Chronic liver disease and subchronic nephritis in a male warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) with transient hyperglycaemia – case report

Abstract

A two-year old male warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) weighing 160 g was presented for veterinary examination following 4 weeks of decreased ability to catch insects with the tongue and difficulty in swallowing the prey. Non-invasive endoscopy did not reveal any macroscopic changes of the oral cavity mucosa or the cranial part of the esophagus. Dorsoventral and laterolateral plain and contrast radiographs revealed enlargement of the medial part of the liver without any visible abnormalities in the regions of the esophagus, stomach or small intestine. Abnormalities in the plasma chemistry profile included transient hyperglycaemia (52.68-57.18 mmol/l) and hyperuricaemia (452.70-622.20 μmol/l). The chameleon was examined at 7, 20 and 22 weeks after initial examination. Its body weight decreased to 120 g. A blood profile revealed normoglycaemia (16.37-10.22 mmol/l) and hyperphosphataemia (2.92-3.06 mmol/l) at the last three examinations. The chameleon died suddenly 33 days after the final examination. Necropsy revealed the presence of a large liver cyst, filled with fluid. The liver had lost all of its normal structure. The kidneys showed a large area with fibrosis and multiple uric acid tophi. The post mortem findings were defined as liver with fatty degeneration and moderate fibrotic changes with large cyst, subchronic nephritis with uric acid tophi, and mineralization in the myocardium. This paper describes the first documented case of transient hyperglycaemia in a warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) associated with chronic liver disease and subchronic nephritis. Reptiles, kidneys, hepatic failure, glucose, plasma chemistryA limited number of studies have described nutritional and metabolic diseases of chameleons (Kik 1995;Knotek et al. 2008). A tentative diagnosis of chronic liver disease could be considered in reptiles (including chameleons) if blood profile analyses reveal a transient hyperglycaemia and the possible influence of stress could be ruled out (Frye 1991). This study describes the first documented case of transient hyperglycaemia in a warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) associated with chronic liver disease and subchronic nephritis. Materials and MethodsA two-year old male warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) weighing 160 g was presented for veterinary examination following 4 weeks of decreased ability to catch insects with the tongue and difficulties in swallowing the prey. Nutrition and husbandry practices in the owner's collection of different species of chameleons and agamid lizards were considered above average to excellent based on the history. The diet consisted of different species of invertebrates mixed with mineral dust and vitamin powder. The owner reported restricted motility of the chameleon's tongue.Physical examination revealed a good body condition, but a decreased level of activity of the chameleon. Abdominal palpation showed a residual content in the gastrointestinal tract, gentle external palpation of the body near the pelvic region excluded renomegaly. After the ...

PLASMA BIOCHEMISTRY AND HEMATOLOGY REFERENCE VALUES OF CAPTIVE PANTHER CHAMELEONS (FURCIFER PARDALIS) WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON SEASONALITY AND GENDER DIFFERENCES

“…3 Several authors reported high Glu in context of diseases as suggested in a case report with a warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) suffering from nephritis and in a female F. pardalis suffering from hepatic lipidosis, although the authors of the latter study do not exclude physiologic lipidosis. 10,27,29 Hyperglycemia has also been reported in reptiles with pancreatitis. 29 Because Glu was comparably high in studies with clinically healthy wild C. chamaeleon, disease as the only reason for elevated Glu appears doubtful.…”

“…10,27,29 Hyperglycemia has also been reported in reptiles with pancreatitis. 29 Because Glu was comparably high in studies with clinically healthy wild C. chamaeleon, disease as the only reason for elevated Glu appears doubtful. In the present study, chameleons showing signs of disease before, during and weeks after venipuncture were excluded from reference values.…”

“…33 With increasing numbers of captive chameleons, veterinarians face the challenge to diagnose diseases. 27,29 Hematology and blood chemistry reference values exist for several commonly kept reptile species but are almost completely lacking for the panther chameleon. 2,22,42 The only existing panther chameleon reference values have been collected by the International Species Information System (ISIS) from individuals of unknown background.…”

Location has a significant effect on body condition and blood parameters in the eastern longneck turtle (Chelodina longicollis)

“…Interpretation of the disparity in uric acid and bile acids between the two turtle populations is difficult due to the uncertainty of the clinical significance of these metabolites in reptiles. Although an increase in bile acids has been demonstrated in a variety of species with chronic liver disease (Girling and Fraser 2011;Knotek et al 2011aKnotek et al , 2011b, this is not a consistent finding in all reptiles with substantial hepatic pathology (Giuseppe et al 2017). Similarly, the validity of uric acid as a method for assessing renal function in reptiles is questionable due to the fact that it is neither sensitive nor specific for renal disease and may increase in association with severe dehydration, a recent carnivorous meal or decreased temperature (Heatley and Russell 2019).…”