HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT OF FREE-RANGING EASTERN INDIGO SNAKES (<i>DRYMARCHON COUPERI</i>) IN GEORGIA, UNITED STATES

Knafo, Steven; Norton, Terry M.; Mitchell, Mark A.; Stevenson, Dirk J.; Hyslop, Natalie L.; Poppenga, Robert H.; Oliva, Marcie; Chen, Thomas; Cray, Carolyn; Gibbs, Samantha E. J.; Durden, Lance A.; Stedman, Nancy; Divers, Stephen J.; Dierenfeld, Ellen S.

doi:10.1638/2015-0127.1

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…One of these individuals died while the other was successfully treated and released (T. Norton, personal communication). Other authors have previously remarked on the abundance of skin lesions in EIS populations in Georgia and Florida [36,49–52]. However, it remains unclear whether the lesions described in the literature are symptoms of ophidiomycosis or some other, more common, skin abnormality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ophidiomycosis prevalence in Georgia’s Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) populations

Chandler¹,

Allender

Stegenga³

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

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Wildlife diseases have posed a significant challenge to the conservation of many species in recent years. Diseases have been implicated in population declines over large geographic areas, with severe disease outbreaks leading to either local or complete extinctions of wild populations. Ophidiomycosis, commonly known as snake fungal disease, is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola , which has been documented in snake populations across the eastern and southern United States. We collected swab samples from the federally threatened Eastern Indigo Snake ( Drymarchon couperi ) in populations across the species’ Georgia range. We used quantitative PCR to determine the presence of O . ophiodiicola DNA and also recorded skin abnormalities characteristic of ophidiomycosis. From 1 September 2016 to 4 August 2018, Eastern Indigo Snakes tested positive for O . ophiodiicola DNA on 47 of 107 occasions (43.9%) and tested negative for fungal DNA but had skin lesions consistent with ophidiomycosis on 42 occasions (39.3%). Symptomatic and qPCR positive individuals were more likely to be encountered during January and February when compared to November and December. We found no effect of sex (p = 0.517), age-class (p = 0.106), or body size (snout-vent length: p = 0.083; mass: p = 0.206; body condition: p = 0.063) on ophidiomycosis status. Over the two-year study, we encountered individuals in which infection was clearly negatively impacting overall health and also documented individuals in which infection apparently cleared from one year to the next. These results demonstrate that O . ophiodiicola and lesions characteristic of ophidiomycosis are widespread in Georgia’s Eastern Indigo Snake populations. However, there are many unanswered questions regarding this disease, including the effects of disease on populations and individuals, the presence of infection vectors, and the change in prevalence over time. More research is needed to address ophidiomycosis and understand its impacts on ongoing conservation efforts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ophidiomycosis prevalence in Georgia’s Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) populations

Chandler¹,

Allender

Stegenga³

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

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“…118 Other studies have described the protein electrophoretogram of the panther chameleon, box turtle, rattlesnake, tortoise species, indigo snake, and crocodile. 22,29,78,79,[103][104][105]107,[119][120][121] Changes in protein electrophoretograms have been described in the clinical investigations of many species. The A/G ratio was reported to be decreased in the common iguana with hepatic, renal, and inflammatory skin diseases.…”

Section: Rep Tilian S Pecie Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Protein electrophoresis of non‐traditional species: A review

Cray

2021

Veterinary Clinical Pathol

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EPH can provide information regarding serum or plasma proteins, including albumin and globulins, that can be broadly classified based on their migration. The globulin fractions can reveal inflammation as well as polyclonal and monoclonal gammopathies. Detection of the latter, also named paraproteins, is one of the most common applications of EPH in human medicine as clinicians have a large toolbox of specific assays for various acute-phase proteins (APPs) that allow them to more specifically gauge inflammation. 1,2 In veterinary medicine, given the advances in species-specific and cross-reactive reagents for major APP in traditional species, including dogs, cats, and horses, these tools can complement the use of EPH in its valid quantitation of albumin and detection of paraproteinemia. [3][4][5][6][7][8] In non-traditional species, including birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, invertebrates, small exotic mammals, and non-domesticated mammals, EPH can also be used as an aid to the diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disease, but its primary use is in the detection of inflammation and polyclonal gammopathies. For many of these species, reagents are not yet available or widely validated to quantitate APPs. The valid quantitation of albumin, a key negative APP, by biochemistry analyzer methods, remains a major issue. Moreover, in non-mammalian species, as innate immunity is perhaps the essential, diverse, and robust immune response, EPH can provide even more value. 9,10 Challenges in the applications of EPH in these special species include a lack of standardization of fraction delimiter placements, RIs, and information regarding fraction composition. This paper reviews the applications of EPH in non-traditional species as well as the currently available methodology. Additional reviews on this subject with a varied focus are also available. [11][12][13][14][15] | APPLI C ATI ON S OF EPH IN NON -TR ADITIONAL S PECIE S | Detection of monoclonal gammopathyAs described in mammals, EPH is a key tool in the detection of paraproteins. 2,3 This application has also been demonstrated in nontraditional species. 16,17 In electrophoretograms of avian plasma,

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“…Unfortunately, due to size restrictions, our baseline sample volumes all fell below 1 ml of plasma and all results were returned as <50 ng/ml. Previous literature has reported plasma vitamin A (measured as retinol) concentrations for various squamates and amphibian species, including green iguanas (Iguana iguana, 52-75 ng/ml), eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi, 9 ng/ml), anacondas (Eunectes murinus, 80 ng/ml), Mississippi gopher frogs (Rana capito servosa, 36-43 ng/ml), marine toads (Bufo marinus, 60 ng/ml), Cuban tree frogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis 83 ng/ml), and Puerto Rican crested toads (Bufo lemur, 130 ng/ml) [25][26][27][30][31][32][33]. To the authors' knowledge, there is no other literature reporting plasma vitamin A concentrations in leopard geckos, or any other insectivorous lizard, so these baseline values either indicate that leopard geckos have lower than average circulating plasma vitamin A concentrations compared to other squamates and insectivorous amphibians or that these geckos were already deficient prior to being included in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digestibility of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) fed to leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)

et al. 2020

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Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae have been marketed as an excellent choice for providing calcium to reptiles without the need of dusting or gut loading. However, previous studies have indicated that they have limited calcium digestibility and are deficient in fat soluble vitamins (A, D 3 , and E). In this feeding and digestibility trial, 24 adult male leopard geckos were fed one of three diets for 4 months: 1) whole, vitamin A gut loaded larvae; 2) needle pierced, vitamin A gut loaded larvae; or 3) whole, non-gut loaded larvae. Fecal output from the geckos was collected daily and apparent digestibility was calculated for dry matter, protein, fat, and minerals. There were no differences in digestibility coefficients among groups. Most nutrients were well digested by the leopard geckos when compared to previous studies, with the exception of calcium (digestibility coefficient 43%), as the calcium-rich exoskeleton usually remained intact after passage through the GI tract. Biochemistry profiles revealed possible deficits occurring over time for calcium, sodium, and total protein. In regards to vitamin A digestibility, plasma and liver vitamin A concentrations were significantly higher in the supplemented groups (plasma-gut loaded groups: 33.38 ± 7.11 ng/ml, control group: 25.8 ± 6.72 ng/ml, t = 1.906, p = 0.04; liver-gut loaded groups: 28.67 ± 18.90 μg/g, control group: 14.13 ± 7.41 μg/g, t = 1.951, p = 0.03). While leopard geckos are able to digest most of the nutrients provided by BSF larvae, including those that have been gut loaded, more research needs to be performed to assess whether or not they provide adequate calcium in their nonsupplemented form.

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HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT OF FREE-RANGING EASTERN INDIGO SNAKES (DRYMARCHON COUPERI) IN GEORGIA, UNITED STATES

Cited by 19 publications

References 43 publications

Ophidiomycosis prevalence in Georgia’s Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) populations

Ophidiomycosis prevalence in Georgia’s Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) populations

Protein electrophoresis of non‐traditional species: A review

Digestibility of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) fed to leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)

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