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"There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief." – Aeschylus
Location: Romania
I was mainly lurking around on the forum and thought this might help others in need. So here is my story.
My anery Red Tegu, Burduf, is gone.
About 7 months ago, in August 2024, he started showing signs that something was off, with apathy, staccato movement and general fatigue. A first set of bloodwork suggested something off with the liver and gallbladder and treatment was administered accordingly, but his condition continued to deteriorate.
Coproparasitological exams identified a high protozoa count.
Ultrasounds, X-rays and a new set of bloodwork were performed, this time suggesting an infection. A severe one.
A whole-body CT-scan revealed severe osteolysis of the right humeral joint and 2 pathological fractures of vertebrae. An ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration of joint fluid was performed, followed by cultures and cytology.
The diagnosis was a disease described only last year in tegus: Humeral Head and Vertebral Osteomyelitis with multidrug-resistant Salmonella sp. ( Vilanova et al. Vertebral Osteomyelitis in a Black Spiny-Tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) and a Red Tegu (Salvator rufescens), 2023 - https://meridian.allenpress.com/jhm...rtebral-Osteomyelitis-in-a-Black-Spiny-Tailed ).
Cytology ruled out the differential diagnosis of osteosarcoma or another kind of malignant tumor.
The working theory is that the protozoa proliferation in the intestines lead to a sub-occlusive intestinal syndrome with 7 days of constipation. The intestinal walls became more permeable and Salmonella managed to get into the bloodstream, leading to transient sepsis and eventually determine osteomyelitic lesions in the humerus and vertebrae.
Aggressive antibiotic treatment, daily supportive care and force-feeding, massage, baths, subcutaneous fluid infusion and pain management were administered for 2 months. The plan was to eradicate the infection and eventually replace the humeral joint with a custom-made synthetic one.
Dr. Med. Vet. Carina Ziegler went above and beyond and offered her expertise on a daily basis, as the long hours, days and weeks went by.
Hemocultures were drawn and revealed the presence of Pseudomonas sp., sensitive to the administered antibiotics.
There was a brief moment of hope when Burduf started to eat again by his own, started to become more active and curious again to explore. But that hope was short-lived and his condition degraded more rapidly afterwards.
A fungal infection, most likely due to the aggressive antibiotic treatment, was observed at the regular coproparasitological exams and treatment was started.
After finishing the 2 month-long treatments, a new set of bloodwork was performed: the infection, although slightly improved, was still there.
X-rays revealed a further degraded humeral joint and a gastroscopy under anesthesia revealed peteshiae lesions, with mucus and gastric stasis.
At this point it was clear that we would only unnecessarily prolong his terrible suffering and he was humanely euthanized at the age of merely 3 years and 3 months, on the 3rd of November 2024.
At the necropsy and histopathological examination, it became even clearer that multiple organs were affected and several hundred milliliters of bloody fluid were extracted from the abdominal cavity.
I am forever grateful for the exhausting help Dr. Med. Vet. Carina Ziegler and Dr. Med Vet. Măcinic Mihai have provided during this time. They gave him a real chance at survival, but in the end, there was nothing more to be done.
Hope you are roaming free somewhere out there, Burduf. You will be forever missed.
Location: Romania
I was mainly lurking around on the forum and thought this might help others in need. So here is my story.
My anery Red Tegu, Burduf, is gone.
About 7 months ago, in August 2024, he started showing signs that something was off, with apathy, staccato movement and general fatigue. A first set of bloodwork suggested something off with the liver and gallbladder and treatment was administered accordingly, but his condition continued to deteriorate.
Coproparasitological exams identified a high protozoa count.
Ultrasounds, X-rays and a new set of bloodwork were performed, this time suggesting an infection. A severe one.
A whole-body CT-scan revealed severe osteolysis of the right humeral joint and 2 pathological fractures of vertebrae. An ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration of joint fluid was performed, followed by cultures and cytology.
The diagnosis was a disease described only last year in tegus: Humeral Head and Vertebral Osteomyelitis with multidrug-resistant Salmonella sp. ( Vilanova et al. Vertebral Osteomyelitis in a Black Spiny-Tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) and a Red Tegu (Salvator rufescens), 2023 - https://meridian.allenpress.com/jhm...rtebral-Osteomyelitis-in-a-Black-Spiny-Tailed ).
Cytology ruled out the differential diagnosis of osteosarcoma or another kind of malignant tumor.
The working theory is that the protozoa proliferation in the intestines lead to a sub-occlusive intestinal syndrome with 7 days of constipation. The intestinal walls became more permeable and Salmonella managed to get into the bloodstream, leading to transient sepsis and eventually determine osteomyelitic lesions in the humerus and vertebrae.
Aggressive antibiotic treatment, daily supportive care and force-feeding, massage, baths, subcutaneous fluid infusion and pain management were administered for 2 months. The plan was to eradicate the infection and eventually replace the humeral joint with a custom-made synthetic one.
Dr. Med. Vet. Carina Ziegler went above and beyond and offered her expertise on a daily basis, as the long hours, days and weeks went by.
Hemocultures were drawn and revealed the presence of Pseudomonas sp., sensitive to the administered antibiotics.
There was a brief moment of hope when Burduf started to eat again by his own, started to become more active and curious again to explore. But that hope was short-lived and his condition degraded more rapidly afterwards.
A fungal infection, most likely due to the aggressive antibiotic treatment, was observed at the regular coproparasitological exams and treatment was started.
After finishing the 2 month-long treatments, a new set of bloodwork was performed: the infection, although slightly improved, was still there.
X-rays revealed a further degraded humeral joint and a gastroscopy under anesthesia revealed peteshiae lesions, with mucus and gastric stasis.
At this point it was clear that we would only unnecessarily prolong his terrible suffering and he was humanely euthanized at the age of merely 3 years and 3 months, on the 3rd of November 2024.
At the necropsy and histopathological examination, it became even clearer that multiple organs were affected and several hundred milliliters of bloody fluid were extracted from the abdominal cavity.
I am forever grateful for the exhausting help Dr. Med. Vet. Carina Ziegler and Dr. Med Vet. Măcinic Mihai have provided during this time. They gave him a real chance at survival, but in the end, there was nothing more to be done.
Hope you are roaming free somewhere out there, Burduf. You will be forever missed.
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