Reproductive disease in reptiles and avians Flashcards
what are the clinical signs of reproductive disease in reptiles?
Lethargy
Anorexia
Bloated/distended celomic cavity
Dyspnea
Lameness/leg paresis (tortoises mainly)
Swelling around the cloaca
Straining +/- blood or prolapsed tissue from the cloaca
Behaviour changes e.g. pacing, nesting, digging.
what are the clinical signs of reproductive disease in birds?
Lethargy/depression
Inappetence/reduced crop fill
Bloated/distended
Dyspnea
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
what are the common reproductive conditions of 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
what is the first step with a prolapse, why is this important?
what are the common causes of prolapse in reptiles?
first step- identify organ - affects prognosis (penile, can amputate, cloacal tissue needs to be viable)
Causes
* Constipation
* Endoparasites
* Impaction
* Egg binding
* Egg in the bladder
* Cystitis/bladder stones
* Traumatic copulation
*
what common reproductive condition affects tortoises? why?
why can this lead to death?
Pre-Ovulatory Ovarian Stasis:
In oviparous reptiles, the ovaries produce follicles, when they ovulate these become eggs.
Some reptiles, like tortoises, are induced ovulators, therefore suffer from POOS
Ovaries produce follicles but they never ovulate so they increase in volume and size each year –> Space occupying effect –> fatal
.
what are the two categories and causes of post-ovulatory egg stasis?
what is the treatment for these two categories?
obstructive dystocia:
* Uroliths
* Egg/foetus oversize
* Pelvic abnormalities
* Renomegaly
Surgical treatment needed (or ovocentesis)
non-obstructive dystocia
* Hypocalcaemia
* Inadequate husbandry, diet, nesting site etc.
* Poor muscle tone
* Dehydration
Husbandry changes +/- medical treatment first
what is the difference with Pre-Ovulatory Ovarian Stasis (POOS) and
Post-Ovulatory Egg Stasis (POES/ Dystocia)
why is this important?
POES is Eggs, POOS is folliclues, need to differentiate via radiography because
POOS = Surgical
POES = Surgical, medical or husbandry
If POES you need to identify whether obstructive or non-obstructive
POOS - the eggs will stay in the ovary for a period and then breakdown into the celomic cavity this is inflammatory and will lead to peritonitis –> septicaemia
what are the common reproductive conditions of birds?
- 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 fustration is a very common problem for pet parrots who live alone.
In the wild they have monogamous pairings that bond for life. What behaviours do bonded birds do to eat other?
A bird that is lonely or inappropriately bonded to their owner will be more likely to demonstrate what behaviours?
what is the prevention of sexual fustration?
- Stroking
- Beak touching
- Preening/cleaning each other
- Feeding each other
inappropiate behaviour:
* Excessive regurgitation (especially if there are mirrors in their cage)
* Feather plucking due to frustration, stress and anxiety
* Jealousy and aggression, especially to spouses of their ‘partner’.
* Excessive egg laying
Prevention:
* Share interaction and caring responsibilities equally between members of household.
* Avoid stroking down length of back
* Avoid certain behaviours e.g. mouth to beak feeding
* Do not positively reinforce courtship behaviours e.g. regurgitation
* Remove mirrors in their cage so they cannot self-bond.
* Keeping them as a pair (depending on species)
what speices of birds suffer most commonly form chronic egg laying?
when/why does this occur?
what can chronic egg laying lead to?
what are the predisposing factors?
- Particularly common in captive cockatiels, lovebirds and budgies.
- They 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 are laid can ‘induce’ the bird to lay more (‘double clutching’).
Can lead to:
* Uterine inertia
* Calcium depletion
* Egg binding
* Yolk coelomitis
* Osteoporosis
* Uterus prolapse/cloaca
predisposing factors:
* Increased photoperiod
* Food type (e.g. high fat)
* Presence of actual or perceived mates
* Lack of environmental enrichment
Egg binding is more common in birds due to the fact that birds produce eggs more frequently than reptiles.
In what species is more common in?
What are the most common causes?
most common in smaller species e.g. budgies, cockatiels, finches, canaries etc.
common causes:
* Laying e.g. chronic egg laying or first-time layers
* Eggs e.g. malformed eggs
* Disease e.g. systemic disease, oviductal disease
* Husbandry e.g. lack of exercise, low temperatures, malnutrition (deficiencies Ca, Vit A and E and obesity)
* Genetic predisposition
Just like in reptiles, an egg binding and an egg lodged in the pelvic canal may compress the pelvic blood vessels, kidneys, ureters and ischiatic nerves.
what can this lead too?
Circulatory disorders
Lameness, paresis or paralysis
Pressure necrosis of the oviduct
Metabolic disturbances by interfering with normal defecation and micturition, and cause ileus and renal disease.
what is coelomitis? what are the common causes?
Inflammation of the celomic cavity (mammal equivalent is peritonitis).
Celomic cavity because fluid filled.
causes:
* Ectopic eggs
* Ovarian neoplasia
* Cystic ovarian disease
* Oviductal disease e.g. salpingitis
why would female birds and reptiles have increased calcium?
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.
what diagnosis would be top of you list with these findings in a tortoise?
Radiograph = lateral view shows reduced lung field but no eggs.
Bloods = increased total calcium
Ultrasound = via prefemoral fossa, can visualise follicles (or CT scan).
Bloods = increased total calcium (causes you to suspect reproductive cause).
Pre-Ovulatory Ovarian Stasis Diagnosis
You should see a large volume and number, remember the tortoise can be anorexic for another reason and you happen to see some follicles that’ll be laid in the future as eggs normally. Do not rush to surgery.
what is seen on these three radiographs?
Post-Ovulatory Egg Stasis Diagnosis
AKA Dystocia
Tend to lay eggs in clutches.
They often present non-specifically with anorexia and lethargy BUT also showing signs of nesting, digging or restlessness.
You see egg on an xray in an anorexic tortoise, are they the cause of the problem or an incidental finding?
what is the top differnential for this chicken?
History of prior egg laying.
Hugely distended on clinical exam.
Radiograph: fluid filled/soft tissue density throughout the celomic cavity. Displacement of ventriculus and compressed air sacs.
Celomic aspirate showed a large volume of cloudy fluid with evidence of egg yolk.
coelomitis
