Pinworms & disinfection

[Norbert]

Hey everyone, I got the fecal test results back from my vet visit and they were positive for pinworms. I missed the call and am calling back tomorrow morning so I don’t know how severe it is yet. My chameleons appetite hasn’t changed at all, he’s always been a big eater. His droppings look normal nothing weird I can visually see, so I’m hoping it’s not too bad.
I was just wondering how do I go about sanitizing the enclosure and plants. And do I sanitize before or after treatment? I don’t know where he would have gotten them, if he had them since he arrived or got them from feeders or from something else. Is it something feeders arrive with or something I did with their care? Also do I need to throw out the feeders I have just in case? I have some ordered, but they won’t be here until Friday.
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure they don’t reoccur. Anything else I didn’t ask about that is important to note, please let me know!

 

[Beman]

Beman had pinworms when he was young. Came in with feeders (he had a fecal prior and was clean) and I am 99% sure it was the store bought dubia I got when I ran out. This is the easier one to treat for and kill off. So that is wonderful. Beman never stopped eating with them or with treatment.

I pulled all plants and with warm water just rinsed them all really well. Easier if you put them in the tub and aim the shower at them. Then for the enclosure I cleaned off all the branches with a a bit of soapy warm water and rinsed them really well. Same with the bottom of the cage. I did kill off all the dubia... Gave him the oral meds and never had an issue again. But I was spot cleaning like crazy through treatment.

Of course plants were my reinfection risk from fecal matter since Beman is a Veiled. Yours with a Panther will be him licking branches.

 

[Norbert]

Thank you so much! I was expecting something more intense like throwing everything inside the cage out, so I’m glad to hear that it can be cleaned. The only thing I’m thinking is I also ran out of feeders once early on when I was figuring out how much he eats weekly. I had to buy one days worth of pinheads from a local store while I waited for my shipment of dubias. This is the only time I bought from a pet store and was nervous doing it, I guess for good reason. I won’t have new feeders till Friday should I keep the ones I have (ordered from Dubiaroaches.com) until the new ones come in then toss them? Or should I just get rid of them right away and buy locally again? I don’t know the best option since I don’t know which one caused it...

 

[Beman]

Thank you so much! I was expecting something more intense like throwing everything inside the cage out, so I’m glad to hear that it can be cleaned. The only thing I’m thinking is I also ran out of feeders once early on when I was figuring out how much he eats weekly. I had to buy one days worth of pinheads from a local store while I waited for my shipment of dubias. This is the only time I bought from a pet store and was nervous doing it, I guess for good reason. I won’t have new feeders till Friday should I keep the ones I have (ordered from Dubiaroaches.com) until the new ones come in then toss them? Or should I just get rid of them right away and buy locally again? I don’t know the best option since I don’t know which one caused it...

If you think it was due to the crickets you bought a while back and these dubia are from dubia roaches as well you should be fine to keep them. I will not buy local because they have no checks and balances. Often they keep them dirty.
I know for a fact that dubia roaches does random tests on theirs to ensure there are not parasite issues. And I have not had any issue with them in the 2 years I have ordered from them.

Pins are not bad at all just a hassle to clean. But your not needing to clean with harsh chemicals like you do with coccidia.

Just think of it like spring cleaning for his cage. lol

 

[Norbert]

Okay I feel much better about the cleaning now thank you again! I think the pinheads were most likely it since I was nervous buying them in the first place.
Luckily I took the opportunity of him being out of the cage during the vet visit and sprayed down everything with alcohol and let it dry while we were gone. And I always get his droppings right away cause he goes like clockwork same time every day. But, I will probably repot my plants and give everything another wash.

 

[Norbert]

If you think it was due to the crickets you bought a while back and these dubia are from dubia roaches as well you should be fine to keep them. I will not buy local because they have no checks and balances. Often they keep them dirty.
I know for a fact that dubia roaches does random tests on theirs to ensure there are not parasite issues. And I have not had any issue with them in the 2 years I have ordered from them.

Pins are not bad at all just a hassle to clean. But your not needing to clean with harsh chemicals like you do with coccidia.

Just think of it like spring cleaning for his cage. lol

Update: the vet said there was a super low count so he wasn’t going to treat it. He said to just keep an eye on him and make sure there are no signs of stress and bring another sample in 6 months. Does this sound accurate to not treat it?

 

[Beman]

Update: the vet said there was a super low count so he wasn’t going to treat it. He said to just keep an eye on him and make sure there are no signs of stress and bring another sample in 6 months. Does this sound accurate to not treat it?

My vet does the same thing, does not treat if it is a low count. Because meds can sometimes be harder on them then the actual parasite. And pins are not a huge deal compared to others. Personally I would take in another sample in a month or two rather then 6 months. Just to ensure that it does not go into crazy production.

 

[Norbert]

My vet does the same thing, does not treat if it is a low count. Because meds can sometimes be harder on them then the actual parasite. And pins are not a huge deal compared to others. Personally I would take in another sample in a month or two rather then 6 months. Just to ensure that it does not go into crazy production.

Sounds good thank you!

 

[eat2muchrice]

You can try using Reptaid, It can help reduce parasites like pinworms and is all natural.

 

[Norbert]

You can try using Reptaid, It can help reduce parasites like pinworms and is all natural.

Thank you I’ll look into that. Where can I buy it?

 

[eat2muchrice]

Amazon

 

[Norbert]

Amazon

Thanks, I ordered some today

 

[eat2muchrice]

Thanks, I ordered some today

NP, I find the best way to administer the dosage is to inject it into a feeder (roaches work great). Feed for 10 days, give a break for 5, then another round of 10 more days. Good Luck!

 

[Pine Nut]

Okay I feel much better about the cleaning now thank you again! I think the pinheads were most likely it since I was nervous buying them in the first place.
Luckily I took the opportunity of him being out of the cage during the vet visit and sprayed down everything with alcohol and let it dry while we were gone. And I always get his droppings right away cause he goes like clockwork same time every day. But, I will probably repot my plants and give everything another wash.

Hi there,
How is your little one now ? Was he reinfected ?
My leaf baby just got diagnosed. He’s getting treated Thursday.
Did you toss dishes and tongs and that kinda stuff?
Pine Nut sometimes poops in his dish. I always use hot water and soap to clean it but, do pin worms spread that easily ?
I obv wash the poop out before I sponge down his dish.

 

[Norbert]

Hi there,
How is your little one now ? Was he reinfected ?
My leaf baby just got diagnosed. He’s getting treated Thursday.
Did you toss dishes and tongs and that kinda stuff?
Pine Nut sometimes poops in his dish. I always use hot water and soap to clean it but, do pin worms spread that easily ?
I obv wash the poop out before I sponge down his dish.

He has a very low load which his vet says is normal for reptiles since they eat bugs and won’t affect his health. I did toss the dishes and disinfected the tongs and all that but I tested him again several months later and he had a low load again. I keep his feeders pretty clean but they don’t seem to be affecting him so the vet wasn’t worried the second time.

 

[Pine Nut]

He has a very low load which his vet says is normal for reptiles since they eat bugs and won’t affect his health. I did toss the dishes and disinfected the tongs and all that but I tested him again several months later and he had a low load again. I keep his feeders pretty clean but they don’t seem to be affecting him so the vet wasn’t worried the second time.

He has a very low load which his vet says is normal for reptiles since they eat bugs and won’t affect his health. I did toss the dishes and disinfected the tongs and all that but I tested him again several months later and he had a low load again. I keep his feeders pretty clean but they don’t seem to be affecting him so the vet wasn’t worried the second time.

Good ! I’m glad he is doing better. I ended up boiling my tongs and his ceramic small dish. But I tossed his other dishes. I started all my own feeders this weekend too. Parasites freak me out so I obsessively cleaned everything. I really hope these suckers are gone. TY for getting back to me. Good luck

 

[Snuits]

You can try using Reptaid, It can help reduce parasites like pinworms and is all natural.

Question. There is a few reptaids I've seen this before on Amazon. Which one. Immune support?

 

[Snuits]

He has a very low load which his vet says is normal for reptiles since they eat bugs and won’t affect his health. I did toss the dishes and disinfected the tongs and all that but I tested him again several months later and he had a low load again. I keep his feeders pretty clean but they don’t seem to be affecting him so the vet wasn’t worried the second time.

I'm glad he's doing better, that's great to hear. I just wanna put in there. That parasites are a common thing with reptiles & its not on you for buying at the local store. People recommend Fecal every 6 months because it is so common. Don't be to hard on yourself. The amazing thing is you being here & doing what's best with vet visits & cleanings. Hope you both are well. ♡

 

[Norbert]

Good ! I’m glad he is doing better. I ended up boiling my tongs and his ceramic small dish. But I tossed his other dishes. I started all my own feeders this weekend too. Parasites freak me out so I obsessively cleaned everything. I really hope these suckers are gone. TY for getting back to me. Good luck

Welcome! I tried a Dubia colony and it freaked me out too much so I gave up on that. I just order from dubiaroaches.com or joshsfrogs.com now and always get enough so I don’t run out anymore haha. The dubia colony was super easy to start but when they started having lots of babies I realized I’d rather buy lol, not for me. Good for you for starting your own feeders though! If I didn’t mind bugs so much I would have stuck with it.

 

[Norbert]

I'm glad he's doing better, that's great to hear. I just wanna put in there. That parasites are a common thing with reptiles & its not on you for buying at the local store. People recommend Fecal every 6 months because it is so common. Don't be to hard on yourself. The amazing thing is you being here & doing what's best with vet visits & cleanings. Hope you both are well. ♡

Thank you! It freaked me out at first but now that I know it’s common I’m not as paranoid when it’s a super low load. As long as the vet isn’t worried I’m not either. He had issues with RI which is why they did the parasite treatment the first time just to make sure they didn’t interfere with his RI treatment by causing extra stress. He responded well to both treatments.