Trioceros johnstoni bwindi
- Thread starter biffle
- Start date
Mike Fisher
Established Member
Thanks for sharing the necropsy results with us.
pigglett79
Avid Member
I am curious about the necropsy results, did I miss them?
rsepiphyte
Established Member
Guess I missed the results.would you repost them or point me to the area they are posted? Thanks. Ruth
Dr O
Veterinarian
it has been a while....although i've had the typed gross necropsy report for some time, there were several other post-mortem tests that you had done, correct? those i don't have. however, the pancreatic hemorrhagic lesions, thoracic wall hemorrhage, and coelomic exudate noted are perfect examples of the DIC and sepsis i had mentioned as likely involved in his death. and whomever did his fecal examination has some explaining to do----that false negative test result alone may have led to a totally different outcome altogether. it's also why herp vets will certainly check fecals, but rule-of-thumb on imports: deworm no matter the findings. oral fenbendazole, metronidazole, and praziquantel (combined or separate) is insurance that is well worth it!
pigglett79
Avid Member
I hope to hear more about the necropsy and what caused hus health issues and subsequent death. It is always interesting to learn more about what issues others discover.
biffle
Avid Member
I just got the final necropsy last Friday. I will reply with it soon. I just sent it out to be previewed by a few independent vegetarians.
I find it disturbing that Dr.O received and commented on the necropsy before I released it. Is it even legal to share a patient's data without thier consent?
Jason
I find it disturbing that Dr.O received and commented on the necropsy before I released it. Is it even legal to share a patient's data without thier consent?
Jason
Dr O
Veterinarian
i have a copy from the link that you provided several weeks ago (as do several others), before you apparently later deleted that post. all of my comments are from that posting, which you had made public. i have no other "inside information". as my comments are based on your post on this thread, i don't believe that in any way crosses over to what you are insinuating.
Dr O
Veterinarian
no worries, that's kind of you to apologize. on my end i hardly have a day go by w/o someone still emailing me about all this, and i don't have the answers they are asking, nor do i want to perpetuate all the excitement this caused. hopefully most of the "drama" about this case has died down, and we can go back to just figuring out what happened for your's and future owner's sake.
biffle
Avid Member
Here is the Necropsy,
In talking with Dr. Lusk, the most likely scenario is...
He was collected with a moderate but balanced parasite load. During shipping he was exposed directly to his feces which added with stress in causing the balance to turn towards the parasites. The parasites eventually grew to a number where they started doing damage to the intestine walls. The damaged intestine walls leaked bacteria into his blood stream. The bacteria infected all of his organs causing them to be sceptic. Once sceptic, they are delicate and only take a slight pressure to cause them to hemorrhage.
The lesson that I've learned is that it's critical for wild caught imports to keep the time of collection to the time of the first treatment to an absolute minimum.
Jason
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A rare male Virunga, giant morph of Johnston, was presented deceased (appropriately refrigerated) to our hospital on 3/22/2014. It was one of a large number imported from Uganda with stops in Belgium (December 2013) and California before arriving in Austin around March 6th. He was underweight relative to the female and his appetite and activity were reduced. His diet consisted of roaches fed a home-made gut-loaded preparation. There was no record of his weight through the entire period of transit.
On necropsy (autopsy), he was underweight with no external skin abnormalities noted except for his very dark coloration
Radiographs revealed no fractures or dislocations that might explain the rear leg dysfunction that was noted before death and his bone density appeared to be normal.
Abnormal fluid (high specific gravity consistent with infection) was noted upon entering his body cavity and removed for bacterial culture.
Hemorrhages were noted on the serosa (outer area) of his pancreas and on the inner body wall. The latter would be consistent with inflammation from potential body cavity infection.
The small intestine was packed (virtual spaghetti) with flat appearing, white worms consistent microscopically and grossly with tapeworms and fecal material from this area was loaded with tapeworm eggs
Tissue Analysis
17 tissue samples were sent for histopathology to a board certified veterinary pathologist with expertise in reptiles (Zoo/Exotic Pathology Service in Sacramento, CA)
7 were analyzed with the following significant findings:
Heart: numerous bacterial pockets were noted within the heart walls
Intestines: Tapeworms
Liver: multiple areas of tissue death
Lung: pneumonia
Cloaca: nematode worms
Laboratory Analysis
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab:
Bacteria isolated from the fluid in the body cavity:
Salmonella sp
Klebsiella oxytoca
Mixed anaerobes (bacterial that grown in the absence of oxygen)
Fecal sample:
Tapeworms
Summary
The cause of death was likely the spread of bacteria and their toxins through multiple organs via the blood-stream with the heart being especially infiltrated. The infected fluid cultured from the body cavity had multiple bacterial types in it and this explains the hemorrhages (bruising) on the inner body wall and outer portion of the pancreas. The bacterial spread (through the blood) may also explain the death of large portions of the liver. The inflammation due to the bacteria would have increased the risk of clots and such a clot may explain the observed leg dysfunction (paralysis) prior to death.
Rick Lusk
DVM, MS (Chemistry)
Westgate Pet & Bird Hospital
Austin, TX
In talking with Dr. Lusk, the most likely scenario is...
He was collected with a moderate but balanced parasite load. During shipping he was exposed directly to his feces which added with stress in causing the balance to turn towards the parasites. The parasites eventually grew to a number where they started doing damage to the intestine walls. The damaged intestine walls leaked bacteria into his blood stream. The bacteria infected all of his organs causing them to be sceptic. Once sceptic, they are delicate and only take a slight pressure to cause them to hemorrhage.
The lesson that I've learned is that it's critical for wild caught imports to keep the time of collection to the time of the first treatment to an absolute minimum.
Jason
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A rare male Virunga, giant morph of Johnston, was presented deceased (appropriately refrigerated) to our hospital on 3/22/2014. It was one of a large number imported from Uganda with stops in Belgium (December 2013) and California before arriving in Austin around March 6th. He was underweight relative to the female and his appetite and activity were reduced. His diet consisted of roaches fed a home-made gut-loaded preparation. There was no record of his weight through the entire period of transit.
On necropsy (autopsy), he was underweight with no external skin abnormalities noted except for his very dark coloration
Radiographs revealed no fractures or dislocations that might explain the rear leg dysfunction that was noted before death and his bone density appeared to be normal.
Abnormal fluid (high specific gravity consistent with infection) was noted upon entering his body cavity and removed for bacterial culture.
Hemorrhages were noted on the serosa (outer area) of his pancreas and on the inner body wall. The latter would be consistent with inflammation from potential body cavity infection.
The small intestine was packed (virtual spaghetti) with flat appearing, white worms consistent microscopically and grossly with tapeworms and fecal material from this area was loaded with tapeworm eggs
Tissue Analysis
17 tissue samples were sent for histopathology to a board certified veterinary pathologist with expertise in reptiles (Zoo/Exotic Pathology Service in Sacramento, CA)
7 were analyzed with the following significant findings:
Heart: numerous bacterial pockets were noted within the heart walls
Intestines: Tapeworms
Liver: multiple areas of tissue death
Lung: pneumonia
Cloaca: nematode worms
Laboratory Analysis
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab:
Bacteria isolated from the fluid in the body cavity:
Salmonella sp
Klebsiella oxytoca
Mixed anaerobes (bacterial that grown in the absence of oxygen)
Fecal sample:
Tapeworms
Summary
The cause of death was likely the spread of bacteria and their toxins through multiple organs via the blood-stream with the heart being especially infiltrated. The infected fluid cultured from the body cavity had multiple bacterial types in it and this explains the hemorrhages (bruising) on the inner body wall and outer portion of the pancreas. The bacterial spread (through the blood) may also explain the death of large portions of the liver. The inflammation due to the bacteria would have increased the risk of clots and such a clot may explain the observed leg dysfunction (paralysis) prior to death.
Rick Lusk
DVM, MS (Chemistry)
Westgate Pet & Bird Hospital
Austin, TX
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