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read the handout about adaptation to diseases

we talked 
before about providing UVB light for reptiles and the proper spectra 
needed. the light should be about 12-24 inches away from the animal. it 
should not be on all day, either. UV lights do not last forever; after a 
period of months, the spectra they emit is not the same anymore. you have 
to replace those bulbs every four to six months. this is especially 
important for young, growing animals. 

the other area to get into is the 
issue of sexing of animals - people may ask the sex of the animal; this 
is important b/c some disease conditions are related to reproductive 
tract. snakes: there is a suggestion of sex by shape and length of tail 
caudal to cloaca. in males, hemipenes is in the tail, so tail base is 
thicker, wider, and tail is longer. more obvious when male and female are 
side by side. in boidae, there are vestigial spurs on either side of the 
cloaca, thought to be remnant of hind legs in those animals. that can 
sometimes cause trouble, b/c we think males have bigger spurs than 
females but that is really subjective. but if they are about 1/4 inch, 
probably male. 
for most breeders, if they need to know, they can do 
probing of theventral tail area - insert a smooth blunt probe into 
recesses of hemipenes, counting # of scale lengths - in males, probe 
should go in 6-18 scale lengths. in female, only 2-6. this should only be 
done if you know how to do it; owners shouldn't do it if they've never 
done it before. it can cause damage. 
turtles - tail is an important 
marker - male is often longer, wider at base. also the cloacal opening is 
more caudal in the male than female. in female, cloaca is about the level 
of the scute on the shell. in male, more caudal.

in box turtles, iris 
color can be a hint. in males, tends to be deep red, females, brown/tan 
color. often males are smaller than females. 

in many tortoises, the 
bottom shell is concave, too, so that he can mount the female. in iguanas 
and other lizards, males are often larger than females and more colorful 
in breeding season. often in lizardsin general, the males have more body 
appendages, like Jackson's chameleon has these horns or helmets. may have 
spurs or other appendages. thinking of iguana, a large something fold. 
the ear coverings are largerin the male than the female. another aspect 
to look at anatomically is the femoral pores running along the medial 
surfaces of the leg, in femoral area. these are small or imperceptible in 
females, but large with hard waxy covering in males. 

immune system of 
these animals:
we know that reptiles do have immunoglobulins; they 
usually make IgM and IgG. IgA, IgD, and IgE have not been seen
complement 
system is not known; may occur, not yet found.
we do know that reptiles, 
even though considered "poikilotherms" which base their temperature on 
the environmental temperature, can sometimes have pyrexic reactions to 
certain bacterial toxins. they can mount a febrile response, albeit only 
a degree or two, when exposed to bacterial toxins. we also know that in 
some spp of reptiles, they can develop agglutinating or neutralizing 
antibodies to bacteria and viral antigens. 
overall state of health and 
ambient temperature enhance immune response. the ability of the owner to 
provide a habitat and an environment that will promote the health of 
these animals is really important. 

gram negatives are the primary 
pathogens in most reptiles; by and large if you start culturing these 
animals you find gram negatives. gram positive infections are rare, but 
there are always exceptions.

salmonella is a serious concern; the more 
we know about reptiles, the more problems we see. 

[end of serious 
note-taking. i'm feeling more like just listening, right now.]
note: 
don't treat reptiles for salmonella - makes resistant organisms. reptiles 
just have it. use good husbandry to reduce shedding. don't let kids 
handle it. don't let mom nurse baby after handling reptile, without 
washing hands. do not let iguana walk on counter and then prepare baby 
bottle on it.


mycotic disease usually presents as dermatitis, not 
internal dz. when mycotic organisms gain access to the body they do end 
up in lung, alimentary tract. these animals end up with long, slow demise 
no matter what you do sometimes, then at necropsy you find these 
granulomatous lesions in GI tract and lungs. do cultures for these. 
however, if you find an organism, that doesn't mean it is the pathogen. 
consider other possibilities. there may be other signs, other pathologic 
evidence. it's not always straightforward. histopath is important. if you 
section lesions and find good evidence of branching hyphae, repro stages 
of fungi, more likely to be involved in pathogenic process.

dermatologic 
infections occur -  saprophytes tend to be in the dirt, leaves, etc - if 
there is a wound, animal can easily pick up a fungus. we see crocodilia 
and chelonia with fungi more than lizards or snakes.

with viruses, there 
is a growing list of them out there; we can't and won't go over all of 
them but one of the early ones - a herpes virus that was localized in 
pond turtles in california; other turtles have been found to have it as 
well. they all had primary hepatic necrosis. in snakes, the paramyxovirus 
and a retrovirus are two prime organisms causing disease. much attention 
is being given to it. 
[again, i'm sick of takingnotes already! ]

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