[NigelMoses]

I figured this would prove useful to those keeping phantasticus or simply Uroplatus in general. I recently lost two CB seemingly healthy female phantasticus. Both showed no signs of distress or any outward appearances leading to their deaths other than there eye lashes drooping a couple days before they passed.

Female 1 was one year old and Female 2 was 18 months.

Necropsy Findings done by a Vet that specializes in Herps:

Female 1 died from egg yolk coelumitis. Basically two eggs ruptured inside of her causing inflammation and infection. From my understanding there is absolutely nothing to prevent this from happening. The animal will also not show any outward signs other than not eating, however since she was housed with multiple females it was hard to discern if she was eating. In outward appearance she appeared in good weight.

It seems that reproductive complications can be a huge cause for the so called mysterious death in female Uroplatus. This is also a great finding because when the keeper seems to think that they did something wrong to an otherwise healthy animal it was actually something that could not be prevented as it just happens.

Female 2 did not have any ruptured eggs but did have a liver that was unusually large, pale and blotchy. The doctor believes it could be a bacterial or viral infection. At this time a tissue sample is being sent out to conduct an histology of the tissue. I will keep everyone updated as to the findings on the tissue. Other than the liver, this gecko was perfectly healthy, the vet concluded that the other organs seemed normal, she had a perfect weight and a healthy amount of fat deposits.

All in all it made me feel much better as I initially thought what in the hell did I do wrong when in fact it seems these things just happen. Hopefully I can learn from this and others that are reading this thread will learn as well.

Thanks for listening.

[rhacoboy]

Hi Bruce,
Sorry for your losses, I know that must be tough.

Thank you for the information, this is very interesting and I look forward to the updates.

-Armen

[pakinjak]

Thanks for the info, Bruce. I think it would be helpful if more of us committed to getting a necropsy done when we lose animals mysteriously. I'll be interested to hear about that liver.

[DragonsMaelstrom]

Sorry for your loses. With regards to the one with the ruptured eggs, as you said, at least you know there was nothing you could have done to prevent it.

[Jim]

Thanks for sharing, it makes us ALL more educated.....jim

[cricket4u]

Just thought this is something worth reading. Pathology found muscular microsporidiosis in a Uroplatus henkeli.

Muscular Microsporidiosis in a Gecko

It seem most geckos do poorly with fat and so we must be careful with fat soluble vitamins aside from food.
PMID: 10572873 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Five cases of xanthomatosis in geckos were evaluated, one in a northern green gecko (Naultinus grayi) and the remaining four in three species of leaf-tailed geckos (two Uroplatus henkeli, one U. sikorae, one U. fimbriatus). All geckos were females 3-11 yr of age, were clinically ill on presentation, and either died or were euthanized. Necropsies showed emaciation in three geckos, with white nodular foci on coelomic surfaces in two of these geckos. The other two geckos had no gross abnormalities. Histopathologic examination revealed xanthomatosis involving the coelomic surfaces of four geckos and the ventricles of the brain in all geckos. Xanthomas in the brain were associated with various degrees of hydrocephalus. The lesions were comprised of stacks of clear clefts consistent with cholesterol crystals, and these structures were surrounded by epithelioid macrophages, multinucleated giant cells, and lymphocytes. Four geckos had active folliculogenesis, and two had foci of follicular degeneration and localized yolk coelomitis. In all cases, xanthomatosis was believed to have contributed significantly to morbidity and mortality.

Sorry for your loss

[NigelMoses]

Finally have the results of my histology. It was a form of bacteria most likely from the environment or food source. Great news though it is not contagious, so I thoroughly cleaned out the existing viv to hopefully fix the problem. According to the vet it was most likely something that caused the bacteria to go into overload and compromised the animals immune system. All of the remaining CB phantasticus are doing great.

[thorrshamri]

Extremely interesting, thanks for this post!
I am just wondering if the egg disruption inside the coelomic cavity of your first female could have been caused by a mechanic shock such as a jump against the terrarium walls?

[NigelMoses]

Originally Posted by thorrshamri

Extremely interesting, thanks for this post!
I am just wondering if the egg disruption inside the coelomic cavity of your first female could have been caused by a mechanic shock such as a jump against the terrarium walls?

Could be but from my understanding the type of reproductive issue that was discovered is extremely common with female Birds and Reptiles. It would be great to find out an underlying cause but in my best guess it just seems some animals are better meant to reproduce. Survival of the fittest.

[jadrig]

Hey Bruce, the female that died with the reproductive problem...were there any males in here enclosure?