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Parasites

Ok just as a quick disclaimer to this - if you ever think your gecko may be ill or there is something wrong that persists for more then a few days go to a Herpetologist who can take blood and fecal samples.

There is a lot of different various parasites out there so theres no way ill cover all of them but the more common seen ones ill do my best to cover.
Parasites either live ont he hosts body or enviroment OR the parasites live inside the host's body.
Internal parasites live inside the gecko within the intestines (Like worms and Cyrptosporidium) They usually affect the gut lining of the host. Most of the internal parasites are caused by improper quarantine between other exotic speices, or a infected enviroment. 
External parasites is anything that lives in the hosts enviroment or on the host something like Mites is a good example of this.
Parasite symptoms (This is a over the board of various parasites some have certian symptoms some can carry less traits then listed)

  • Partial or complete annorexia

  • Weight loss + poor body condition (shows in the tail the majority of the time like in Crypto)

  • Dehydration - Wrinkled skin/ sunken eyes

  • Lethargy or dullness (unaware of surroundings/ weakness/ incapable of moving to far)

  • Shedding issues

  • Soaking behaviour (this ties back into Shedding issues)

  • More specific symptoms include 

  • Diarrhoea

  • Blood in stool

  • Vomiting 

The most important aspect of parasite prevention is proper hygine and quarantine. The reptiles enviroment should be cleaned at least once a week but any poo that is there in the morning should be removed - if any decoration is pooped on make sure it is removed and cleaned.

Worms

As with all pets New or old it is highly recommended to have even a Healthy gecko evaluated by a Herpetologist (reptile vet) on a routine basis. That way any health issues that arrise can be picked up on and hopefully treated early before it becomes to bad or to late. 
If your rescuing a gecko on the day of purchase or at least within 42 hours have a vet appointment set up. 

Mites

Mites are small tick like parasites that live on the skin of many reptiles. Mites suck blood from the host affecting the overall health of the host. These are NOT common in Leopard geckos but they can show up. 

Picture show n here is from a New caldonian gecko - its the closest i could get to what a mite looks like that isnt under a microscope.

Worms

Worms are not always visible

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