A 1 yr old male panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) was presented with a persistently closed right eye. The ophthalmological examination performed under general anesthesia demonstrated a large corneal ulcer encompassing 50% of the right cornea. Because of the extent of the corneal ulcer and the condition of the eye, the animal was diagnosed as being blind and suffering with severe pain. The authors recommended enucleation to eliminate these symptoms and to avoid any future complications. Two days after surgery, the panther chameleon started hunting on his own. One year after surgery, the panther chameleon is clinically healthy.

A 15-yr-old captive-born male Eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) presented for the presence of two slow-growing subcutaneous/intramuscular masses along the dorsum. Whole-body radiographs showed two subcutaneous soft tissue masses and two soft tissue opacities within the lungs. An initial punch biopsy of one of the subcutaneous masses revealed chronic granulomatous cellulitis with intralesional fungal hyphae. During a follow-up examination, repeat biopsy of one of the subcutaneous masses confirmed Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of snake fungal disease, via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) of fresh tissue. Additionally, cytology of one of the intracoelomic masses obtained via fine needle aspirate showed evidence of necrosis with fungal hyphae consistent with O. ophiodiicola. Given the multiorgan nature of this disease at the time of diagnosis, and the concern for a lack of therapeutic efficacy, the snake was euthanized. Antemortem cytology, histopathology, and necropsy revealed fungal hyphae in multiple subcutaneous/ intramuscular and pulmonary granulomas that were consistent with an O. ophiodiicola infection without the presence of skin or labial pit lesions. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of multifocal O. ophiodiicola (snake fungal disease) infection in a crotalid without skin crusts, ulcers, or scabs present.

Members of the suborder Serpentes possess paired scent glands located caudal to the vent. In this retrospective case series (n = 6), four colubrids, a boid, and a viperid presented with cloacal scent gland impaction. The colubrids were greater than 17 yr old, had both glands initially or eventually affected (4/4, 100%), and most (3/4, 75%) were females. The python (Python regius) was a 10 yr old male, and the viper (Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster) was of undetermined age and male. In the non-colubrid snakes, gland impaction was unilateral. Infection (4/6, 66.7%), mineralization (1/6, 16.7%), and neoplasia (1/6, 16.7%; fibrosarcoma) were associated with the gland impactions in the colubrids and python; a colubrid with neoplasia also had a concurrent bacterial infection and the cause of impaction was not determined in the viper (1/6, 16.7%). Medical management was attempted in 1/6 (16.7%) of the cases but was unsuccessful. Overall, complete surgical excision was realized in 9 of 10 (90%) affected glands. Postoperative infection of the surgery site was encountered in two (33.3%) snakes. The colubrids died 6 wk to 5 yr postoperatively of causes unrelated to the surgery. No complications occurred in a 5 yr follow-up of the viper, whereas an impaction recurred in association with residual glandular tissue and had to be surgically removed in the python 2 yr after surgery. Interspecific differences, age, husbandry, and concomitant pathological processes are suggested to be potential predisposing factors to developing a cloacal scent gland impaction, but additional cases supported by a thorough husbandry and medical history are needed to better delineate these possible associations.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used for analgesia in veterinary patients; however, evaluation of NSAID pharmacokinetics in amphibians is limited. A wide variety of pharmacotherapeutics have been administered topically to the skin of anurans with limited empirical evidence of absorption or efficacy. Systemic absorptions of two NSAIDs, meloxicam and ketoprofen, were evaluated after subcutaneous and topical cutaneous administration in smoky jungle frogs (Leptodactylus pentadactylus). Eighty-four, 8 month old, 38.0 g (26.1–56.6 g) (median [range]) frogs were randomly assigned to receive one of four treatments, with 21 animals in each group: 1 mg/kg racemic ketoprofen administered either subcutaneously (SK) or topically (TK) or 0.2 mg/kg meloxicam administered either subcutaneously or topically. Plasma concentrations of meloxicam and the R- and S-enantiomers of ketoprofen were quantified at 3, 8, and 24 h after administration. At each time point, seven frogs per group were anesthetized for blood collection and then euthanized. Plasma samples were pooled within each group for drug quantification. Both enantiomers of ketoprofen were detectable in groups SK and TK, and plasma concentrations decreased from 3 to 24 h. The drop in concentration was less predictable for TK than for SK. Plasma concentrations of meloxicam were nondetectable at most time points by both routes. Topical absorption of ketoprofen is possible in frogs, although therapeutic levels have not been determined for this species.

The objective of this study was to compare the physiologic and anesthetic effects, and differences, between two intramuscular drug protocols in adult bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi); the bullsnakes were being anesthetized for a radiotelemetry study. Free-ranging bullsnakes were injected IM with 10 mg/kg butorphanol, followed by either 20 mg/kg alfaxalone or a combination of 0.5 mg/kg midazolam, 0.05 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, and 5 mg/kg ketamine (MDK). After administration, muscle tone, response to stimuli, and jaw tone were evaluated before endotracheal intubation and surgical stimulation to implant coelomic transmitters. If a bullsnake responded to stimulation induced by surgical preparation, or noxious stimuli induced by the surgical procedure, isoflurane was administered to maintain a surgical plane of anesthesia. Heart rate, sedation depth, esophageal temperature, end-tidal CO₂, respirations, time to spontaneous ventilation, extubation, return of righting reflex, and return of spontaneous movement were recorded. Assisted ventilation was initiated if bradypnea (<2 breaths/min) or apnea occurred. Six bullsnakes were evaluated in each group, for a total of 12 bullsnakes. The MDK group was reversed with 0.5 mg/kg atipamezole and 0.02 mg/kg flumazenil IM. All alfaxalone-treated bullsnakes responded to surgical stimulation with movement and required anesthetic maintenance with isoflurane, whereas none of the MDK bullsnakes required inhalant anesthesia. Bullsnakes anesthetized with MDK recovered significantly faster after reversal than bullsnakes in the alfaxalone group. MDK produced a satisfactory level of anesthesia for a minor surgical procedure in bullsnakes, whereas alfaxalone did not. Additional injectable (beyond butorphanol) or inhalant anesthetic agents are recommended for surgical procedures when using alfaxalone.

Bile acids are considered a sensitive indicator for liver function in mammals and birds, and protein electrophoresis is a routine test used in mammals to differentiate inflammatory responses. The objective of this study was to establish reference intervals for bile acids and protein electrophoresis in clinically healthy panther chameleons (Furcifer pardalis) under similar husbandry conditions. Blood samples from 84 captive panther chameleons were collected in January and August from the ventral coccygeal vein and processed for protein capillary zone electrophoresis and enzymatic–photometric measurements of bile acids. Reference intervals for bile acids were similar to other reptile species, but those for protein electrophoresis differed considerably, with α-globulins as the second most predominant fraction after albumin. Significant differences between males and females were found in α1- and γ-globulin fractions. Three diseased panther chameleons that died within a few months after sampling had an albumin–globulin ratio below the reference interval.