Reproductive disease Flashcards
Clinical signs of reproductive dz in reptiles
- lethargy
- anorexia
- bloated/distended coelomic cavity
- dyspnoea
- lameness/leg paresis (tortoises mainly)
- swelling around the cloaca
- straining +/- blood or prolapsed tissue from the cloaca
- behaviour changes e.g. pacing, nesting, digging
Clinical signs of reproductive dz in birds
- lethargy/depression
- inappetence/reduced crop fill
- bloated/distended
- dyspnoea
- seizure/tremors
- separation from the group / being bullied (chickens)
- lameness / leg paresis, reluctance to move/perch
- straining +/- blood or prolapsed tissue from the cloaca
- ‘fluffed up’ appearance, hunched posture, wide legged stance
- behaviour changes (e.g. feather plucking, aggression, regurgitation)
Common repro conditions in reptiles
- prolapse (e.g. hemipene/cloaca/oviduct)
- impactions (e.g. hemipene/femoral pores)
- hypocalcaemia
- pre-ovulatory ovarian stasis (POOS)
- post-ovulatory egg stasis (POES/dystocia)
- neoplasia
Common causes of prolapse in reptiles
- constipation
- endoparasites
- impaction
- egg binding
- egg in the bladder
- cystitis/bladder stones
- traumatic copulation
POOS (reptiles)
- pre-ovulatory ovarian stasis
- in oviparous reptiles, the ovaries produce follicles, when they ovulate these become eggs
- some reptiles, like tortoises, are induced ovulators
- for this reason it’s very common for tortoises to suffer from POOS
- ovaries produce follicles but they never ovulate so they increase in volume and size each year -> space occupying -> fatal
- surgical
POES (reptiles)
- post-ovulatory egg stasis
- surgical, medical or husbandry
- obstructive vs non-obstructive dystocia
Causes of obstructive dystocia (reptiles)
- uroliths (tortoises)
- egg/foetus oversize
- pelvic abnormalities
- renomegaly
Causes of non-obstructive dystocia (reptiles)
- hypocalcaemia
- inadequate husbandry, diet, nesting site, etc
- poor muscle tone
- dehydration
Common avian reproductive conditions
- sexual frustration
- chronic egg laying
- abnormal eggs
- egg binding
- prolapse (e.g. oviduct, phallus)
- coelomitis (egg yolk peritonitis)
- salpingitis (inflammation of the oviduct)
- neoplasia
Sexual frustration in birds
- very common problem for pet parrots who live alone
- in the wild they have monogamous pairing that bond for life
Behaviours that bonded birds display to one another
- stroking
- beak touching
- preening/cleaning each other
- feeding each other
A bird that is lonely or inappropriately bonded to their owner will be more likely to demonstrate…
- excessive regurgitation (esp if there are mirrors in their cage)
- feather plucking due to frustration, stress and anxiety
- jealousy and aggression, esp to spouses of their ‘partner’
- excessive egg laying
Prevention of sexual frustration in birds
- share interaction and caring responsibilities equally between members of the household
- avoid stroking down length of back
- avoid certain behaviours e.g. mouth to beak feeding
- don’t positively reinforce courtship behaviours (e.g. regurgitation)
- remove mirrors from cage so they can’t self-bond
- keep as pair (depending on spp)
Chronic egg laying (birds)
- particularly common in captive cockatiels, lovebirds and budgies
- can lay a large number of eggs in succession
- can be without the presence of a mate and outside of the correct breeding season
- removing the eggs as they’re laid can ‘induce’ the bird to lay more (‘double clutching’)
Chronic egg laying (in birds) can lead to…
- uterine inertia
- calcium depletion
- egg binding
- yolk coelomitis
- osteoporosis
Predisposing factors for chronic egg laying (birds)
- increased photoperiod
- food type (e.g. high fat)
- presence of actual or perceived mates
- toys, owners, mirrors, other birds
- short-circuit in the reproductive hard-wiring?
Egg binding (birds)
- similar to POES in reptiles
- more common than POES in reptiles as birds produce eggs more frequently than reptiles
- can happen in any bird but most common in smaller species (e.g. budgies, cockatiels, finches, canaries, etc)
- an egg lodged in the pelvic canal can compress the pelvic blood vessels, kidneys, ureters and ischiadic nerves
Common causes of egg binding in birds
- laying (e.g. chronic egg laying or 1st time layers)
- eggs (e.g. malformed eggs)
- disease (e.g. systemic dz, oviductal dz)
- husbandry (e.g. lack of exercise, low temps, malnutrition [Ca, Vit A & E deficiencies, obesity])
- genetic predisposition
An avian egg lodged in the pelvic canal can lead to…
- circulatory disorders
- lameness, paresis or paralysis
- pressure necrosis of the oviduct
- metabolic disturbances by interfering with normal defection and micturition, and cause ileum and renal dz
Coelomitis in birds
- inflammation of the coelomic cavity
- mammal equivalent is peritonitis
- coelomic cavity becomes fluid filled
Common causes of coelomitis in birds
- ectopic eggs
- ovarian neoplasia
- cystic ovarian dz
- oviductal disease e.g. salpingitis
Diagnostic tests
- diagnosis can often be made based on clinical exam and history (e.g. prolonged straining and nesting with an egg palpable)
- diagnostic imaging is most useful when diagnosing reproductive dz (e.g. looking for eggs, follicles, neoplasia)
- aspiration +/- C&ST & cytology is useful for diagnosing e.g. egg yolk peritonitis and treating infections
- ex-lap is sometimes used to both diagnose and tx if a lesion is found on a radiograph or abdo palpation - not often performed in birds due to risks associated with coelomic surgery in birds, but is commonly performed in reptiles
- blood tests can be useful to assess systemic health and ruling out other differentials and body systems (e.g. MBD and renal dz can present with lameness, lethargy, fluffed up, seizures, etc)
- faecal testing e..g parasitology can be useful to rule in or out other differentials and underlying causes e.g. cloacal prolapse
Calcium blood testing
- when female birds and reptiles are reproductively active they tend to have increased total Ca levels (not ionised)
- useful to double check findings that may be incidental (e.g. follicles in reptiles)
Radiographs
- very useful in birds as gives good detail
- useful for screening in reptiles, can identify large space occupying lesions but can be hard to identify the organ/structure involved
Ultrasound
- not very useful in birds due to feather coverage
- very useful in reptiles, particularly for space occupying lesions that are hard to identify on radiographs e.g. follicles
CT
- superior for diagnosing in reptiles, esp tortoises, but expensive and often required referral
POOS diagnosis
- radiograph = lateral view shows reduced lung field but no eggs
- bloods = increased total calcium (indicates repro cause)
- US = via pre femoral fossa, can visualise follicles (or CT scan)
POES diagnosis
- radiograph = eggs
Coelomitis diagnosis
- history = prior egg laying
- CE = hugely distended
- radiograph = fluid filled/soft tissue density throughout the coelomic cavity, displacement of ventriculus and compressed air sacs
- coelomic aspirate = large volume of cloudy fluid with evidence of egg yolk
What conditions would an ovocentesis treat?
- egg binding
- post-ovulatory stasis
What conditions would a salpingohysterectomy/otomy treat?
- egg binding
- oviductal dz
- ovarian tumours
- chronic egg laying
What condition would an orchidectomy treat?
- tumours
Prolapse tx
- lubricate and replace or amputate prolapses
- can place stay sutures to prevent further prolapses
- treat underlying cause
Hormone implants (use and examples)
- stops reproduction
- expensive and short duration
- leuprolide acetate (Lupron)
- GnRH-agonist (deslorelin implant)
Hormone injection example use
- repeat oxytocin injections for egg binding/post-ovulatory stasis +/- prostaglandin
Calcium injection use
- hypocalcaemia (use after blood test)