reptiles

• Gram negatives are common pathogens so commonly used antibiotics include

  • TMPS e.g. first line broad spectrum, licenced.
  • Doxycycline e.g. Mycoplasma in tortoises.
  • Metronidazole for protozoal and anaerobic infections.
  • Ceftazidime–injectable q72 hours, practical.
  • Enrofloxacin (fluoroquinolone) -not without culture and sensitivity.

  Sometimes when you sample bacteria, multiple will grow each with their own role in the disease and each with their own resistances and hence you may need to use multiple antibiotics at any one time.
• it is vital to keep reptiles at their POTZ for their immune system to be working optimally and for drug metabolism.

  • Too hot and the immune system stops working but too cold and the immune system will be too slow
  • It is a battle against maintaining the right temperature and having good ventilation as the better the ventilation the cooler the enclosure will be.
• If malnourished, you can use injectable vitamins or liquid ‘dosed’ supplements (e.g. Zolcal-D) whilst hospitalised in the short term.  Long term dietary changes will be needed as well as this.

  • F10 is particularly useful in reptiles, because fungal causes or secondary infections are common. Can be used as a mouth flush.
• LRT bacterial infections can cause: tracheitis, bronchitis, pneumonia
• URT bacterial infections can cause: rhinitis and also affect structures outside of the respiratory tract e.g. conjunctivitis, stomatitis, periorbital abscesses
• common causes are

  • Husbandry issues
  • Dental disease e.g. periodontal disease can lead to stomatitis.
  • Circulatory uncommon but possible.
  • Trauma
  • Space occupying lesions e.g. abscesses, tumours, reproductive disease, coelomic effusions, granulomas.
  • Foreign bodies
  • Bacterial infections
  • Viruses e.g. Herpes virus (tortoises), adenovirus (lizards), ophidian paramyxovirus (snakes) OPMV
  • Fungal infection e.g. candida, aspergillosis.
  • Parasitic e.g. lungworm (snakes), Rhabdias, Ascarids etc
• common pathogens in tortoises are

  • Herpes virus
  • Mycoplasma
• the common pathogen in lizards is adenovirus
• the common pathogens in snakes are

  • Lungworm
  • Ophidian paramyxovirus OPM