crypto

[Neo]

what.. exactly is crypto? i heard it's a parasite but what does it do and stuff and what causes it? my leos were captive bred so it must be something i'm doing wrong

[Alicewave]

It is a parasite. A leo has to come in contact with crypto containing feces to be infected and it has been known to infect entire colonies so captive breeding has little to do with it. Very few leos are wild caught these days. One if the sure fire symptoms is loss of apetite accompanied with a dark spot on the belly. It is fatal and there is no sure fire cure although one person I know has treated his Leo with the brand new human crypto treatment and although it did not eliminate the crypto completely its health has improved greatly. It looks like she may live a happy healthy life but need occasional "boosters" of this med to keep the crypto level down. One of the reasons it's so devastating is that it's almost impossible to kill cleaningwise. Ammonia is really the only thing that will do it. Bleach is ineffective.

[Tim and Julie B]

Crypto aka cryptosperidium is a small aquatic parasite that can be found in drinking water. Generally following a mild winter. There was an outbreak in the Kelowna drinking water about six years ago. Boiling the water does nothing because you still ingest the dead parasite and still become ill! A lot of people here got sick, myself included. I had a fever/chill/fever/chill for four days that I don't remember. I never get sick and can not remember the last time I had a flu or a cold but this knocked me on my a$$. It is the most sick I have ever been. Apperently this can also occur in reptiles. If it treated me that bad.......I pitty the rep. that gets it. By the way I have not drank tap water since and most of your Britta and under sink filters do not filter out the cyrpto. Hope this helps. TB

[Alicewave]

Yup there is a human form and a reptile form. I don't think the human form can be transmited to reptiles but they are very similar. it also seems to me that it's mostly leos that get it, I could be totally wrong but that's the reptile that seems to come up with it the most often.

[beth wallbank]

humans CAN get the reptile crypto. Its called 'beaver fever' to those who may be into slang terms. Crypto in reptiles is equal to dogs with parvo virus. The difference is that parvo in dogs can be treated and the dog can never contract parvo again in its life. Thought the dog can be a carrier for some time after, and it can live in a non cleaned environment for up to 5 years. Crypto is similar, but there is no cure other than destroying the animal.

[Greg West]

uuughhh Beaver Fever. I had that once. Nothing like running to the bathroom every 5 minutes.... I can't imagine what it would be like for reptiles.

Greg West

[Colonel SB]

Wow thanks for all the info I had know idea abotu this stuff...Thanks Tim