Exotics: Reptile Medicine- General Conditions Flashcards
What nutritional problems are commonly seen in reptile medicine?
- Calcium disorders- metabolic bone disease, hypocalcemia
- Hypovitaminosis A
- Obesity
- What are the different causes of metabolic bone disease?
- What patients are at risk of MBD?
- Inadequate UV-B exposure, diets lacking calcium ± vit D3, incorrect calcium: phosphorus ratio, others
- Young growing individuals, herbivores, chameleons, geckos, remales in repro conditions, individuals with CKD
What are the clinical signs of MBD?
- Fibrous osteodystrophy lesions
- Abnormal shell shape- pyramiding
How can MBD be diagnosed?
- Confirmation/assess severity: rads, biochem (Calcium, phosphorus, renal function)
- Rads- bone density, deformities, osteodystrophy lesions
What is the treatment for MBD?
- Vitamin D3- IM
- Calcium gluconate- IM until controlled then oral
- Review husbandry and diet
- What happens with hypovitaminosis A?
- What patients are at risk?
- What are the common clinical signs?
- Squamous metaplasia of different epitheliums
- Terrapins and aquatic turtles- unbalanced diets
- Blepharitis and keratoconjunctivitis, overgrown nails and beaks (chelonians), stomatitis, rhinitis, aural abscesses, retained shed
How is hypo vit A medically approached?
- History and typical lesions
- Vitamin A IM
- AB eye drops if lesions present
- Review husbandry and diet
- Care for iatrogenic hypervit A- severe skin sloughing and erythema
- What species are prone to obesity
- What causes it?
- Why can it be difficult to assess BCS?
- Carnivores- tegus, monitor lizards
- Inadequate diet and lack of excercise
- Most lizards have intra-coelomic fat deposits
- What is dysecdysis?
- What are the following species ecdysis patterns: Lizards, snakes, geckos, terrapins
- What are the main causes of dysecdysis?
- Retained shed
- Lizards- patches, snake- eyes turn cloudy, shed in one piece, Geckos- one piece, eat skin, terrapins- shed plastron, shell skin layers
- Low humidity, low temperature, poor water quality, poor nutrition, dermatitis, iatrogenic trauma
How is retained shed treated?
- Correct husbandry
- Look for other cuases
- Apply vasoline on affected areas
- Some require surgical- retained spectacles in snakes, extremities amputation
- High chance of recurrence
What do the different reproductive strategies mean? Name examples
1. Oviparous
2. Ovoviparous
3. Viviparous
- Oviparous- laying typical eggs- chelonians, bearded dragons
- Ovovivparous- females retain eggs inside oviduct until foetus fully developed- boas
- Viviparous- placentation occurs with different levels of complexity- some skinks
What is pre/post-ovulatory dystocia?
What are the 2 main types and what causes them?
Pre-ovulatory: failure to ovulate and/or resorb follicles
Post-ovulatory- failure to lay eggs or give birth to fetus
Obstructive-
* reduced pelvic canal sizea
* abnormal size/shape of fetus
* non-repro masses
* complications during laying- adhesions
Non-obstructive
* Inadequate husbandry- temp, humidity
* Oviduct infections
* Poor physical condition of female
* Other health problems
What is the process to dystocia in reptiles?
- Complete clinical history
- Full clinical exam- coelomic palpation, cloacal probing
- Radiography- confirms post-ovulatory dystocia, egg count and shape, possible obstructions
- Ultrasonography- confirms pre-ovulatory dystocia, allos to assess rest of coelomic cavity
- Bloods- haematology and biochem
- How do pre-ovulatory dystocia cases usually present?
- How is it managed
- Non-specific complaints
- Clinical exam- distended coelomic cavity, cloacal probing easy
2 Medical- improve husbandry, correct other problems, ± ABs and NSAIDs
Surgical- GA and Spay
- What are the normal complaints for post-ovulatory dystocia?
- What is found in clinical exam?
- How is it diagnosed and managed?
- Complaints about: egg laying, more active, digging around substrate
- Distended coelom, eggs appear as lumps and are palpable, cloacal probe might not progress much
- Medical- induce egg laying, surgical- ovariectomy ± spay
What medical managment can be used for post-ovulatory dystocia?
- Always radiograph before treatment
- General supportive- POTZ, fluids, egg laying tray
- Calcium gluconate
- Propanolol
- Oxytocin
- If unresponsive- consider surgery
Chelonians respond better to treatment
What external parasties can affect reptiles?
Ticks- only in wild caught individuals
Mites-
* Ophionyssus natricus- dark snakes
* Ophionyssus lacertinus- red lizards
Main problems of mites
Hematophagous, mobile, high repro rate, transmit pathogens
What are clinical signs of mites?
Changes in behaviour
* Prutitus
* Hyperactivity
* Spending more time in water
Skin changes
* Mites visible
* Retained shed
* Retained spectacles in snakes
* Dermatitis + secondary infeciton
What treatment can be used for mites in the patient and environment?
Patient
* Ivermectin- 2% spray
* Fipronil- 0.29%
* Repeat in 2 weeks
Environment
* Strict quarantine/isolation
* Strict hygiene: deep cleaning, pyrethroid sprays, bleach solution
What are the main internal parasites with clinical relevance?
- Cryptosporidium
- Coccidiosis
- Oxyurids/pinworms common but not very pathogenic
What is the general approach to internal parasites?
Routine faecal testing
* All newly acquired reptiles
* Every 6-12 months
* Before hibernation
Should include
* Wet mount- flagellates and motile protozoa
* Floatation- worms coccidia
* Fecal smear with ziehl-nielsen- crypto
* Ideall egg count
- Where does crypto affect?
- Is it zoonotic
- What does clinical disease depend on?
- Affects GI mucosa
- Reptiles don’t get infected with C. parvum/muris
- Patient immune status, stress, other pathogens
- What crypto affects snakes and lizards?
- What clinical signs affect each?
- Snakes- crypto serpentis, Lizard- crypto saurophilium
- Snakes- gastric hyperplasia (regurgitation, weight loss, swelling cranial 1/2 body). Lizards- enteritis (weight loss, emaciation, D+ uncommon)
How can cryptosporidium be treated?
No effective treatment
Reduce clinical signs and shedding:
* Spiramycin
* Paromomycin
* TMP + Sulfa
Stimulate patients immune system
Euthansia
- What species are mostly affected by coccidiosis?
- How is it diagnosed?
- How is it treated?
- Mostly lizards- bearded dragons
- In house faecal testing (floatation)
- Toltrazuril or TMP + sulfa drugs
