P
paris
Guest
here is what i found out about these guys, (Rhabdias-unknown species) here are some previous posts that refer to them in
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/7/39804.html?1122161361
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/39851.html?1122143787
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/18024.html?1091126598
these are parasitic worms, they go through 4 stages and they are hermaphroditic -so even 1 can become a problem over time in captive conditions. these are called lung worms because adults are found in the lungs (read on about this)
infection can occur through penetration of the skin or through the mouth from eating eggs by proxy. the worms have both a parasitic and a fee living stage (this means they can live w/o the host)the life cycle goes as this -ingestion via the mouth of eggs, these go through the digestive tract and are passed out in the feces, these hatch out and make one of the 2 options for life styles, the free living one produces a 3rd stage-an infective adult, the other is an infective larvae. this life cycle can be as short as 2 days. the infective larval stage enters the animals body cavity by penetration of the skin (so the worms i saw in the body hadnt moved out of the lungs -but were moving towards them). larvae take a few days to move from the skin through the body cavity-aiming for the lungs, in this time the go from the 4th stage to that of a sub adult-the sub adults goal is the lungs-it is only there that they can reach the adult stage and produce eggs (this is why i only saw big eggy ones in the lungs-so the smaller dark ones i saw outside there were not a different species but immature worms). once they are there they deposit their eggs in the lungs-these are coughed up and enter the mouth to start the cycle.
superinfection is a very real threat in captive conditions, essentially if they sit in unclean conditions, like those with high numbers and not much in the way of sanitary methods(say dealers who just keep them in containers full of moss), this problem can snowball easily-at any given time they can have adults producing eggs in their lungs, sub adults in their body cavities, 3rd stages burrowing through their skin and 2nd stages passing out through the GI tract! in the wild the animals wouldnt be in areas of high concentrations of these parasites(which also must have some things that eat them in the wild)so this can happen in low numbers and not kill the host, but in shipping/supplier/new owner conditions with all the added stress this can become lethal quickly.
i will add a post to this thread on how to help prevent this
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/7/39804.html?1122161361
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/39851.html?1122143787
http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/13/18024.html?1091126598
these are parasitic worms, they go through 4 stages and they are hermaphroditic -so even 1 can become a problem over time in captive conditions. these are called lung worms because adults are found in the lungs (read on about this)
infection can occur through penetration of the skin or through the mouth from eating eggs by proxy. the worms have both a parasitic and a fee living stage (this means they can live w/o the host)the life cycle goes as this -ingestion via the mouth of eggs, these go through the digestive tract and are passed out in the feces, these hatch out and make one of the 2 options for life styles, the free living one produces a 3rd stage-an infective adult, the other is an infective larvae. this life cycle can be as short as 2 days. the infective larval stage enters the animals body cavity by penetration of the skin (so the worms i saw in the body hadnt moved out of the lungs -but were moving towards them). larvae take a few days to move from the skin through the body cavity-aiming for the lungs, in this time the go from the 4th stage to that of a sub adult-the sub adults goal is the lungs-it is only there that they can reach the adult stage and produce eggs (this is why i only saw big eggy ones in the lungs-so the smaller dark ones i saw outside there were not a different species but immature worms). once they are there they deposit their eggs in the lungs-these are coughed up and enter the mouth to start the cycle.
superinfection is a very real threat in captive conditions, essentially if they sit in unclean conditions, like those with high numbers and not much in the way of sanitary methods(say dealers who just keep them in containers full of moss), this problem can snowball easily-at any given time they can have adults producing eggs in their lungs, sub adults in their body cavities, 3rd stages burrowing through their skin and 2nd stages passing out through the GI tract! in the wild the animals wouldnt be in areas of high concentrations of these parasites(which also must have some things that eat them in the wild)so this can happen in low numbers and not kill the host, but in shipping/supplier/new owner conditions with all the added stress this can become lethal quickly.
i will add a post to this thread on how to help prevent this