Diseases of New Zealand Reptiles
There are considerable gaps in our knowledge of the endemic diseases that are present in New Zealand lizards. The area which has received the most attention is the parasites of lizards, but even here the focus of scientific endeavour has, until recently,
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Diseases of New Zealand Reptiles Brett Gartrell
“And so, as this diseased lizard became offensive, yet still living (though not eating), dirtying the others with its discharges, anal now as well as aural, I threw it out into the field” Colenso (1879)
Abstract There are considerable gaps in our knowledge of the endemic diseases that are present in New Zealand lizards. The area which has received the most attention is the parasites of lizards, but even here the focus of scientific endeavour has, until recently, been on taxonomy of parasites rather than on any pathogenic effects on the host. There are gaps in our knowledge of the effects of reptile diseases that are currently exotic to New Zealand but may threaten our native lizard species if they are introduced by smuggling or legal importation. For the first section of this chapter, I report the results of a retrospective review of post-mortem databases held at the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University in New Zealand. Using this information, I identify the major causes of mortality identified in the post-mortem examination of reptiles in New Zealand. Bacterial and mycotic infections were the most commonly identified cause of death for native geckos and tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) and for exotic species of reptiles kept in New Zealand. Renal disease was the most common cause of death identified for native skinks. For the second part of this chapter, I briefly review major diseases and disease agents found in reptiles in New Zealand. Keywords Bacterial infection • Captive reptiles • Gecko • Mycotic infection • New Zealand • Parasite • Skink • Tuatara
B. Gartrell (*) Wildbase, Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 D.G. Chapple (ed.), New Zealand Lizards, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41674-8_8
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Causes of Mortality of Reptiles in New Zealand
While this book is focused on the New Zealand lizards, I have chosen to include disease information on tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) and some exotic reptiles found in New Zealand. The rationale for this is that many of the diseases of these animals will cross into the New Zealand lizards, and secondly, more research has been published on the disease ecology of tuatara and their parasites than for wild New Zealand lizards. The summary results that follow give an indication of the frequency of common types of disease affecting the major groups of reptiles present in New Zealand. However, the reader should keep in mind the biases present in the information presented here. Most of the native reptiles submitted for post-mortem examination in New Zealand are captive animals or are part of conservation programmes involving keeping reptiles in short-term captivity during translocations or for research purposes. The number of wild native reptiles submitted for post-mortem examination is comparatively low. Other limitations of
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