Parasite 101
Parasites come in many forms. ticks and
mites aren't usually an issue with leopard geckos in captivity but not unheard of. If you use sand substrate,
mites are not likely. I've only ever seen
mites on one lizard (tokay gecko) in all of my 30+ years of keeping reptiles.
endoparasites such as tape worms, roundworms, hookworms etc are fairly common. Many of them can actually be carried by the crickets, worms or worm bedding...or could have been transmitted through the blood from the mother to the developing egg...or from their own infested stool or the stool of a cagemate.
To better understand how they get them, you have to understand the life cycle of worms. There are 2 basic types of cycles. "Direct and Indirect" Direct life cycle means that they are directly passed from host to host by ingesting either eggs, larvae or adult worms. Indirect means that they do not have to ingest them but the worm larvae will burrow into the skin upon contact and enter the blood stream where it will end up in a major organ somewhere...Kidneys, lungs, heart, intestines and even the brain are commom places to find them. There really isn't much you can do to get rid of them anywhere but in the intestines and killing them any place else will cause the worm to rot in whatever organ it is in and your lizard will then die of toxic shock. To treat or not to treat...that is the question. Many worms can cycle out and by just keeping the cage clean, you can prevent reinfestation. Most worm problems do not effect the host animal in the wild too much because they poop and crawl away from it and are not confined into a small area with their own feces. In captivity however, this is a big problem and parasite loads can get quite heavy and do a lot of damage. For instance, One adult hook worm can drink up to 1cc of blood per day. Now think about how much blood your geck has in it's body and then think of a large glob of hook worms in it's intestine. It won't take them long to kill a gecko if left untreated. Most of the wormers on the market (most common 2 are panacur and flagyl) only treat intestinal worms. Ivermectin is sometimes prescribed for others but it's extremely toxic stuff and probably kills more reptiles than it helps. It kills the parasites by tainting the blood. It's pretty effective on
mites too ...but there are much safer methods for getting rid of
mites.
The only intestinal worms that I can think of that I will not treat for are pinworms. They have a direct life cycle and must be ingested so merely keeping the cage clean and rethinking the food source will make them go bye bye.
The little burrowing buggers are a whole other concern and usually require a lot of worming and a lot of cleaning to get rid of them.
There are also a lot of protozoan type parasites that can coexist without ever causing any problem whatsoever (cryptosporidium comes to mind) untill the animal becomes either stressed or immuno compromized...then they can become instantly very deadly.
If your herp has any of the signs like rapid weight loss, bloating, lethargy, bloody and/or runny stool, vomiting...see your vet and take a stool sample.
A blood smear may also turn up some parasites but treating for anything found in the blood is seldom advised but it is good to know so you know to take extra precautions against stress and immunocompromizing diseases such as Respiratory infections. AND you know not to breed these animals. Certain parasites that are found in the blood will often congregate in the lungs where they will pupate and then wiggle their way up the trachea where they are then swallowed down the esophogus and then grow to adulthood in the intestines, laying eggs in passing feces. While they are in the blood or lungs, they will not show up in a fecal untill they are at that intestinal stage laying eggs. A blood test can be a great tool in IDing these infestations early and then give you good cause to watch the fecals in the coming few weeks.
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