Featured Case Archives

Gingko - Egyptian Uromastyx

Gingko is a beautiful Egyptian Uromastyx who has lived with his owner for 5 ½ years, mostly roaming free in an apartment. His owner brought him here after he noticed that Gingko was eating less and losing weight over a period of several weeks. He was also lethargic and not acting like his usual self.
Gingko
Uromastykes are native to Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia and eat a variety of plants and occasional insects. They love to bask in the sun during the day and can tolerate temperatures up to 120 degrees. They are known for their large, spiked tails, and are often referred to as “spiny-tailed” lizards.

On physical exam Gingko was quiet, but alert. He was moderately dehydrated and had some areas where he was having trouble shedding his skin. Lethargy, decreased appetite, and dehydration are common clinical signs in reptiles that are ill with many different diseases ranging from infections to cancer. It was not until we took an x-ray of Gingko that we were able to figure out what was making him sick.

Gingko - xray

Gingko had a 2cm long foreign object in his digestive tract. The owner did not recognize the object on the x-ray, but because Gingko was loose in the apartment he could have easily swallowed something that was on the floor. Due to the large size of the object, the only option was to surgically remove it from Gingko’s digestive tract.

There are many theories about why reptiles swallow things that aren’t food. Here at the Center we have performed surgery on hundreds of animals suffering from this unfortunate problem. One theory is that in captivity we are unable to provide the exact kind of diet and environment needed by a reptile, so they eat things because of underlying nutritional deficiencies. Sometimes it seems accidental, or may result from curiosity in “tasting” something that looks like food.

Gingko - surgery
Gingko - surgery

Gingko was a very lucky lizard and is now back at home doing well. His owner now knows to keep a much closer eye on him while he is out of his tank. While all reptiles deserve some time out to explore and get exercise, it should be done under direct supervision. When you are not able to be with your pet reptile, they should be housed in a safe and comfortable enclosure. The staff here at the Center is specially trained to answer questions about appropriate reptile enclosures. If you have any questions about lighting, temperatures, humidity, size, and safety of cage accessories please call us and schedule an appointment.

Goldfish Surgery

Riitta is a 2 ½ year old Oranda Goldfish who was brought to our hospital because her owner was concerned that Riitta was unable to find her food and had stopped eating. Oranda Goldfish are known for having a distinctive cap of ornamental flesh on their heads called a Wen. Riitta’s vision had become impaired when her Wen had overgrown to a point where her eyes were completely covered. Troubled for her beloved pet, Riitta’s owner resorted to feeding her by hand to maintain her health.
Riita: before surgery
Riitta’s owner elected to have a cosmetic surgical procedure performed to attempt to restore her vision. The procedure began by setting up multiple tanks with strictly regulated water conditions in which to house Riitta during anesthesia and recovery phases. The anesthesia used was a powder form that was diluted into the water of the surgery tank. This allowed Riitta to be both sedated and pain free during the procedure.
Riita: during surgery
Riitta wasn’t the only one in the surgery tank, so was Dr. Alix Wilson. The whole procedure took place under water! The overgrown tissue was carefully removed using specialized surgical instruments. Fortunately, this tissue is not heavily vascularized, meaning there are not many blood vessels to disrupt, and bleeding was kept to a minimum.
Riita: - during Surgery
Recovery went “swimmingly” for Riitta. Her vision has greatly improved since the surgery and she is able to find her food on her own once again. Her post-surgical care included keeping her tank water exceptionally clean, and required her owner to administer antibiotics by injecting the medication into a pea and hand feeding Riitta the prescription!
Riita: post surgery

Egg Binding in Birds

Egg binding or dystocia refers to a condition in which a female bird has trouble laying an egg. This condition can be life threatening and is unfortunately common in our smaller pet birds (budgerigars, cockatiels, lovebirds, finches, canaries). At the Center we see many cases of egg binding each year, and we believe most of them could have been prevented.

The following xrays are of birds that were seen here this past year and were diagnosed with egg binding. Their owners reported the following clinical signs at home: straining, loss of appetite, weakness, fluffed feathers, difficulty breathing, distended abdomen, and large, wet droppings. If we suspect egg binding, or feel an egg in a bird’s body cavity, taking an xray gives us important information about the size and shape of the egg and where it is located.

Egg binding can occur when an egg is overly large, malformed, broken, joined to other eggs, has a soft shell, or even when the egg appears completely normal. There are many predisposing factors that can lead to egg-binding, but luckily this condition is often preventable. Birds on all seed diets which are deficient in calcium and vitamins have an increased frequency of egg binding. Egg binding is also more common in birds with additional health problems, obesity, lack of exercise, advanced age, poor environmental conditions, and in birds that lay excessive eggs.

In order to prevent egg binding and other serious health issues we recommend that birds have yearly wellness exams. In addition to regular physical exams and health screening, we can guide you on how to properly feed and exercise your bird as well as avoid egg laying behaviors.

Pancake the Bearded Dragon

Pancake, a young bearded dragon, was brought to our hospital because of a problem with his right eye. The lids were swollen and he seemed unable to open or see out of that eye. Despite his compromised vision, Pancake was very active and was still able to hunt insects well using his left eye

Pancake - Bearded Dragon: at the time of his first appointmentOn physical exam, Pancake was in good body condition, but there was a thick, yellow coating on the skin around his right eye, on the right side of his face, and on a small area on his right front leg.

It was obvious that Pancake had some sort of skin infection, but without closer inspection under the microscope it was difficult to tell whether the cause of the infection was bacterial, fungal, or some combination of the two. In order to effectively treat Pancake’s infection, we needed more information. We decided to perform a test called a skin cytology.

Pancake: - CytologyBy gently scraping the diseased skin on Pancake’s face, fixing it to a slide, and staining it, we were able to study his skin under the microscope. This is a photo of what we saw.

Pancake’s skin appeared to be teeming with fungal organisms, and we became suspicious of a condition called Yellow Fungus Disease. Fungal infections can be fatal in young bearded dragons so we were very worried about Pancake. He was immediately hospitalized for treatment. After many weeks of wound care, antibiotics, and antifungal medications Pancake is doing very well! Although his treatments will continue for many more weeks, he has been released from the hospital and is fat and happy with his new owner in Ithaca.

Pancake: - post surgery

Spike Lentini the iguana

Spike is a 1 ½ year old green iguana who presented to our hospital with a decreased appetite and orange-colored urates. (Urates are the typically white portion of reptile eliminations.) He also had not defecated in 4-5 days. Spike was still very active at home and his owners fed him a good diet consisting of 70% dark, leafy greens.

On physical exam, Spike was very bright and alert. “He” had a small head, small dewlap, and small femoral pores characteristic of female green iguanas. Spike’s abdomen was distended and several large masses were felt inside.

We decided to take an xray of Spike’s body cavity.

Egg bound iguana

The xray confirmed that Spike was indeed a female, and she was full of eggs!

Female iguanas can produce a clutch of (infertile) eggs without the presence of a male. These eggs can be laid normally, but can also become stuck. Egg binding, or dystocia, is often difficult to differentiate from a normal pregnancy. Gravid (egg-carrying) females will often stop eating for a 3-4 week period but remain active. While this is considered normal, a quiet and depressed gravid female could indicate a problem.

Spike was still very alert and active so we advised the owners to take her home, provide her with a nest site, and monitor her environment and health daily. There are many reasons why a normal pregnancy can progress to egg binding. Some of the most common causes in captive iguanas are lack of proper diet, less than optimal environmental temperatures, handling stress, improper light sources, and inadequate nesting sites.

After 10 days Spike was slightly less active and her appetite was decreasing. She had been digging in the nest, but no eggs were produced. The decision was made to surgically remove the eggs and Spike’s reproductive tract before she showed any further complications.

The following photos are of the surgery.

Spike Lentiniin surgery

Spike Lentini: - post surgery!