ABSTRACT
Seven captive eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) from a large collection of North American chelonians in North Carolina became acutely ill in the fall of 2002. Five of the turtles died. Clinical signs included cutaneous abscessation, oral ulceration or abscessation (or both), respiratory distress, anorexia, and lethargy. The predominant postmortem lesion was fibrinoid vasculitis of various organs, including skin, mucous membranes, lungs, and liver. No inclusion bodies were detected by histopathology or electron microscopy of formalin-fixed tissue. An iridovirus was isolated from tissues obtained postmortem from two of the box turtles that died. The virus was characterized by electron microscopy, polymerase chain reaction, and sequence analysis of a portion of the major capsid protein as a member of the genus Ranavirus.
Subject(s)
DNA Virus Infections/veterinary , Ranavirus/isolation & purification , Turtles/virology , Animals , Animals, Zoo , DNA Virus Infections/epidemiology , DNA Virus Infections/mortality , DNA Virus Infections/pathology , DNA, Viral/chemistry , Fatal Outcome , Inclusion Bodies, Viral , Microscopy, Electron/veterinary , Morbidity , North Carolina/epidemiology , Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary , Ranavirus/pathogenicityABSTRACT
Three loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and a Malaysian giant turtle (Orlitia borneensis) were presented with suspected or confirmed esophageal foreign bodies. Esophagoscopy was performed on all turtles, and gastroscopy was performed on three turtles. In all cases, endoscopy was easy to perform, and allowed visualization of most upper gastrointestinal features. The papillated esophagus was easy to navigate, but mucosal papillae in the loggerhead sea turtles prevented examination of the underlying mucosa. The stomach was easily entered and examined in both species, but the working endoscope length (100 cm) prevented inspection of the pyloric antrum and the duodenum in all turtles. The turtles in this report may serve as references for future endoscopic examinations of these species.
Subject(s)
Esophagus/anatomy & histology , Foreign Bodies/veterinary , Oropharynx/anatomy & histology , Stomach/anatomy & histology , Turtles/anatomy & histology , Animals , Esophagoscopy/veterinary , Foreign Bodies/diagnosis , Gastroscopy/veterinaryABSTRACT
An adult male Savannah monitor lizard (Varanus exanthematicus) was presented for bilateral lens opacities that had progressed rapidly over the previous 2 months. A diagnosis of bilateral mature cataracts was made and phacoemulsification cataract extraction was performed. Surgery restored vision and normal activity to the patient.