Hepatic lipidosis in banded armadillos (Euphractus sexcinctus) bred in captivity

ABSTRACT

Background: Wild animals bred in captivity may develop steatosis due to unbalanced dietary intake and obesity caused by sedentary behaviour. In some rural areas, six-banded armadillos are raised in captivity inside some metal barrels, with restricted space, and are often overfeed. After getting fattening, armadillos they are slaughtered and used as food. The unfavorable conditions may somehow contribute to likely underlie the development of many diseases, among them we can including hepatic steatosis. The present report aims to describe the pathological findings of hepatic lipidosis in banded armadillos (Euphractus sexcinctus), bred in captivity. Case The animals were three female adult six-banded armadillos (Euphractus sexcinctus), caught in the native forest of the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil and raised in domestic environment in a small enclosure and fed with human food leftovers. After eight months kept in these conditions armadillos had severe obesity and then were donated to the city zoo, where they were quarantined and presented clinical symptoms of anorexia for two weeks, weight loss and exhaustion. After being found dead during daily inspection carried out by the veterinarian zoo, the six-banded armadillos were sent to the Animal Pathology Laboratory of Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA) for pathological examination. The animals [...]