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Rhino Horn???
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by MoccasinMan on June 16, 2006
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I have a P. reticulatus, locality Kayuadi Island that was imported through the Bali Zoo approximately 9 mths ago. The animal was treated for internal parasites twice by the importer in CA. The animal was in country for 5mths before I came into possession of it. Once I received it I treated it twice for both internal and external parasites. The fecals have been neg. The animal has developed a fairly dramatic bump at the intersection of the 4 large scales that come together just above the nostrils and heat receptors. this condition has persisted for approximately 30 days. It looks similar to a rhino horn. I have a friend who has an animal that he received from the same importer, different locality, that is displaying the same condition. The importer has admitted that other animals have displayed the same condition, but he does not know what causes it. The animals are otherwise in good condition and feeding. Has anyone had experience with this condition? Can anyone tell me what it is?
Andrew
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RE: Rhino Horn???
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by Cro on June 17, 2006
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Andrew: I have been doing some research on what might be causing the problem on the Retic, in three very good Vet Books.
I am finding that there are a bunch of different things that could cause the problem you are seeing. It could be caused by bacteria, fungi, parasites, viral agents, or could be neoplastic.
Many of the bacterial, fungial, and viral problems can cause inflammatory responses that can create the skin growth that you are seeing.
It will probably require the services of a vet who can do microscopic studies of the tissues involved, and do cultures to know for sure what you are dealing with.
You could do a ``shotgun`` approach, and hope you hit the correct target with anti-viral, bacterial, and fungal medications. However, there are problems with this, as some wrong medications actually cause some diseases to progress faster.
Unfortunatly, in many of these types of disease, the problem on the ``surface`` is often just a part of many other internal problems that have damaged other internal organs, and the outcome is often fatal.
Neoplasia are well known in boid snakes, but less likely than a bacterial problem. These can be leukemia related, and spread through the lymphatic system. In this case, the surface problem you see is just part of a much larger internal problem. Often snakes with skin tumors also have tumors in the kidney, liver, and lungs. When the surface growth is surgically removed by a vet, it often comes back a few months later, but it is worth a try. Very difficult to treat if it has spread past the surface skin damage to internal organs.
Another possibility, and perhaps the most likely, is that the problem is an Bacterial Abscess of some type. This is actually quite common in reptiles. These often contain a pus, but some are just fibrous connective tissue. Gram negative Bacteria are often found in these abscesses. That is where a vet might come in handy to take culture samples. This type of problem is sometimes associated with exposure to trama, ecto-parasites, bark bedding, excess dampness, and malnutrition. Treatment for this problem involves draining pus, or excising fiberous tissue. A strong Gram-Negative Anti-Biotic treatment follows the excising / draining of the growth. Usually, this type of infection can be cured if treated early enough.
Another possibility is Mycobacterial Infection. It is fairly rare in reptiles. It causes skin lesions and growths, and usually other internal organs are affected as well. This disease is often fatal, and there is really no treatment.
Fungal disease is a possibility, and is often associated with low environmental temperatures and damp substrates and fecal contamination. Again, a culture is needed to diagnose this disease. If the problem is fungal, treatments like tolnaftate, miconazole or keroconazole topical ointments are used after excisning the growth.
I wish I could be of more help, but what you really need to do is get the animal or a tissue sample to a vet or a college vet school for culture. Once you know what the growth is made up of, you can treat it.
If you decide to treat it yourself based on the high probability that it is a Gram-Negative Bacterial Problem, then treat for that internally, and topicaly on the growth itself. You could insert a needle and try to drain any pus, or excise the growth if it is solid and fiberous.
Hope this helps and hope the Retic gets better.
Best Regards JohnZ
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