Parasites
Chameleons are parasitised by nematode worms including threadworms (Filaria) and roundworms. Threadworms can be transmitted by biting insects such as ticks and mosquitoes. Roundworms are transmitted through food contaminated with roundworm eggs; the larvae burrow through the wall of the intestine into the bloodstream.
Chameleons are subject to several protozoan parasites such as Plasmodium which causes malaria, Trypanosoma which causes sleeping sickness, and Leishmania which causes leishmaniasis.
Chameleons are subject to parasitism by coccidia, including species of the genera Choleoeimeria, Eimeria and Isospora.
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Famous quotes containing the word parasites:
“Shy and proud men ... are more liable than any others to fall into the hands of parasites and creatures of low character. For in the intimacies which are formed by shy men, they do not choose, but are chosen.”
—Sir Henry Taylor (1800–1886)