Captive Agamid lizards in Germany: Prevalence,pathogenicity and therapy of gastrointestinal protozoan and helminth infections |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Parasitology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Biomedical Research Centre Seltersberg (BFS), Schubertstr. 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany;2. Exomed GbR, Schönhauserstr. 62, 13127 Berlin, Germany;1. Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, 1 Campus Drive and Cornell Street, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA;2. Department of Parasitology, Institute of Zoology, 15 Bogdan Khmelnytskyi Street, Kyiv 01601, Ukraine;3. Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA;1. Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124, Pisa, Italy;2. Université de Lyon, VetAgro Sup, Campus vétérinaire de Lyon, Département des animaux de compagnie de loisir et de sport, 69280, Marcy L’Etoile, France;3. Scuola di Bioscienze e Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Camerino, Via Circonvallazione 93/95, 62024 Matelica (MC), Italy;1. Department of Pathology and Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic;2. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;3. Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;4. Central European Institute of Technology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic;1. Murdoch University, School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia;2. Exovet Pty Ltd., East Maitland, New South Wales, 2323, Australia;3. UQ Veterinary Medical Centre, University of Queensland, School of Veterinary Science, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia;1. Department of Wildlife Science, Madras Veterinary College, TANUVAS, Chennai-07, Tamil Nadu, India;2. Department of Botany and Microbiology, A.V.V.M. Sri Pushpam College, Bharathidasan University (Affiliated), Poondi, Thanjavur-613503, Tamil Nadu, India;3. Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Madras Veterinary College, TANUVAS, Chennai-07, Tamil Nadu, India;4. Department of Veterinary Pathology, Madras Veterinary College, TANUVAS, Chennai-07, Tamil Nadu, India;1. Department of Surgical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA;2. Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, Houston, TX, USA;3. Comparative Ocular Pathology Laboratory of Wisconsin (COPLOW), School of Veterinary Medicine. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA |
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| Abstract: | Reptiles are becoming popular pets in many parts of the world. They are also known to harbor numerous gastrointestinal parasites. We used faecal smears to examine 748 stool samples from 14 different agamid lizard species. In addition, we used coproantigen ELISA tests (11 samples) and immunofluorescence assays (IFA) (19 samples) to detect reptile Cryptosporidium infections. In 28 cases, veterinarians requested therapy to treat oxyurid- and/or Isospora amphiboluri-infections and resent fecal samples after proposed therapy and anti-parasitic treatments had been applied. We also performed complete dissections of 24 deceased agamas in order to specify protozoan and helminth parasite infections.Overall, the examined fecal samples contained 6 different taxa. Oxyurids (Pharyngodonidae) were the most prevalent nematodes (41.2%), followed by I. amphiboluri (17.0%), Entamoeba spp. (0.8%), Choleoeimeria spp. (0.5%), Trichomonas spp. (0.3%), Cryptosporidium spp. (0.3%) and Strongyloides-like nematodes (0.1%). I. amphiboluri infections were significantly more prevalent (Chi-square test: χ2 = 21,5, df = 1, P < 0.001) in juvenile agamid lizards (31.9%) than in adults (14.2%). One of 11 (9.1%) coproantigen ELISA-examined samples was positive for Cryptosporidium. In 10.5% of the samples we found oocysts of Cryptosporidium. Thirteen (54.2%) of necropsied agamid lizards were infected with endoparasites and it is likely that three (12.5%) of them died due to severe parasitic infections. 74.0% of the samples that were submitted after therapy had been applied were negative. The high prevalences and pathological findings of several clinical parasitoses observed in these exotic reptiles calls for more detailed investigations on agamid gastrointestinal parasite fauna. |
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| Keywords: | Agamid lizards Reptiles Parasites Endoparasites Agamidae Exotic pets |
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