Acta Vet. Brno 2011, 80: 397-400
Chronic liver disease and subchronic nephritis in a male warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) with transient hyperglycaemia – case report
A two-year old male warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) weighing 160 g was presented for veterinary examination following 4 weeks of decreased ability to catch insects with the tongue and difficulty in swallowing the prey. Non-invasive endoscopy did not reveal any macroscopic changes of the oral cavity mucosa or the cranial part of the esophagus. Dorsoventral and laterolateral plain and contrast radiographs revealed enlargement of the medial part of the liver without any visible abnormalities in the regions of the esophagus, stomach or small intestine. Abnormalities in the plasma chemistry profile included transient hyperglycaemia (52.68–57.18 mmol/l) and hyperuricaemia (452.70–622.20 μmol/l). The chameleon was examined at 7, 20 and 22 weeks after initial examination. Its body weight decreased to 120 g. A blood profile revealed normoglycaemia (16.37–10.22 mmol/l) and hyperphosphataemia (2.92–3.06 mmol/l) at the last three examinations. The chameleon died suddenly 33 days after the final examination. Necropsy revealed the presence of a large liver cyst, filled with fluid. The liver had lost all of its normal structure. The kidneys showed a large area with fibrosis and multiple uric acid tophi. The post mortem findings were defined as liver with fatty degeneration and moderate fibrotic changes with large cyst, subchronic nephritis with uric acid tophi, and mineralization in the myocardium. This paper describes the first documented case of transient hyperglycaemia in a warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) associated with chronic liver disease and subchronic nephritis.
Keywords
reptiles, kidneys, hepatic failure, glucose, plasma chemistry.
