Reptile Laboratory Animal Medicine – Key Vocabulary

Set of key vocabulary flashcards covering reptile biology, husbandry, clinical techniques, diseases, and surgery as presented in the lecture notes.

# 1 reason reptiles are seen in practice

• Diseases related to poor husbandry

• Nutrition

• Improper housing

• Lighting

• Temperature
  

Ectotherm

An animal that relies on external heat sources to regulate body temperature.

Preferred Optimal Temperature Zone (POTZ)

The range of environmental temperatures in which a reptile’s metabolic functions operate most efficiently.

Fossorial

Referring to organisms that primarily live underground.

Anesthesia/Surgery

Patient prep

• Normal respiratory rate for most reptiles is 10-20 bpm IPPV should be done 4-6 times a minute

• Anesthetic monitoring

• As snakes become anesthetized, relaxation progresses from cranial to caudal

• During recovery motor function returns in the opposite direction

• The righting reflex is lost early during anesthetic induction

• In snakes when the tongue is pulled from the sheath & retracts indicates surgical plane

• If tongue withdrawal is lost they are too deep

celiotomies

Surgical procedures that involve opening the abdominal cavity for examination or treatment.

Salmonellosis

• most recognized reptilian zoonosis

• Zoonotic significance 1^st reported in 1963 when 7 mon. infant contracted the disease from a pet turtle.

• Over 2000 serotypes – some host specific

• Symptoms in humans = abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, dysentery, nausea, vomiting, fever.  In young children, meningitis, brain abscess.

• Organism shed in feces intermittently

Ecdysis

The process of shedding the outer layer of skin; occurs in one piece in snakes and patches in lizards.

Dysecdysis

Abnormal or difficult shedding of the skin, often due to poor husbandry such as low humidity.

R lung is > half the body length

L small non-functional (85% smaller)

Viviparous

Describes animals that give birth to live young instead of laying eggs.

Oviparous

Describes animals that lay eggs, with embryonic development occurring outside the mother's body.

Ovoviviparous

Describes animals that produce eggs that hatch within the body, giving birth to live young.

Vomeronasal Sense

• (Jacobson’s organ)

• Detects particles of odor transmitted from the tongue

• Aids in detecting prey

Clinical Techniques

Medication Administration

• IV

–Tail vein

–Heart

–Palatine vein

• SC

–Between scales (easier when coiled and can see skin folds)

• IM

–Epaxial muscles

–Lateral muscle groups

–Needle is placed between the scales

• ICe (intracoelomic)

–Avoid anatomical structures, use lower quadrant

–Fluids given ICe should be warmed

Gila Monster

Only poisonous lizard in the US

Lizard Eyes

• Movable eyelids/nictitating membrane

• Stationary eyelids/clear spectacle

• Chameleons—Eyes move independently

Lizard Eyes

• Visible as an opening in most species

• Tympanic membrane

  • Clear

  • Scaled and not visible

Autotomy

The voluntary release of the tail as a defensive mechanism; common in many lizard species.

Chromatophore

Pigment-containing cell in reptile skin that allows color change for camouflage or communication.

Parietal Eye

Light-sensitive ‘third eye’ on the top of the head in some lizards, aiding hormone production and thermoregulation.

Cloaca

Common chamber in reptiles that receives fecal, urinary, and reproductive products before elimination.

Coprodeum

The anterior portion of the cloaca that stores feces.

Urodeum

Middle section of the cloaca that receives urinary waste (and reproductive products in females).

Proctodeum

Final cloacal chamber leading to the vent for elimination.

Turtle order

Chelonia

Turtle

• aquatic or semi aquatic

• Exception is the box turtle

Tortoise

terrestrial

Terrapins

semiaquatic hard-shelled

Hemipenes

Paired copulatory organs located in the base of the male lizard and snake tail.

Cloacal Probing

Technique for sexing snakes by measuring the depth a probe can be inserted into the hemipenal pockets.

Celiotomy

Surgical incision into the coelomic cavity of reptiles (equivalent to laparotomy in mammals).

Intracoelomic (ICe) Injection

Administration of fluids or drugs directly into the coelomic cavity.

Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD)

Skeletal disorder caused by calcium/phosphorus imbalance, vitamin D3 deficiency, or insufficient UVB light.

Salmonellosis

Zoonotic bacterial infection commonly carried and intermittently shed by reptiles, especially turtles.

Inclusion Body Disease (IBD)

Serious viral disease in boas and pythons characterized by neurologic signs and intracytoplasmic inclusions.

Paramyxovirus

Respiratory virus of snakes that can cause pneumonia and neurologic signs.

Pentastomiasis

Parasitic infection of the reptile respiratory tract caused by tongue worms (Pentastomids).

Gout

Condition in which uric acid crystals accumulate in organs or joints, often from dehydration or high-protein diets.

Dystocia

Difficulty in laying eggs or live young; often called egg binding in reptiles.

Paraphimosis

Prolapse of hemipenes that cannot be retracted, leading to swelling and tissue damage.

Shell Rot

Infection of turtle or tortoise shell scutes; classified as dry (fungal/bacterial) or wet (hemorrhagic, bacterial).

Aural Abscess

Pus-filled swelling behind the tympanic membrane of turtles, often due to vitamin A deficiency.

Stomatitis

Inflammation of the oral cavity (“mouth rot”), frequently caused by bacterial infection secondary to stress or injury.

Tail Whip

Defensive behavior in which lizards use their tails as weapons to strike predators or handlers.

Thermal Gradient

A range of temperatures within an enclosure that allows reptiles to thermoregulate behaviorally.

Ultraviolet B (UVB) Light

Wavelength of light (290-320 nm) required for cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D3 in reptiles.

Ventilation (in husbandry)

Air movement within an enclosure that helps regulate temperature and humidity while preventing respiratory disease.

Ectoparasite

Parasite such as mites or ticks that lives on the external surface of the host.

Nuchal Bone

Median bone at the anterior margin of a turtle’s carapace.

Carapace

Dorsal (upper) portion of a turtle or tortoise shell.

Plastron

Ventral (lower) portion of a turtle or tortoise shell.

Scute

Keratinized scale covering the bony plates of a turtle shell.

Jugular Vein (Chelonians)

Preferred site for venipuncture in turtles and tortoises because of easier access and larger size.

Subcarapacial Sinus

Blood collection site located at the dorsal midline beneath the anterior carapace of chelonians.

Cardiocentesis (Snakes)

Blood sampling technique in which a needle is inserted directly into the heart under restraint or anesthesia.

Ventral Tail Vein

Common venipuncture site along the midline of the underside of a reptile’s tail.

Ketamine

Injectable dissociative anesthetic widely used in reptiles, though often requiring higher doses than in mammals.

Telazol

Combination anesthetic (tiletamine + zolazepam) that provides rapid induction useful for intubating reptiles.

Propofol

Ultra-short-acting injectable anesthetic increasingly favored for induction in reptiles.

Righting Reflex

Ability of a reptile to flip itself from dorsal to ventral recumbency; loss indicates deepening anesthesia.

Autogenous Heat (Endothermy)

Internal heat production; absent in reptiles, which are ectothermic.