PE, Gender ID, Blood Collection, Zoonoses

Question 1

should you be concerned if a reptile doesn’t have a PLR?

Answer 1

NO, they have skeletal (voluntary) muscle in their irises so PLRs may or may not be present. They also will NOT have a consensual light response

Question 2

when are crinkled spectacles not abnormal?

Answer 2

ball pythons

Question 3

describe the spectacle

Answer 3

a transparent fused eyelid that protects the eye and releases secretions from the lacrimal/harderian glands. It typically turns blue a few days before skin sloughing and then returns normal right before with the outer layers being shed with skin

Question 4

signs of NSHP on examination of the jaw/chin

Answer 4

easily distorted distal tips of the chin and nose or if the lower jaw bows outwards laterally

Question 5

what does ropey saliva indicate

Answer 5

dehydration or disease

Question 6

is open mouth breathing normal in a reptile?

Answer 6

NO, never

Question 7

who has forked tongues and what does it mean if they have an absent tongue flick?

Answer 7

Monitors, tegus, helodermatids

They should extrude the forked tongue from their mouths pretty regularly to detect scents so if they don’t its an indication of oral cavity lesions, oral pain, generalized weakness, or neuro disease.

Question 8

T/F: reptiles do not have an epiglottis

Answer 8

T

Question 9

what does reptile skin look like right before they shed?

Answer 9

dull

Question 10

T/F: pyramiding of the carapace of turtles is reversible

Answer 10

F, it is not reversible but further changes can be limited by correcting the diet and husbandry abnormalities and having the animal spend alot of time outdoors

Question 11

turtles, snakes, tuataras and lizards have __ chambered hearts while crocs have __ chambers. The normal heart rate is __ bpm.

Answer 11

turtles, snakes, tuataras and lizards have 3 chambered hearts while crocs have 4 chambers. The normal heart rate is 40-80 bpm.

Question 12

__ have complete tracheal rings while __ have C shaped tracheal rings

Answer 12

turtles and crocs have complete tracheal rings while snakes and lizards have C shaped tracheal rings

Question 13

Unicameral lungs

Answer 13

lungs with one main chamber - tuataras, most snakes and lizards

Question 14

paucicameral lungs

Answer 14

lungs have a few simple divisions and possibly air sac projections or dilatations caudally - iguanas, agamids, and chameleons

Question 15

Multicameral lungs

Answer 15

lungs are extensively chambered- crocs, turtles, monitors, gila monsters, bearded lizards, blind snakes, file snakes

Question 16

Faveoli

Answer 16

membranous compartments that open off a central lumen rather than off the end of a highly branched tracheal system

Question 17

cloaca

Answer 17

single exit for the repro, urinary and GI systems

Question 18

__ geckos tails will grow back while __ geckos tails will not grow back

Answer 18

leopard geckos tails will grow back while crested geckos tails will not grow back

Question 19

what areas should you look at when body conditioning a bearded dragon?

Answer 19

Axillary body fat, tracheal fat body covering, width v length of coelom and tail base circumference

Question 20

what will u see in an obese snake?

Answer 20

vertical folds

Question 21

righting reflex

Answer 21

lizards, snakes and crocs should so immediately but is useless in turtles

Question 22

how can you determine the gender of a snake?

Answer 22

Probing is the most effective -> take a red rubber catheter and insert it into the cloaca measuring the length, you’ll be able to insert farther in males. Its dependent on species but females are usually <2-3 ventral scales and males are >5 ventral scales

Question 23

male gharials

Answer 23

bulbous swelling on the dorsals aspect of the distal snout

Question 24

lizard gender ID

Answer 24

popping or manual eversion of the hemipenes, safest and most effective with general anesthesia

Question 25

what sexually dimorphic characteristics are used to sex chelonians (turtles)?

Answer 25

1. plastron concavity in males 2. the tail is longer and larger in males, with cloacal opening past the edge of the carapace 3. males of several species of aquatic turtle will have much longer claws on their front feet 4. north american box turtle males have a red/orange iris color, while females have a brown iris color

Question 26

blood collection volumes should be no more than __ of the patients body weight

Answer 26

0.5-1%

Question 27

blood collection sites in snakes

Answer 27

1. caudal ventral tail vein: safest but not good for large blood volumes 2. palatine vein: best in larger anesthetized animals 3. cardiocentesis

Question 28

crocodillian blood collection sites

Answer 28

1. supravertebral sinus 2. caudal ventral tail vein

Question 29

lizard blood collection sites

Answer 29

1. caudal ventral tail vein: insert needle at 45 to 60 degree angle at ventral or lateral midline 25-50% of the distance from the cloaca to the tail tip

Question 30

Chelonians blood collection

Answer 30

1. right jugular vein -> difficult bc of sedation, multiple handlers, flat and rolly vessel 2. subcarapacial sinus: often contaminated with lymphatic fluid 3. dorsal coccygeal vein: similar to lizards, approach from dorsals midline, aim in cranioventral direction

Question 31

Salmonella

Answer 31

gram negative rod bacterium that is often asymptomatically carried in reptiles. Its illegal to buy turtles <4 inches bc kids put them in their mouths.

Question 32

Mycobacterium spp.

Answer 32

risk with aquatic species > terrestrial, look for chronic wasting and non healing skin lesions

Question 33

chlamydophila

Answer 33

Granulomas in reptiles, with respiratory signs, weight loss, regurgitation and generalized ADR. Treat with tetracyclines and azithromycin

Question 34

zoonotic parasites of reptiles

Answer 34

pentastomes, cryptosporidium, sparganosis, ticks and mites

Question 35

zoonotic viruses of reptiles

Answer 35

west nile in crocodilians and wester equine encephalitis in lizard + snake reservoirs

Question 36

what USDS APHIS class are all reptiles and amphibians?

Answer 36

class 1 category