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1.
Reptile medicine has emerged as a specialty area within the broader field of zoological medicine. It encompasses the medical needs of approximately 7,500 vertebrate species. This vertebrate class is highly diversified, having biological and medical peculiarities that differ both between and within major groups. Historically, veterinarians who have become recognized specialists with reptiles have had limited formal training in their medical management. The pet reptile trade is a multi-million-dollar business, and the popularity of reptiles as pets has resulted in a need for more veterinarians with training in their medical management. While few private practices have high volumes of reptile cases, many small-animal practices will have the opportunity to see a significant number of reptiles on an annual basis. Most practitioners with reptile medical expertise have merged their experiences as reptile pet owners with the principles of veterinary medicine taught in veterinary college. Several North American veterinary colleges have reptile medicine courses, and most have didactic and clinical courses in exotic and zoo animal medicine that include lectures and practical experience. Most accredited zoological medicine residency training programs include training in reptile medicine. The case load and interest in reptile medicine will probably never be sufficient to lead the average veterinary college to develop much more than what is currently offered. Consequently, those few colleges having more extensive course offerings, both didactic and clinical, will serve as educational centers for this discipline. Future Web-based teaching programs in reptile medicine will allow students nationally and internationally to have access to instructional material that can be continually updated.  相似文献   

2.
Captive reptiles are routinely identified as reservoirs of Salmonella spp. and the number of reports about reptile-associated salmonellosis is increasing. In the present study, Salmonella were detected in 86 of 159 (54.1%) faecal reptile samples cultured. The percentage of Salmonella positive samples was significantly lower in turtles as compared with lizards and snakes, as Salmonella were only detected in one sample from a single turtle out of 38 turtles investigated. In all, 42 different Salmonella serovars were found. All isolated Salmonella belonged to the species enterica, predominantly to the subspecies I (n=46) and IIIb (n=30), but also to subspecies II (n=3), IIIa (n=6) and IV (n=2). All isolates were sensitive to the antimicrobials examined. A comparison between the reptile owners indicated that either no Salmonella were found, or that Salmonella could be isolated from all or nearly all animals of the respective owners. A significantly higher percentage of Salmonella positive reptiles was detected in the group of owners who purchase reptiles in comparison with pure breeders. A total of 88.9% of Salmonella isolates were found in samples of reptiles bought in pet shops and 58.8% in samples from wild-caught animals. The high percentage of Salmonella in reptiles in our study confirms the risk for the transmission of the infection to humans.  相似文献   

3.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa represents an opportunistic pathogen for animals and humans that is often associated with high disease morbidity and, at times, mortality. Captive reptiles have been shown to be reservoirs of P. aeruginosa strains that can be sources of exposure to humans that come in contact with these animals. In this study, the prevalence of P. aeruginosa among subclinical captive reptile species and the antimicrobial sensitivity of bacterial isolates were investigated. Sixty-five oral swabs were collected from captive reptiles belonging to 15 different species in which no overt signs of disease were evident. From this group of animals, 46 (70.8%) isolates were identified as P. aeruginosa. All of the P. aeruginosa strains were shown to have a wide range of antibiotic resistance. At present, there is a paucity of data regarding the prevalence of P. aeruginosa in various reptile species; therefore, continued scientific investigations are indicated to determine the significance of P. aeruginosa infection as it relates to captive reptile species.  相似文献   

4.
Anemia is a relatively common blood disorder but a seemingly underreported and investigated condition in reptiles. Better characterization of anemia in the sick reptile could help determine which available diagnostic tools could be best utilized to determine the cause of low red blood cell counts in these animals. There are, however, a number of limitations that exist when trying to interpret hematologic data for the large number of reptilian species presented to the exotic animal practitioner, including interspecific and intraspecific variation in hematological reference values, limited availability to specific reagents, and a lack of scientific-based studies that focus on anemic conditions in reptiles. Therefore, better documentation and consistency in the scientific-based studies of reptile anemia and rapid dissemination of this information are considered necessary to increase our knowledge in this area of reptile medicine. Collaborative research efforts between practitioners, owners, reptile collection curators, pathologists, immunologists, microbiologists, toxicologists, and laboratory scientists are urgently needed to augment our understanding of anemia and other hematological disorders in reptiles.  相似文献   

5.
Venomous reptiles should be handled in a safe and consistent man-ner, even after death. Owners and staff should be warned not to handle the venomous reptile, and one should have emergency protocols in place before the properly bagged and encased reptile is presented. It is important to know what one is treating as well as one's limitations. After being carefully removed from the bag, the venomous reptile may be transferred to a handling container, tubed, or squeezed with the appropriate equipment. The author usually induces injectable or gas anesthesia at this point. Veterinarians who are inexperienced with venomous reptiles should learn how to handle them through a reputable seminar or class before electing to see them in their practice.  相似文献   

6.
Clinically healthy reptiles may shed Salmonella and therefore act as a potential zoonotic threat. Most people in Northern European countries are rarely exposed to reptiles, but many zoos have education departments where children have direct contact with this group of animals. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and serotype distribution of Salmonella among reptiles in the Education Department (n = 55) at Copenhagen Zoo and compare it to the Zoo’s main reptile collection (n = 145) to evaluate the zoonotic risk. Salmonella was isolated from cloacal swabs by selective enrichment, and a single isolate from each positive sample was further identified by biochemical tests and serotyped. The overall prevalence was 35% (69/200) with significant difference between the Education Department (64%, 35/55) and the main reptile collection (23%, 34/145). A total of 28 serotypes were detected. Ten serotypes were isolated from more than one specimen and four from more than one species. Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Eastbourne was the predominant serotype (32%, 22/69) and was also the serotype isolated from most reptile species (n = 7). Transmission of serotypes from one department to another was very limited indicated by the serotype distribution. Despite the relative high prevalence observed among the reptiles in the Zoo’s Education Department compared to the reptiles in the Zoo’s main reptile collection, no Salmonella cases have been linked to the Zoo, and Salmonella ser. Eastbourne is very rarely isolated from humans in Denmark. Simple hygienic procedures such as hand washing which is consistently carried out following handling of reptiles at the Education Department may reduce the risk and therefore contribute to this low prevalence.  相似文献   

7.
Reptile‐associated salmonellosis (RAS) occurs when Salmonella is transmitted from a reptile to a human. This study describes the epidemiology of RAS in Minnesota during 1996–2011. All Minnesotans with confirmed Salmonella infections are reported to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Case patients are interviewed about illness characteristics and risk factors, including foods eaten, drinking and recreational water exposures, contact with ill people, and animal contact. Willing RAS case patients can submit stool from the reptile for culture. Serotype and pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) subtype of Salmonella isolates from reptiles and case patients are compared. Of 8389 sporadic (not associated with an outbreak) non‐typhoidal salmonellosis case patients in Minnesotans during 1996–2011, 290 (3.5%) reported reptile exposure. The median age of case patients with reptile exposure was 11 years, 31% were under the age of 5 years and 67% were under the age of 20 years; 50% were female. The median illness duration was 8 days; 23% required hospitalization. The most commonly reported reptile exposures were lizard (47%), snake (20%), turtle (19%) and a combination of reptile types (14%). Eighty‐four per cent of isolates from case patients who reported reptile exposure were Salmonella enterica subspecies I. The three most common serotypes were Typhimurium (15%), Enteritidis (7%) and subspecies IV serotypes (7%). Of 60 reptiles testing positive for Salmonella, 36 (60%) yielded the same Salmonella serotype as the human isolate. Twenty‐six of 27 reptile isolates that were subtyped by PFGE were indistinguishable from the human isolate. Of these, 88% were subspecies I; the most common serotypes were Enteritidis (12%), Typhimurium (8%), and Bareilly (8%). RAS accounts for approximately 3.5% of salmonellosis cases in Minnesota, primarily affecting children. The majority of isolates from case patients and reptiles belonged to Salmonella subspecies I, suggesting that reptiles are a source of human infection with serotypes not traditionally considered to be reptile‐associated.  相似文献   

8.
The clinical use of anesthetic agents in reptiles presents a number of unique challenges because of the diversity of the class Reptilia with respect to natural history, size, anatomy, and physiology. Reptiles are commonly maintained as companion animals, widely displayed in zoological institutions, and many species serve as subjects in laboratory facilities. Therefore, to become a skillful clinician, developing an understanding of anesthetic efficacy across reptile species is important. The objective of this review is to provide a current perspective on the practical application of anesthetic agents in commonly maintained pet reptile species.  相似文献   

9.
Reptile medicine and surgery has advanced so much in the last 15 years, and clients are becoming increasingly aware of the needs of their reptile pets. As such, it is important for veterinary practitioners to advance their education in reptile medicine if they intend to add reptiles as patients to their clinics. Equally important is to realize one's limitations and to not only know when it is time to refer but to find out which practices near them are the best prepared for referral of these unique pets.  相似文献   

10.
Pentastomes are wormlike arthropods uniquely adapted to an obligate endoparasitic lifestyle in the respiratory tract of terrestrial vertebrates. The overwhelming majority of pentastome species infect the lungs of reptiles. The life cycle of these arthropods usually involves at least one intermediate host. Pentastomes carry zoonotic potential, but among those parasitizing reptiles only Armillifer spp. have been unquestionably associated with accidental human infections. Recent evidence suggests that pentastomes are crustaceans closely related to branchiurans, therefore therapeutic agents targeting fish lice should be investigated for their use in treating pentastome-infected reptile patients.  相似文献   

11.
A retrospective study on reptile tissues presenting with granulomatous inflammation was performed to detect the possible presence of mycobacteria and chlamydiae in these lesions. Ninety cases including 48 snakes, 27 chelonians, and 15 lizards were selected. Mycobacteria were detected by Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining and a broad-range polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by DNA sequencing. To detect chlamydiae, immunohistochemistry with monoclonal antibodies against chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and a Chlamydiales order-specific PCR and sequencing were applied. Acid-fast bacilli were found in 14 cases (15.6%) by ZN staining and in 23 cases (25.6%) by PCR. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of Mycobacteria other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MOTT). Chlamydial LPS antigen was observed within granulomas from five samples (5.6%), whereas the PCR screen revealed 58 positive cases (64.4%). Of these, 9 cases (10%) showed 98-99% similarity to Chlamydophila (Cp.) pneumoniae and 49 cases (54.4%) displayed a high similarity (88-97%) to the newly described "Chlamydia-like" microorganisms Parachlamydia acanthamoebae and Simkania negevensis. Results from this study confirm, on the one hand, that MOTT are probably the most important infectious etiology for granulomatous inflammation in reptiles. On the other hand, they indicate that chlamydia infects reptiles and that Cp. pneumoniae should be considered an etiological agent of granulomatous lesions of reptiles. Because both MOTT and Cp. pneumoniae are human pathogens, the potential of zoonotic transmission from reptiles to humans has to be considered. In contrast, the significance of Chlamydia-like isolates remains completely open, and further studies are needed to evaluate their role.  相似文献   

12.
Reptiles are growing in popularity as pets.The colonization of reptiles and amphibians by parasites and the resulting disease conditions are the most common problems seen in captive animals.This review focuses on pentastomiasis and sparganosis, important parasitic zoonoses of reptiles and amphibians, respectively, and free living-amoebae. Humans are suitable accidental hosts for some pentastomid species (particularly Armillifer and Porocephalus). In geographical areas with special ethnics, such as in West and Central Africa, and East Asia, 8-45% of the human population can be affected. Usually the larvae are coincidentally found during abdominal surgeries. However, fatalities have been described. Extreme caution is necessary when handling infected reptiles. Ocular or cerebral sparganosis is not uncommonly found in humans in East Asia. This disease is caused by spargana, tapeworm larvae (plerocercoids) of Spirometra sp. The infection occurs when uncooked meat from reptiles or amphibians is applied to wounds or eyes and the parasites migrate directly to human tissue, or by consumption of contaminated food or water. As a consequence of the reptile's predatory behaviour, the full spectrum of endo- and ectoparasites from potential prey animals can be found as transiting parasites in the intestinal tract, e. g. Hymenolepis nana, Cryptosporidium (C.) muris, C parvum or Capillaria hepatica. Occasionally, free-living amoebae are also found in reptile faeces (Acanthamoeba, Naegleria, Hartmanella, Vahlkampfia or Echinamoeba sp.).  相似文献   

13.
Rangelands are areas used primarily for grazing by domestic livestock; however, because they support native vegetation and fauna, their potential role in conservation should not be overlooked. Typically, “off-reserve” conservation in agricultural landscapes assumes a trade-off between maintaining the ecological processes that support biodiversity and successful food production and profitability. To evaluate this potential biodiversity trade-off in rangelands, we need to understand the effect of different livestock grazing strategies on biodiversity, in relation to their performance in terms of profitability and land condition. We monitored reptile community responses to four cattle-grazing strategies (heavy, moderate, and variable stocking rates and a rotational wet season spelling treatment) in a replicated, long-term grazing trial in north Queensland, Australia. Simultaneously, measures of profitability and land condition were collected for the different grazing strategies. Overall, reptile abundance was not negatively impacted by the more sustainably managed treatments (moderate, variable, and rotational) compared with heavy stocking, although the effect of grazing treatment alone was not significant. Profitability and land condition were also higher in these treatments compared with the heavy stocking rate treatment. As drought conditions worsened over the 3 yr, the negative impact of the heavy stocking treatment on both profitability and biodiversity became more pronounced. Heavy stocking negatively impacted reptiles and was also the least profitable grazing strategy over the long term, resulting in the worst land condition. This suggests that in this tropical savanna rangeland there was no trade-off between economic performance and reptile abundance and diversity. Grazing regimes with a moderate stocking rate or flexible management strategies were better able to buffer the effects of climate variability. The consequence was a more resilient reptile community and better economic outcomes in dry years.  相似文献   

14.
The health of a population of free-ranging tapirs (Tapirus bairdii) inhabiting Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica, was assessed as part of an ongoing ecologic study. Nineteen tapirs were immobilized between March 1997 and February 2000, and samples of blood, skin biopsies, and ectoparasites were collected. Ticks were identified as Amblyomma oblongoguttatum or A. coelebs. Hematology and serum biochemistry results suggest statistically significant differences between free-ranging and captive populations that should be interpreted with caution in view of inherent environmental differences between the two populations. Five of 17 animals tested positive for Leptospira bratislava, and 12 individuals tested positive for Venezuelan equine encephalitis. One of nine skin biopsies examined was abnormal and diagnosed as leukoderma. This report represents the first health assessment of a free-ranging population of tapirs.  相似文献   

15.
16.
At first glance, the abstract world of reptile ethology may seem remote to clinicians dealing with the health and disease of captive animals. By delving a little deeper, however, veterinarians can learn to appreciate the reasons for certain behaviors and actually use these behaviors as indicators of various biologic states. Close scrutiny of subtle changes in behavior can further help assess reptile well-being and judge captive welfare. In the future, it is hoped that improved ethologic understanding will result in behavioral enrichment for reptiles, as is already promoted for many nondomestic mammals and birds.  相似文献   

17.
Respiratory tract disease is commonly diagnosed in captive collections of reptiles and associated with high morbidity and mortality. Improper environmental conditions are often contributing factors for the development of respiratory disease in reptiles. A detailed knowledge of the unique reptilian respiratory morphology and function is essential to successfully diagnose and treat respiratory disease. A variety of noninfectious and infectious causes have been identified in the etiology of reptile respiratory disease. Knowledge of the pathophysiology of reptilian diseases is increasing, and with the availability of new therapeutic agents and advanced diagnostic techniques, the diagnosis and treatment of reptile respiratory tract disease has become more successful.  相似文献   

18.
The standard of today's reptile practice calls on clinicians to use an ever-increasing array of diagnostic tools to gather information and obtain a definitive diagnosis. Few, if any, pathognomonic signs exist for reptile diseases, and for most clinical syndromes there is a lack of information regarding pathophysiology for one to define standard therapeutic protocols based solely on clinical signs without objective diagnostic information. For example, in the relatively distant past, clinicians treating reptile patients would routinely administer parenteral calcium to green iguanas (Iguana iguana) with the primary presenting clinical sign of muscle tremors. Today, veterinarians who treat reptiles recognize that the risk of soft tissue mineralization and permanent damage to arteries, renal tubules, and other tissues usually outweighs the potential short-term benefit of calcium therapy. Before calcium therapy is initiated, it is best to know the patient's ionized calcium concentration to reduce the risk of potential adverse therapeutic side effects. A problem-oriented diagnostic approach directed toward minimizing risk and maximizing therapeutic benefit is now the standard of reptile practice.  相似文献   

19.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an inactivated culture of a microcin-producing avian Escherichia coli was capable of killing Salmonella isolates from reptiles in an in vitro test system. SAMPLE POPULATION: 57 Salmonella isolate from reptiles. PROCEDURE: A wild-type avian E. coli electrotransformed with a plasmid coding for the production of microcin 24 was tested in an in vitro microassay system for its ability to kill 57 Salmonella spp isolated from reptiles. The reptile population included snakes, iguana, frilled lizards, turtles, other lizards, and unspecified reptiles. RESULTS: 44 of the Salmonella isolates were inhibited strongly, compared with the in vitro assay controls; 12 had weak inhibition, and 1 was not inhibited by the microcin-producing E. coli. Thirteen of the 57 isolates had resistance to at least 1 antibiotic, primarily streptomycin. There were 9 O serogroups identified in the 57 isolates, with serogroup H being the most prevalent (18 to 57). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Antibiotics are not recommended to eliminate Salmonella organisms from reptiles because of the development of antibiotic resistance. Further studies are necessary to determine whether the use of microcin-producing bacteria will be effective in controlling Salmonella infections in companion reptiles.  相似文献   

20.
Entamoeba invadens is pathogenic in multiple reptile species and has caused severe outbreaks in zoos and other facilities worldwide. Infections can be difficult to diagnose and to differentiate from other reptilian Entamoeba species. The goal of this study was to determine if kits developed to identify the human pathogen Entamoeba histolytica could be used to detect E. invadens in reptile species at the Maryland Zoo. The E. histolytica II antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the ProSpecT E. histolytica microplate assay did not react with cultured E. invadens controls or with fecal samples from multiple reptiles, demonstrating the need for a sensitive and specific test for E. invadens.  相似文献   

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