn't really obtainable by oral ingestion of panacur. Surgical treatment is the way to go here. There's been some trials with other drugs such as ivermectin which have shown some promise in treating worms under the skin, but to my knowledge, surgical removal is most effective currently.

With that said, vet is indeed the best option! I hope you find one that can help you out.

 

[kinyonga]

Also...you have to be careful treating this type of parasite IMHO. The live parasite is definitely going to be affecting the chameleon...but if the load in the chameleon is heavy, killing all the parasites at once can produce toxins from the dead bodies that the immune system might not be able to handle.

 

[jannb]

Dr. Daren Auger has since moved to Mississipi Mills Animal Hospital but just called them this morning and unfortunately they are not accepting new clients

Ask them if they can refer someone near by.