Fireflies Toxic To Exotic PetsApril 17, 2009 Fireflies might prove a fatal snack to exotic reptiles, according to a health alert released by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Animal Poison Control Center (APCC). Veterinarians should alert pet owners and advise them to take steps to prevent both the intentional or accidental ingestion of these common insects, the center reported. Based on a handful of reports from reptile owners, symptoms of poisoning quickly follow a lizard's ingestion of fireflies. These symptoms include head shaking, oral gaping, unsuccessful attempts at regurgitation and a darkening in color. The symptoms usually appear within 30 minutes of ingestion, and death might follow within the hour. Death is thought to be a result of heart malfunction. "A single firefly would have a very high probability of resulting in death," says Dr. Steve Hansen, board-certified veterinary toxicologist and director of the APCC. The warning is being issued to amphibian and bird owners as well. In addition to the lizard cases, fatal poisonings in tree frogs have been documented. In another instance, a bird that ingested a firefly regurgitated it but did not die, says Hansen. The health alert is based on about a half-dozen …
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Nutritional Problems In ReptilesApril 17, 2009 Without a doubt, health problems arising from an inadequate diet are one of the major concerns in herpetological medicine. The key to managing nutritionally related diseases is to be familiar with the natural history of specific species. In ectothermic animals the metabolic processes governing digestion are dependent on environmental factors, mainly temperature. If these environmental factors are not optimal, even a perfectly balanced meal could go to waste because of inadequate digestion. The class reptilia can roughly be divided into three nutritional groups: herbivores, omnivores and carnivores. Each of the groups has their own set of typical problems with different manifestations. Knowing to which nutritional category the affected species belongs, will help establish the differential diagnosis. Discussion of the following diseases will be organized according to the nutritional group of reptiles in which the disease is most likely to be seen. However, any disease may be found in nearly any species. Generally, the diseases related to nutrition can be roughly divided into two groups: either caused by a deficiency or a toxic overdose of a certain nutrient. Anorexia, Starvation Anorexia is probably one of the most common presentations of an affected reptile to the clinician. In …
