Bruna's Necropsy report ??????

[tbarthelmess]

Bruna- 1.5 yr old Panther, died on Tuesday.
The vet said she was impacted with a material that looked like coconut fiber that was throughout her GI track, and that the walls of her intestines were thickened. She thought some possible answers were parasites, a viral infection or a tumor. I could only bring myself to listen to the message- so I have not called her back with questions...But - has anyone heard of this problem before?
I absolutely did not have coconut fiber in her cage so I am at a loss!
Any thoughts?
I eventially want to get another panther, so I am trying to avoid any mistakes I may have made with her.
Thanks

 

[Carlton]

Bruna- 1.5 yr old Panther, died on Tuesday.
The vet said she was impacted with a material that looked like coconut fiber that was throughout her GI track, and that the walls of her intestines were thickened. She thought some possible answers were parasites, a viral infection or a tumor. I could only bring myself to listen to the message- so I have not called her back with questions...But - has anyone heard of this problem before?
I absolutely did not have coconut fiber in her cage so I am at a loss!
Any thoughts?
I eventially want to get another panther, so I am trying to avoid any mistakes I may have made with her.
Thanks

Was there any sort of substrate that she could have eaten? Soil? Did she chew on her cage plants at all?

Without knowing what the fiber material actually was hard to say. The vet would have to analyze the material to see if it was undigested feeder remains (chitin, cricket legs, etc), necrotic intestinal tissue, abnormal tissue growth, the actual parasites, or something foreign she ate.

I lost my first veiled many years ago to what I'm sure was long term low level dehydration. He had what we now recognize as classic signs including orange hard urates, ended up with a intestinal rupture and necrosis. His intestines were packed full of partially digested chitin and insect parts. It looked fibery and brown until we picked it apart and realized what it actually was made of.

 

[tbarthelmess]

Thanks for the reply!
There wasn't any substrate she could have eaten, I have a large potted plant- but in a year and a half, I never saw her eat the dirt or the plants.

I guess I should have done more test to find out exactly what it was- too late now.
Would dehydration cause the intestine walls to thicken, or just the impaction itself????

Wishing I was a vet right now!!!!!
Thanks for your help!

 

[Carlton]

Thanks for the reply!
There wasn't any substrate she could have eaten, I have a large potted plant- but in a year and a half, I never saw her eat the dirt or the plants.

I guess I should have done more test to find out exactly what it was- too late now.
Would dehydration cause the intestine walls to thicken, or just the impaction itself????

Wishing I was a vet right now!!!!!
Thanks for your help!

Well then I'd suspect the material was partly digested feeder remains. Maybe the intestinal wall thickening was a response to irritation or because it was trying to reabsorb more water from food. I'm sure one of our vets can chime in. But I have to wonder that unless your vet has looked at lots of cham intestines how would she know what was thickened or normal?

 

[tbarthelmess]

true... i didn't think of that- but she is an exotic pet vet and has been spot on with all other pet visits.