Reptile Flashcards
What are the 3 CITES appendices?
1: critically endangered
- all commercial trade prohibited
- scientific trade allowed with permits
2: look-alike species
3: under watch by certain countries
PE: What should be observed on the ‘hands off’ exam?
General disposition, attitude, behavior
Musculoskeletal problems
Obvious respiratory / GI problems
PE: How is BCS measured?
Body weight (gram scale)
-serial weights are good indicators of hydration status
Morphometric measurements
-combined with BW can help in identifying nutritional problems
PE: What should be watched for in regards to abnormal respiration?
Limb pumping
PE: Where can temperature be measured?
o Deep cloacal o Surface (taken at inguinal space) – digital, distant laser, thermal monitor device
PE: How are HR and rhythm assessed?
o Stethoscope
o Pulse oximeter cloacal probe
o Doppler probe placed in the region of the thoracic inlet between the distal cervical region and the proximal front leg (chelonians)
PE: What should be observed at the nares?
Look for discharge, symmetry, discoloration, abrasions / trauma
PE: What is unique about reptilian eyes?
o Moveable eyelids (most reptiles)
o Brille / ‘spectacle’ (snakes) – opacifies prior to ectdysis
o Iris controlled by skeletal muscle, no consensual PLR
PE: How do the tongues of reptiles differ?
♣ Squamates – well-developed, fleshy tongue
♣ Lizards – cranial component prey acquisition, caudal aids in swallowing
♣ Snakes – chemosensory
• Jacobson’s organ opens directly into mouth, tongue inserted into organ when mouth closed
♣ Chelonians – fleshy but tightly attached
PE: How do the teeth of reptiles differ?
♣ Lizards and snakes: acrodont and pleurodont
• Venemous snakes have two rows of teeth upper and lower / non-venemous have 4
♣ Crocodilians: thecodont
♣ Chelonians: no sharp teeth, sharp tomia
♣Thecodont: tooth sockets
♣Pleurodont: longer roots with weak attachments to the mandible and no sockets
♣Acrodont: shorter roots, firmer attachments, fused with bone
PE: What is assessed in the integument exam?
o Examine skin (scales) for sloughing, abnormal shedding, swellings, edema, abscesses, ulceration, exudate, malodor, epibiota and external parasites
o Examine carapace and plastron for scute quality (hemorrhages), abnormal keratinzation, hardness and pliability, fractures, ulceration, malodor, external parasites or epibionts
PE: What is assessed using digital palpation?
o Caudal coelomic cavity – eggs, cystic calculi, organ enlargement, masses, fluid
o Cloaca – aid in assessing gravidity, colonic and cloacal tone, cystic calculi, or space occupying lesions
♣ Coprodeum – fecal materal from colon
♣ Urodeum – ureters from bladder, reproductive system
♣ Proctodeum – urine and feces mix
♣ Vent
PE: describe the female reproductive system
Paired ovaries: Oviducts have an albumin-secreting function and shell-secreting function
• Empty directly into cloaca through genital papillae
PE: describe the male reproductive system
♣ Paired testicles: Dorsomedially within coelomic cavity; right cranial to left
♣ Copulatory organ
• Chelonians – single median penis originating from CV aspect of cloaca
• Lizards and snakes – pair of hemipenes located laterally in cloaca and inverting into base of tail by retractor muscle
How should snakes be restrained?
Index finger and thumb around mandible
Support body – hand every 3 feet
How should small lizards be restrained?
Grasp head with index finger and thumb
Hold front and back legs against body and hold body in cup of hand
Do not grab tail
How should crocodilians be restrained?
Tape mouth shut
(If small enough) hold neck region and tail at base
How should chelonians be restrained?
Juveniles
-Grasp lateral margins of the carapace / just caudal to the head and behind the rear flippers
Adults
- Numerous personnel needed
- Watch head and flippers!
What are the husbandry requirements regarding temperature?
Temperate: day 80-90F, night 70-75
Desert: day 85-95, night 70-75
What are the husbandry requirements regarding lighting?
Full spectrum
♣UVA – behavior
♣UVB – necessary for production of vitamin D3 within skin
Position
♣Within 18” of animal
♣Not through glass (deflects UVB)
♣14 hours in summer and 12 in winter
What are the two types of ectotherms?
Stenothermal – regulation within a small range
Eurythermal – can regulate in a wider range (aquatic animals)
What general steps are involved in the initial diagnostic workup?
- PE
- Bloodwork (CBC, Chem)
- Rads
- Fecal
What is uric acid? What does it indicate?
Catabolic end product for nitrogen elimination
Indicates dietary intake, dehydration, renal dz
What is the normal Ca:P ratio?
What ratio occurs in renal dz?
What might cause physiologic hyperCa?
2:1 normal
1:2 renal dz
HyperCa in reproductively active females
What do changes in Na+ indicate?
Elevated – dehydration, dietary intake
Decrease – malnutrition
What do changes in Cl- indicate?
Elevated – dehydration, dietary intake
Decrease – malnutrition
What do changes in K+ indicate?
Elevated – renal disease
Decrease – re-feeding syndrome
What do changes in plasma TP indicate?
Hypoproteinemia – debilitation, malnutrition
Hyperalbuminemia – dehydration, reproductive
Hyperglobulinemia – infectious disease
What do changes in bile acids indicate?
Liver disease
Greater than 60 µmol/L
What methods of analyzing feces are most helpful?
Flotation most common method
Sedimentation useful for trematode eggs
What venipuncture sites may be used in turtles, tortoises, and terrapins?
o Jugular o Coccygeal o Brachial o Subcarapacial o Interdigital vein – leatherbacks o Dorsal cervical sinus
What venipuncture sites may be used in snakes?
o Caudal (ventral tail) vein -Caudal to cloaca, 25-50% down tail, 45-60º angle on ventral midline
o Heart (with sedation) -Located 22-33% from snout to vent, advance needle 45º in craniodorsal direction into apex
What venipuncture sites may be used in lizards?
o Caudal (tail) vein -Ventral midline, 20-80% down tail, advance at 45-90º o Ventral abdominal vein o Jugular vein
What venipuncture sites may be used in crocodilians?
o Caudal (ventral tail) for small to medium o Suprevertebral in medium to large
How much blood can safely be collected from reptilian patients?
0.5 mL / 100 g BW
What is the anticoagulant of choice for reptiles?
Lithium and sodium heparin
-EDTA causes RBC lysis in chelonians
What are the three standard radiographic views for chelonians?
DV
Lateral
Craniocaudal
What fluid types are common in reptiles?
- Reptile ringer’s (1 part LRS + 2 parts 2.5% dextrose and 0.45% NaCl)
- Normasol-R
- LRS
What routes of fluid administration are available for reptiles and what are the considerations with each?
1. Severely compromised chelonians – IV or IO (rapid rehydration) o Greater than 5% dextrose okay o Jugular vein o Cervical sinus (sea turtles) ♣ Used for bolus IV therapy
2. Maintenance therapy – intracoelomic (IC) o Up to 5% dextrose o Injected through… ♣ Chelonians – inguinal fossa ♣ Lizards – right side of lower abdomen ♣ Snakes – lower third of body
- Subcutaneous at any available skin fold
o Only 2.5% dextrose or less - Oral
o For mild/moderate dehydration, maintenance
o Stomach volume (chelonians) = 2% BW or 20ml/kg - Soaking
o 24 hours rehydration / reduction of epibiota - Intra-cloacal
How much fluid can safely be administered?
What is normal maintenance?
No more than 2-3% BW per day
Maintenance = 15 ml/kg/day
What anesthetics are used for non-invasive, short procedures?
- Medetomidine + ketamine (IM or IV)
o Advantages
♣ Medetomidine reversible with atipamazole
♣ Low dose ketamine is synergistic with medetomidine
o Disadvantages
♣ Bradycardia, hypotension, hypercapnia, hypoxemia
♣ Contraindicated with impaired renal or liver function - Propofol
o Dilute with 2 parts saline to 1 part propofol, administer IV over 2 minutes
o Rapid induction
o Watch for respiratory depression
What anesthetic protocol is appropriate for invasive, longer procedures?
- Inhalants: isoflurane / sevoflurane
- Monitoring and support
o Thermoregulatory support
o Monitor HR: Doppler, pulse ox, ECG
o Dry dock 24 hours post-anesthesia - Analgesia
a. NSAIDs (meloxicam, carprofen, flunixin meglimine)
♣ MUST have adequate renal function! Duration of admin should not exceed 3 days
♣ Long acting, decreases endotoxin production in septic patients
b. Opioids (butorphanol, buprenorphine)
♣ Short acting
♣ Do not use with head trauma
What signalment, clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment is consistent with secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism?
Lizards and aquatic turtles – juveniles / reproductively active females
CS:
o Muscular tremors, fasiculations, tetany
o Skeletal – fibrous osteodystropy (thickening and swelling), pathologic fractures, tooth loss
Dx:
o History – deficiency in Ca (excess phosphorus) or vitamin D (inadequate exposure to UV light)
o Blood work
o Radiographs – loss of cortical density, fractures
Tx: o Correct diet and environment ♣ Calcium glubionate / calcinonin (given 50 IU/kg every 7 days x2, monitor blood Ca closely) ♣ Vitamin D therapy o Fluid therapy, 10-30 ml/kg/day
What signalment, clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment is consistent with hypovitaminosis A?
Young, fast growing chelonians
CS: o Bilateral blepharoedema – squamous metaplasia o Nasal and ocular discharge o Lethargy o Anorexia o Weight loss o Pneumonia o Diarrhea o Abscesses
Dx:
o History – diet lacks adequate vitamin A (green plants)
o Vitamin A assay of liver (normal 500-1000 IU/g) or vitamin A testing of blood
o Culture and sensitivity to r/o infection
o Radiographs to dx pneumonia
Tx: o Vitamin A ♣ Oral supplements preferred (vitamin A products, liver) ♣ SQ injection ♣ *Beware overdose – epidermal sloughing
What signalment, clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment is consistent with gout?
Deposition of uric acid and urate salts within visceral tissues and on articular surfaces
o Primary – overproduction
o Secondary – chronic disease or drug
CS:
o Similar to renal disease
o Reduced mobility
Dx:
o History – adult, water deprived, high protein diets
o Hyperuricemia
o Rads – lytic lesions around or near joints, gouti tophi
o Definitive dx – biopsy demonstration of urate crystals within joints of affected patients or within tophi
Tx: 1. Correct husbandry ♣ Low purine diet ♣ High moisture foods ♣ Mist and regular access to water 2. Fluid therapy – prevent secondary renal dz 3. Probenecid – increase secretion 4. Allopurinol – reduce hepatic production 5. Manage inflammation - corticosteroids
What signalment, clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment is consistent with thiamine deficiency?
Adult, piscivorous reptiles on frozen fish diet
CS: Neurological signs
Dx: Response to therapy
Tx: Vitamin B1 (thiamine) 25/mg/kg/day IM
