Gastrointestinal parasites of the fan-toed gecko, Ptyodactylus ragazzi (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

Abstract

The geckos are common reptile of houses belonging to the family Gekkonidae; they distributed across all tropical and subtropical regions, and are well known to be carriers of different parasite species. This study investigated the gastrointestinal parasites fauna of the fan-toed gecko, Ptyodactylus ragazzi in Shendi, Sudan. A total of 37 P. ragazzi were collected and examined for gastrointestinal parasite infections. Four parasite species were identified: two species of nematodes, Spauligodon sp. (73%), Parapharyngodon sp. (5.4%) and two species of protozoans, Nyctotherus sp. (16.2%) and Eimeria sp. (2.7%). The overall prevalence of parasite infections was 81.1% and high prevalence of infections was in male geckos (85.7%) compared with females (75%). Older geckos tend to harbor more parasite infections when compared with younger ones. In conclusion, further investigations are required on the parasite fauna of the gecko, P. ragazzi in Sudan.