Enteric bacteria of reptiles on java and the krakatau islands

Abstract

A small survey of faecal bacteria from six species of reptile on West Java and the Krakatau Islands showed that species of Citrobacter were present in 17 out of 19 individual reptiles sampled. Species of Enterobacter, Klebsiella and Pseudomonas were also common but Escherichia coli was rare (present in only 2 out of 19 individual reptiles). Streptococcus faecalis was not detected in any reptile. Species of Pseudomonas were not detected in the faeces of any of the three gecko species sampled ( Gekko gecko, Gekko monarchus and Hemidactylus frenatus ), although they were detected in samples from the other three reptile species ( Mabuia multifasciata, Chrysopelea paradisi and Varanus salvtor ). Species of Citrobacter and Pseudomonas were more common and E. coli less common in reptiles than in mammals (rats and bats) living in the same area. The antibiotic-resistance patterns of the Citrobacter species were not significantly different between islands of the Krakatau group. Citrobacter species from reptiles were more resistant to chloramphenicol (43 % resistant) than those from mammals (8 % resistant). None of the isolates of Klebsiella and E. coli from reptiles was resistant to tetracycline.