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Reptile husbandry & common diseases (Common issues associated with…
Reptile husbandry & common diseases
"Eight H's" of husbandry
Heat
Temperature gradients should be provided.
Reptiles should be kept at their preferred body temp (temp at which there is optimal metabolism).
Ensure thermostats are calibrated to individual enclosures using a thermometer.
Exposure to UV light is essential for synthesis of vitamin D3 and Ca metabolism.
Hide
Reptiles should be offered places to hide
Humidity
Requirements vary with species, but is generally 40-80%.
All snakes need a large water bowl for bathing and drinking. Humidity of the vivarium can be controlled by altering the size of the water bowl.
There should be adequate ventilation in all vivaria.
Health
Inextricably linked to husbandry.
Hygiene
Good hygiene is dependant on the type of substrate, and good disinfection & cleaning practices.
Substrate can include newspaper (diamond/carpet pythons), kitty litter (childrens pythons and blue-tongued lizards). Feeding areas should be a separate area lined with paper.
Water should be clean and changed regularly.
Healthy appetite
Feed according to dietary requirements (e.g. adult lizards should be fed every 2-3 days)
Habitat
Excessively large vivariums may make it difficult for reptiles to thermoregulate.
Handling
Snakes shouldn't be handled for at least 3 days after eating due to the risk of regurgitation.
Wash hands prior to handling as snakes will instinctively strike if it can smell mammals.
Common issues associated with poor husbandry
Anorexia
Sign, not a disease.
History and PE can differentiate between an environmental problem and a medical one.
Stomatitis
Most common condition of captive pythons.
Associated with poor husbandry, especially suboptimal vivarium temperatures.
Severe cases in snakes will need surgical debridement as well as antibiotic therapy.
Mites
Snake mite (Ophionyssus natricis) may cause dysecdysis and prolonged bathing in water bowls.
Related to poor hygiene and quarantine practices.
Internal parasites
Ascarids are common in pythons and bearded dragons (worms may be seen in the pharynx of lizards).
Symptoms of endoparasitism vary according to the organ systems affected.
Skin infections (ventral necrotic dermatitis)
Blistering of scales (early) to skin sloughing with greasy, malodorous areas (late).
Usually caused by excessive humidity, inappropriate substrate, suboptimal temperatures and poor hygiene.
Abscess
Common in animals kept at suboptimal temperatures, on suboptimal substrate and where hygiene is poor.
Metabolic bone disease
Commonly lizards, uncommonly snakes
Affected reptiles often twitch or have hindlimb/tail paresis (misdiagnosed as neuro problems)
either due to deficiency in dietary Ca (e.g. crickets that aren't "gutloaded" and mealworms) or UV light (essential for vit D3 production in skin).
Respiratory disease
Epiphora, blepharitis, sneezing and decreased appetite.
Pythons usually display open mouth breathing, URT stridor and anorexia.
Obesity
Common issue. Predisposed species include bearded dragons, black-headed pythons and womas.
Disposition-related voluntary hypothermia
Occurs when reptiles choose the coolest part of the vivarium and seemingly cannot thermoregulate. Predominantly an environmentally-induced shutdown rather than a disease-induced shutdown.
Usually occurs in reptiles (esp pythons) that are placed in vivariums that are too large.
Welfare issues
Live feeding (illegal to feed live vertebrates in NSW)
Rate bites (often occur in captive pythons fed live rats). This is a sign of a non-caring, lazy owner. The solution is simple; feed dead, prefrozen prey.
Frozen prey items (prey should be prefrozen for at least a month to limit the risk of parasitism - both internal and external). Thaw the prey in a water bath before feeding (can hold it in your hand or blow dry it to warm it up before feeding).
Hygiene, disinfection and quarantine (3-6 month quarantine period should be observed before introducing new tank mates).
Rostral abrasions (common in dragon lizards kept outdoors).Distressed animals rub their noses on the wire as they exhibit "escape" behaviour. Can be addressed by placing an opaque barrier at ground level around the enclosure, and by ensuring furnishings are adequate.
Eastern water dragons (overrepresented in cases of metabolic bone disease)
Common diseases
Metabolic bone disease
Eastern water dragons VERY prone, especially young lizards
History: limited or no access to UVB and natural sunlight, young lizards (esp Eastern Water Dragons and Bearded Dragons), low dietary Ca/vit D3
Signs: muscle tone, posture, twitching (misdiagnosed as neuro disease), rubbery jaw, skeletal deformity. Early stages: twitching, muscle tremors, fitting. Late stages: anorexia, muscle weakness, paralysis, rubbery jaw, death.
Diagnosis: radiography (demineralised skeleton, pathological fractures)
Treatment: parenteral Ca +/- vitamin D3, dietary correction of Ca:P (ideally 2:1 - avoid beef mince and "gutload" insects with Ca). Cage rest and external splinting is usually appropriate for pathological fractures (internal fixation often results in further trauma). Bowed mandibles typically don't resolve with treatment.
Stomatitis
Most common in captive pythons (but occurs in all species)
Multiple predisposing factors: acrodont teeth of many lizards (don't have sockets meaning periosteum is exposed), diet (lack of abrasive foods means plaque/calculus isn't removed), immunosuppression (suboptimal temperature and poor enclosure hygiene) and fighting.
Signs: anorexia, drooling, halitosis, swelling, bleeding gums, abscess.
Treatment (regimen consists of medical/husbandry measures): medical (meloxicam, GA to scale/debride necrotic gingiva & bone & remove teeth, broad-spec ABs such as cephalosporins), husbandry (change substrate & clean water, increased temp, rehydration via bathing and potential stomach tubing).
Obesity
Some species predisposed (bearded dragon, black-headed python, woma)
Naturally reptile eaters (diet is too fatty)
Hepatic lipidosis may occur
Neuro signs in an otherwise healthy looking snake
Food quantities and frequency of feeding should be adjusted
Skin infections
Ventral necrotic dermatitis
Due to excess humidity, poor hygiene, unsuitable substrate, hypothermia
Early: blistered single scales. Late: skin sloughing, smelly/greasy skin
Treatment: address husbandry issues and antibiotics (Gram stain, cytology)
Internal parasites
Roundworms
Ascarids (Ophidascaris moreliae, Polydelphis anoura) most common in snakes (swellings, abscess, GIT obstruction). Strongyloides (snakes, lizards)
Pentasomids (tongue worm) is zoonotic (mainly of concern in Elapids)
Parasites with a direct life cycle (Rhabdias, Strongyloides, Cryptosporidium, Coccidia) are more likely to affect captive reptiles, but those with indirect life cycles (cestodes, trematodes, pentasomids, some nematodes) can enter via fomites and feed).
Signs related to organs affected (failure to thrive, anorexia, weight loss, regurgitation, diarrhoea
Detected using faecal float, wet prep, pharyngeal swab (respiratory parasites)
Generally treated using anthelmintics (levamisole, fenbendazole, ivermectin, moxidectin), and improved hygiene. NEVER use ivermectin in chelonians due to neurotoxicity.
External parasites
Mites (Ophinionyssus natricis) are common in snakes & lizards. Generally detected around the head & eyes.
Ticks
Signs: dysecdysis, snakes spending long periods in water, related to poor hygiene and quarantine practices.
Rostral abrasion
Abrasion of the epidermic and soft tissue structures of the lips and nasal plane
Due to animal rubbing on cage walls, usually newly acquired or stressed. Associated with overcrowding.
Signs: maceration of skin surface with exudation, infection of exposed tissue may lead to necrotic stomatitis
Treatment: clean the damaged tissue (iodine or diluted chlorhex, topical ABs, but balance benefit of treatment with degree of stress induced) and environment improvement (visual barriers, provide hide box, remove abrasive materials in enclosure)
Hyperthermia & thermal burns
Hyperthermia signs: collapsed, depressed or comatose. May be found dead.
Burns: blistering/ulceration +/- secondary infection.
due to inappropriate heat sources (naked bulb, lamps too close to substrate, bushfires), and the fact that reptiles tend to remain in a heated position (ectotherms so most of their strategies are geared towards gaining heat).
Treatment: active cooling, fluid therapy (SC or IO 20-40 ml/kg/day), cleaning of lesions (iodine or dilute chlorhex) and topical antimicrobials (Silvazene cream), wound dressing (change every 2 days) and environmental improvement.
Note: burns and other injuries take much longer to heal in reptiles due to a slower metabolism (why they are also prone to obesity).
Common diagnostics
Blood sampling
Faecal float, wet prep, faecal Gram stain
Pharyngeal/cloacal swabs
Radiography