In 2013, hundreds of South Asian turtles and tortoises were confiscated from an animal smuggler in the Suvarnabhumi Airport. Many of the seized animals were suspected to have died due to the stress of the smuggling operation, which was compounded by concurrent diseases; the vast majority of necropsied animals had significant endoparasitism. Two black pond turtles (Geoclemys hamiltonii) were found to be severely affected by systemic vascular spirorchiidiasis, causing significant granulomatous disease in the lungs, kidneys, mesentery, intestines, and liver, and in one of the two animals, within the heart. This is the first report of spirorchiidiasis in black pond turtles.

A 39-yr-old intact adult female Yacare caiman (Caiman yacare) presented with hindlimb paresis. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography studies revealed a compressive vertebral mass in the lumbar spine associated with a large left pelvic osseous mass and multiple extensive osteolytic lesions in both the axial and appendicular skeletons. Because of the severity and extension of the osseous lesions, euthanasia was elected. Gross necropsy findings included bilateral, hardened, irregular ovaries and multifocal pale, thickened bone marrow. Histopathologic findings were consistent with an ovarian carcinoma with metastasis to the pelvis, vertebrae, and femurs. Reproductive neoplasms with skeletal metastasis should be added to the differential diagnoses for nonspecific progressive and chronic wasting or lameness in intact aging crocodilians.

Diet options for captive snakes are limited at the commercial level. Sausage diets can be developed that allow for the use of alternative protein sources (e.g., insect based) and address issues related to the feeder mice industry (e.g., expense, calorie dense, injuries from live prey, and zoonoses). In this 4-month-long cross-over feeding trial, juvenile male corn snakes (n = 9; Pantherophis guttatus) were fed either an experimental insect-based sausage diet or a frozen-thawed mouse. Each diet was fed for 2 months during the cross-over study. Snakes were fed twice weekly at 15% of their body weight. If snakes refused to eat, force feeding was instituted. Physical examinations and morphometrics, including weight, snout–vent length, tail length, and girth, were measured at the beginning and end of each 2 month period. Feces were collected to assess apparent digestibility of both diets, and palatability was determined by consistent voluntary ingestion. There were no significant changes between diet groups regarding health or growth parameters of snakes. Changes in weight were significant, but only as a factor of time (F = 14.083, P = 0.003). Sodium (–54.15%) and iron (10.4%) for the sausage diet and copper (20.15%) and manganese (–10.1%) from the frozen mouse diet were poorly digested. In regard to palatability, willingness to eat the offered diet on a consistent basis was significantly lower for the snakes receiving the sausage diet (P = 0.028). The results of this study suggest that insect-based sausages can be used to diversify captive snake diets as long as palatability is addressed.

Seventeen healthy sub-adult green iguanas (Iguana iguana) naturally infected with oxyurid nematodes were treated to assess the anthelmintic efficacy of a single 25 mg/kg oral dose of oxfendazole. Pooled fecal samples were collected pre-treatment, then weekly for 4 wk post-treatment, and processed the same day via a quantitative double centrifugation technique using Sheather's sugar flotation solution. Total oxyurid egg counts were determined and parasites identified to genus, Ozolaimus or Alaeuris, based on egg morphometry. Fecal egg count reduction (FECR) was then calculated for total oxyurids, total Ozolaimus spp., and total Alaeuris spp. separately for each time point post-treatment. Based on FECR, the single oral dose of oxfendazole was found to be 100% effective (100% FECR) at eliminating nematodes from the GI tract 4 wk post-treatment, without any obvious morbidity or mortality. Additionally, a lack of larvated eggs was observed in the feces as soon as 1 wk post-treatment, with all eggs appearing degenerate at 2 and 3 wk post-treatment. Therefore, the eggs being shed at 3 wk post-treatment were likely nonviable, indicating that oxfendazole was able to impact nematode reproduction prior to reaching 100% efficacy.

Oxytetracycline (42 mg/kg SC q6d) was injected into the dorsal shoulder region of 29 sea turtles during clinical management after stranding, including 10 Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), 10 loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and nine green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). Before injection, the drug was diluted into a suitable fluid for injection (5–20 ml/kg) as chosen by the attending veterinarian. Turtles were treated for as long as clinically indicated prior to discontinuing the drug (range 2–10 doses, median four). After the final injection, blood was collected at 1, 2, 4, 8, 72, 144, and 288 h and plasma harvested for measurement of the oxytetracycline plasma concentration. To limit the volume of blood collected, a sparse sampling strategy was used with samples collected at only three or four time points per turtle. The plasma oxytetracycline concentration was measured with high pressure liquid chromatography. Population pharmacokinetics using nonlinear mixed effects modeling produced the following results: half-life, 36 h; volume of distribution, 0.78 L/kg; and area-under-the-curve, 2,799 µg*h/ml. Using this dose and method of administration, the plasma oxytetracycline concentrations were maintained above a minimum inhibitory concentration value of approximately 4 µg/ml for approximately 6 days.

Neoplasia due to environmental contaminants has been previously reported in wild amphibians; however, minimal research has been done to investigate individual cases of amphibian neoplasia independent of environmental contamination or viral etiologies. This study reviewed published literature for neoplasia in amphibians in order to supplement the Exotic Species Cancer Research Alliance (ESCRA) database. Through searches of three scientific literature databases (PubMed, CAB Abstracts, and Web of Science Zoological Record), 50 cases of amphibian neoplasia were found in 36 articles published between 1954 and 2018. The most common species reported were African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis; n = 8) and axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum; n = 6). Of the 50 cases, 27 of the neoplasms were malignant and 23 benign, with the majority of the malignant cases being localized (n = 17). Chromatophoroma (n = 9), lymphoma/leukemia (n = 6), and papilloma (n = 5) were the most frequently reported neoplasms, and skin (n = 24) and the hemolymphatic system (n = 6) were the most common locations. No treatment was provided for the majority (69%) of these cases. When treatment was provided, surgical excision was most frequently chosen and was associated with a better prognosis (n = 12, P < 0.001). Males and amphibians with benign neoplasms were more likely to have a better prognosis (P = 0.049 in a literature data set spanning 1954–2018 and P = 0.019 for 1970–2018), and animals with malignant neoplasms were more likely to have a poor prognosis (P = 0.036 for a literature data set spanning 1970–2018). This analysis of neoplasia in amphibians enables us to evaluate published cases of amphibian neoplasia to extend the analytical power of resources such as the ESCRA database and provide insight into prognostic factors of neoplasia in amphibian species.

Despite the popularity of leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) in the pet trade, packed-cell-volume (PCV) and biochemistry reference intervals are still lacking for these animals. The risk of inducing tail autotomy during venipuncture is of particular concern in this species. Blood samples were obtained from 26 healthy subadults (14 females and 12 males) from the ventral coccygeal vein or the cranial vena cava under general anesthesia with isoflurane. Plasma biochemistry panels were performed by a reference laboratory and PCV was measured. Reference intervals were established following the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology guidelines. Reference values were established for parameters with less than 20 available results because of limited sample volumes. Results were computed using the Reference Value Advisor software. Venipuncture was performed safely, without tail autotomy, in all 26 individuals. No lymph contamination was detected macroscopically. Reference intervals were 21–40% for PCV, 33–394 µmol/L for uric acid (0.5 to 6.6 mg/dL), 0–3,701 IU/L for creatine kinase, and 0.6–37.5 µmol/L for bile acids. Reference values were established for the following parameters: 0.5–5.3 mmol/L for phosphorus (1.5–16.4 mg/dL), 24–80 g/L for total protein (2.4–8.0 g/dL), 3.5 to >9.25 mmol/L for total calcium in females (14 to >37 mg/dL), and 11–65 IU/L for aspartate aminotransferase. Biochemistry results in leopard geckos were similar to those reported in crested geckos (Rhacodactylus ciliatus).

Eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi) have unique physiological features that are still not well understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of indoor vs. outdoor housing on plasma biochemistry analytes of eastern indigo snakes. Thirty-two captive eastern indigo snakes were divided into two groups: one group was housed indoors and the other group was housed outdoors in central Florida, USA. Packed cell volume and several plasma biochemistry analytes were evaluated: sodium, potassium, chloride, total magnesium, ionized magnesium, total calcium, ionized calcium, phosphorus, pH, glucose, uric acid, glutamate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine kinase, total protein, protein gel electrophoresis, albumin (bromocresol method), cholesterol, calcidiol, and calcitriol. Significant differences were seen in plasma total calcium and calcidiol concentrations between indoor and outdoor female groups. Significant differences were also seen in packed cell volume and plasma total calcium and calcidiol concentrations between male and female eastern indigo snakes. All of the eastern indigo snakes in this study had markedly elevated plasma total calcium concentrations, similar to previous reports by others.