Entoamoeba invadens

We just had what appeared to be a rash of E. invadens in our gargoyle geckos. It infects the lower intestine and liver and causes swelling, lesions, necrosis, etc. We treated them with Metronidazole and while they seem much better, one still has rotten-looking gray splotches on her face. While looking for information on that (found none so far) I found this pdf which details the necropsy of four ball pythons which were concluded to have died from E. invadens and similar amoebae. I'm now worried about my snakes.

Does anyone have any other information about this infecting ball pythons and other snakes? We first thought it would only affect the genus Racodactylus (gargoyle and cresties), but this paper makes me worry a bit more. I did have two ball pythons die mysteriously last summer.

I have had this PDF up all day at work with no time to actually read it, but I keep going back to what you said about gray patches on their head. Can you explain the gray patches to me? A friend of ours recently had a couple snakes die and he said just before they did, their heads turned ashy gray and patchy. I'll look through PDF more to see what it says, but was wondering if you could describe it with your geckos in more detail.

Thanks Steve =)

They're gray patches. Look kind of like mold. But up close, the texture is like dry skin. I think they might be from the dehydration. Retains the skin pattern. Couldn't get decent pictures.

Well, I'm gonna quit camping this thread. If anyone knows anything pm or email me.

From what I understand about it, any reptile can be infected with Entamoeba invadens, however Rhacodactlyus geckos are particularly susceptible to it while most other reptiles are not. That is not to say that your ball pythons that died did not die from it--you cannot rule it out without having had a necropsy done. It is possible that your snakes that died, did die from it and that one or more of your other snakes could have it and that there was some recent cross contamination which infected your geckos with it. Or, the snakes that died had it, your geckos contracted it from them at the time, but it did not cause an issue until now. Sometimes it can lie dormant in Rhacs until they experience stress, are placed together for breeding or the temperatures start to rise in the spring and their bodies begin to prepare for breeding. So, my best advice would be to get fecals done on all of your snakes and to practice very strict quarantine procedures with the geckos that you are currently treating.

You should contact a good herp vet if you haven't already and see what they say and if your other animals can be tested for it. And I'd also QT all your animals just in case.

I found this great write-up on it and it mentions it is "contagious through feces of the infected animal" but is treatable with Flagyl. A vet may even be able to tell yo u if your snakes can be proactively treated (if they can't test for it).

http://www.ciliatus.com/content/inde...=42&Itemid=185

Good luck and I hope your geckos recover ok.