[Frankie]

Cryptosporidiosis is a deadly disease found in leopard geckos and other reptiles. I cannot address other reptiles but I have hope for gecko keepers. After two years, following the diagnosis and treatment of six leopard geckos and one tokay, and under the supervision of a veterinarian, successful recovery was seen in five leopard geckos and the tokay (one leopard gecko was put down in order to get a positive identification of cryptosporidiosis). This technique may not be 100% successful in all cases, but can reduce the spread of infection and assist in the recovery of some infected geckos.

Because keepers and pet stores tend to keep their leopard geckos in groups, and do not follow proper de-contamination procedures, crypto spreads rapidly. Symptoms include regurgitation of food (crickets, worms, etc.) and a swollen stomach. A gecko may elevate his stomach above the ground. Feces may become very smelly (over normal feces smell), watery and have lots of mucus. The gecko becomes lethargic. Wasting of the body (body and tail thinning) begins as the gecko will either continue to regurgitate food or quit eating altogether.

Quarantine of the gecko and all animals having contact with the gecko is necessary. If the keeper has more than the one gecko or has more animals other than the exposed group, strict quarantine, hygiene and decontamination procedures are essential to stop the infection from spreading. A disinfection easily available to keepers is ammonia (bleach will not work). Enclosures, bowls, cage furniture, etc. need to be cleaned and disinfected in ammonia, then allowed to air dry for three days before they are used again. Cleaning and disinfection of items with ammonia such as tweezers, surfaces, sinks, etc. are necessary. The keeper should wash hands each time they have contact with the infected gecko or any possible contaminated item.

Regurgitation and enteritis (fancy word for stomach and intestinal ache) are the primary symptoms to be treated. Administering bismuth subsalicylate (pepto-bismol, solid or liquid form), at least 30 minutes prior to feeding, will reduce the stomach pain, stimulated their appetite and reduce stomach swelling. The gecko can be given bismuth subsalicylate by dabbing the liquid on the end of the nose until the gecko begins to lick it, or the tablet can be broken to pieces and a small piece put into the mouth. During the first few weeks of treatment, administering bismuth subsalicylate a couple of times daily will ease its pain, reducing its stress significantly.

Keeping the gecko from re-infecting itself is critical to recovery. Any contact with its own feces can cause re-infection. The gecko undergoing treatment must be kept in a clean environment and each time a feces is seen it must be immediately removed. Keeping the gecko on paper towels or newspaper will help this. Rotating the gecko into a disinfected enclosure is important.

If the gecko has not progress to the end stage, treating symptoms may allow the gecko's immune system fight the disease and return the gecko to good health. However, once infected, a gecko may become a permanent carrier and its feces able to infect even after the symptoms have disappeared. As a permanent precaution, a recovered gecko should not return to breeding nor introduced to uninfected geckos.

Taking all steps, quarantine, decontamination, ease of symptoms, and avoiding re-infection was successful for my five leopard geckos and one tokay gecko. They remain symptom free two years later. I have coached several people through this procedure and they had success.

The recovery of the gecko is slow and may take up to six months before all symptoms are gone and full appetite appears.

Until a effective medicine is available to everyone (there is one but not yet available to the public), this is at least a hope for anyone not wanting to loose an valued or personally important gecko.

I hope this will be helpful to anyone who has a gecko ill with crypto and would like to try to save it rather than have it put down. It is possible that I have not been detailed enough in my explanation so if any one has questions, I will be glad to try to help.

[littleriska]

Hi,

Do you have the dosage for this medication?

thanks

[Riverside Reptiles]

Humatin (paromomycin) 400mg/kg orally for 10 days has supposedly been used successfully to treat crypto in herps. I say, "supposedly" because I have not used it myself. Thanks for the post Frankie. It's a good one.

[littleriska]

Thanks ever so much, but me living in Britain I have found out that britain doen't allow this drug for what ever reason!
But I have just been recommended Baycox2.5% 15mg/kg 3 applications every48hrs and it only needs 3 teatments.
I haven't used it yet but will give feedback once I know if my little gils make it through this awfull odeal!
I was actually looking for the dosage of the bismuth subsalicylate (pepto-bismol)

thanks for your prompt reply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Menhir]

Originally Posted by Riverside Reptiles

Humatin (paromomycin)

This will only fight the symptoms, but will not cure the animal from the C.
That is not hearsay but experiences made with corn snakes by myself and many other keepers. All the cures one has heard of so far and tried so far did not cure C... let's hope for the future.

[pab25]

Great post!! Anyone who has dealt with this knows just how devastating it can be.

[pab25]

Crypto is pretty common in nature; found in soil and drinking water. Do you think stress makes individuals more succeptable?

[Woodstock]

Hi, i've had a young adult leopard gecko for a few months now and have just recently noticed within the last week that her faeces, although looking normal, comes with a lot of clear liquid. She's also taken to defacting off the top of one of her hides. I've also seen her licking her vent soon after although it looks fine. Other than this she seems alert and is eating lots of crickets.

Does this sound like cryptosporidiosis and is there any tests for it?

[Riverside Reptiles]

Originally Posted by Woodstock

Hi, i've had a young adult leopard gecko for a few months now and have just recently noticed within the last week that her faeces, although looking normal, comes with a lot of clear liquid. She's also taken to defacting off the top of one of her hides. I've also seen her licking her vent soon after although it looks fine. Other than this she seems alert and is eating lots of crickets.

Does this sound like cryptosporidiosis and is there any tests for it?

No, that really doesn't sound anything like symptoms for crypto. There should be urates that come out with the fecal matter. Licking their vent is how they get it clean (like when a dog licks its genitals). Pooping on its hide is just where it happens to prefer to poop. Try moving the hide and see what happens.

[kimo]

So what are the major first symptoms of C? Refusal of food? I mean if the gecko is eating frequently and is defecating normally and after every meal or two, there should be no chance of being affected by C? I am asking this cose I can't get so easily parasite tests here and had before some type of parasites that kill my breeding pair after laying 5 clutches and before that they seemed completely ok.