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The Veterinary Clinics of North... May 2023Reptiles are being presented more frequently to veterinarians because they increase in popularity. As with domestic pets, dermatologic conditions are common findings in... (Review)
Review
Reptiles are being presented more frequently to veterinarians because they increase in popularity. As with domestic pets, dermatologic conditions are common findings in captive reptiles and can be associated with husbandry and nutritional deficiencies, infectious diseases, and neoplasia. To have success with these cases, it is important to take a stepwise and strategic approach, starting with a thorough anamnesis and physical examination. From there, diagnostic tests should be pursued, with an understanding of the limitations of each diagnostic test. By understanding these limitations, the veterinary scientist can determine the best path to a diagnosis and treatment for the case.
Topics: Animals; Dermatology; Reptiles; Physical Examination
PubMed: 36965878
DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2022.12.005 -
The Veterinary Clinics of North... Sep 2020Captive amphibians and reptiles may be extraordinarily long-lived pets, with some species able to reach ages of more than 150 years. Therefore, such longevity needs to... (Review)
Review
Captive amphibians and reptiles may be extraordinarily long-lived pets, with some species able to reach ages of more than 150 years. Therefore, such longevity needs to be contemplated before purchasing an animal. Similar to traditional companion species, the health and husbandry requirements of herpetofauna change throughout the course of their lives, and modifications to how animals are kept need to take this into consideration. Regular examinations, including diagnostics, are invaluable in monitoring the health of senescent amphibians and reptiles and may aid in assessing quality of life.
Topics: Aging; Amphibians; Animal Husbandry; Animals; Quality of Life; Reptiles; Veterinary Medicine
PubMed: 32690451
DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2020.05.004 -
Current Biology : CB May 2023In the early 19th century, long before the discovery of the dinosaurs, scientists and the public alike were faced with the realization that strange beasts, wholly...
In the early 19th century, long before the discovery of the dinosaurs, scientists and the public alike were faced with the realization that strange beasts, wholly extinct, were once populating Earth's ancient oceans. In no small part, this realization was through the discovery of the first plesiosaurs (and ichthyosaurs) along the Dorset coast of England in the seaside town of Lyme Regis. There was this large marine reptile resembling a large sea turtle, but with four evenly shaped flippers and looking as though a large snake had been pulled through its carapace. It was soon to be named scientifically Plesiosaurus, in reference to its greater similarity to living reptiles than the Ichthyosaurus (Figure 1). While the Ichthyosaurus was relatively easily understood as a fish-shaped reptile descended from land-living ancestors, the Plesiosaurus was beyond comprehension, even though incomplete skeletons had been unearthed already in the early 18th century. Plesiosaurs seemed so alien that the first complete skeleton, discovered by the famed Mary Anning a little more than 200 years ago (Figure 1A), was considered a fake by the leading anatomist of the day, the Baron Georges Cuvier in Paris. Only study of the original specimen convinced him of the authenticity of this animal but reinforced his seminal insight that there is extinction.
Topics: Animals; Male; Animal Shells; Dinosaurs; England; Environment
PubMed: 37220726
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.018 -
The Veterinary Clinics of North... Jan 2021Reptile behavior varies widely among the approximately 11,000 species of this class. The authors' objective is to allow practitioners to discriminate between normal and... (Review)
Review
Reptile behavior varies widely among the approximately 11,000 species of this class. The authors' objective is to allow practitioners to discriminate between normal and abnormal behaviors in reptiles. Some of the most common reasons for presentation of behavioral issues are discussed, including hyperactivity, self-mutilation, biting, repetitive behaviors, and postural abnormalities. Medical problems and suboptimal husbandry causing abnormal behaviors should be ruled out by attending veterinarians. Addressing behavior issues involves determining a differential diagnosis through a systematic approach, which then allows implementation of necessary environmental changes including enrichment, developing plans for behavior modification and biomedical training, and medication when appropriate.
Topics: Animal Husbandry; Animal Welfare; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Pets; Reptiles
PubMed: 33189250
DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2020.09.008 -
Current Biology : CB Oct 2021Global trade of wildlife is a major driver of species decline. The trade in wildlife actually plays a much larger role in our daily lives than many people realize, and...
Global trade of wildlife is a major driver of species decline. The trade in wildlife actually plays a much larger role in our daily lives than many people realize, and its use and legality are surprisingly complex. Wildlife trade includes the trade of any organism, including fungi, plants and animals, sourced from the wild. This comprises thousands of wild species, including over 7600, or nearly one quarter, of terrestrial vertebrate species. Trade in wildlife is worth billions annually via commercial fishing at $180 billion, timber at $227 billion and fashion at $2.5 billion - in addition to largely unquantified trade for meat, medicine, ornamental use and pets. Wildlife trade, such as that of ivory, is the subject of intense public debate, international regulation and criminal prosecution, while trade of other species is more often overlooked. How wildlife trade is regulated and what is legal and illegal varies both between and within taxonomic groups and depends on where and how trade occurs. Wildlife trade across most sectors has increased since monitoring began, for example, between 1996 and 2018 the global fish market rose from $40 billion to $180 billion, wood from $65 billion to $137 billion and reptile leather for fashion trade from $140 million to $600 million. In concert, the annual number of trades legally traded through CITES has also grown, from under 5000 transactions in 1977 to peaking at over 1.3 million in 2015, with shipment size increasing in parallel and seizures of illegally traded species showing similar trends. Balancing the needs of people for livelihood generation, especially with access and benefit-sharing rights, with the impact on species survival remains difficult. Issues like the role of trophy and sports hunting within conservation remain a topic of debate in the conservation community. Finding approaches that enable long-term species survival, are equitable and do not undermine livelihoods is a constant challenge.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Wild; Commerce; Conservation of Natural Resources; Humans; Meat; Reptiles
PubMed: 34637735
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.056 -
Human & Experimental Toxicology May 2020Many threats exist to reptile populations, environmental pollutants being one of them. Lizards and other reptiles are usually not taken into consideration in... (Review)
Review
Many threats exist to reptile populations, environmental pollutants being one of them. Lizards and other reptiles are usually not taken into consideration in environmental risk assessments, with the use of surrogate species for their estimates. Unfortunately, not all pesticides have the same effects in the reptile species and on these surrogates, birds and mammals, some being more toxic in lizards. This difference brings the need to evaluate their toxicity in lizards to safeguard its protection. Studies in the last decades involving contaminants' toxicity in lizard species have increased, thus we proposed to gather these information in this comprehensive review. Through searches in databases about the toxicity of pesticides in lizards, 16 scientific articles were found. Most studies investigated locomotor performance, histopathology, oxidative stress, neurotoxicology, and genetic damage from diverse pesticides with different modes of action. Progress has been made to acquire data on lizard ecotoxicology and more research is needed to cover more variables, such as studies in the embryologic stage and different pesticides.
Topics: Animals; Environmental Pollutants; Lizards; Pesticides
PubMed: 31957493
DOI: 10.1177/0960327119899980 -
The Veterinary Clinics of North... May 2024The health of hatchling, juvenile, and young adult reptiles continues to be plagued by historic nutritional deficiencies, old and emerging infectious diseases, and more... (Review)
Review
The health of hatchling, juvenile, and young adult reptiles continues to be plagued by historic nutritional deficiencies, old and emerging infectious diseases, and more recent phenotype-selective congenital abnormalities that impact welfare. Knowledge of mating seasonality, average egg counts, gestation times, and age and/or size for sexual maturity is necessary to help guide best practices for care of pediatric reptiles. Calcium, vitamin D3, and ultraviolet B (UVB) lighting recommendations vary in effectiveness amongst different species and can change with age. Phenotype-selective color patterns for spider ball pythons and scalation pattern for bearded dragons have resulted in vestibular disease, and increased evaporative water loss, respectively. Salmonellosis remains the most reported zoonotic disease for captive reptiles in the United States, despite improvements in client education and improvements in captive reptile husbandry.
Topics: Humans; Animals; United States; Reptiles; Lizards; Salmonella Infections; Zoonoses; Communicable Diseases, Emerging; Ultraviolet Rays
PubMed: 38097491
DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2023.11.013 -
The Veterinary Clinics of North... Jan 2023This chapter provides an overview of our current understanding of clinical analgesic use in reptiles. Currently, μ-opioid agonist drugs are the standard of care for... (Review)
Review
This chapter provides an overview of our current understanding of clinical analgesic use in reptiles. Currently, μ-opioid agonist drugs are the standard of care for analgesia in reptiles. Reptile pain is no longer considered a necessary part of recovery to keep the reptile from becoming active too early. Rather, treating pain allows for the reptile to begin normalizing their behavior. This recognition of pain and analgesia certainly benefits our reptile patients and greatly improves reptile welfare, but it also benefits our students and house officers, who will carry the torch and continue to demand excellence in reptile medicine.
Topics: Animals; Pain; Reptiles; Analgesia; Analgesics; Pain Management
PubMed: 36402488
DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2022.07.004 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Mar 2020The Archosauria are a highly successful group of vertebrates, and their evolution is marked by the appearance of diverse respiratory and metabolic strategies. This... (Review)
Review
The Archosauria are a highly successful group of vertebrates, and their evolution is marked by the appearance of diverse respiratory and metabolic strategies. This review examines respiratory function in living and fossil archosaurs, focusing on the anatomy and biomechanics of the respiratory system, and their physiological consequences. The first archosaurs shared a heterogeneously partitioned parabronchial lung with unidirectional air flow; from this common ancestral lung morphology, we trace the diverging respiratory designs of bird- and crocodilian-line archosaurs. We review the latest evidence of osteological correlates for lung structure and the presence and distribution of accessory air sacs, with a focus on the evolution of the avian lung-air sac system and the functional separation of gas exchange and ventilation. In addition, we discuss the evolution of ventilation mechanics across archosaurs, citing new biomechanical data from extant taxa and how this informs our reconstructions of fossils. This improved understanding of respiratory form and function should help to reconstruct key physiological parameters in fossil taxa. We highlight key events in archosaur evolution where respiratory physiology likely played a major role, such as their radiation at a time of relative hypoxia following the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, and their evolution of elevated metabolic rates. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vertebrate palaeophysiology'.
Topics: Alligators and Crocodiles; Animals; Biological Evolution; Birds; Fossils; Reptiles; Respiration
PubMed: 31928195
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0140 -
Current Biology : CB Feb 2024Tim Roth and Aaron Krochmal discuss reptile cognition in an integrative and comparative light.
Tim Roth and Aaron Krochmal discuss reptile cognition in an integrative and comparative light.
Topics: Animals; Reptiles; Cognition
PubMed: 38412817
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.048