1Zoo Veterinary Hospital, Zoological Garden, Thiruvananthapuram-695033, India;
2Division of Experimental Pathology, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Poojappura-695012, India
*Address for correspondence Dr Jacob Alexander, Zoo Veterinary Hospital, Zoological Garden, Thiruvananthapuram-695033, India, E-mail: zoovettvm@gmail.com
Online published on 12 October, 2020.
Pathomorphological study in six carcasses of captive indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) was conducted, out of 15 tortoises died in a Zoological Garden during a period of 12 months. The major gross lesions were calculi in urinary bladder, gastroenteritis and cloacal impaction. Histopathological examination revealed moderate to severe degeneration and regenerative hyperplasia with protein cast in tubules of kidneys. Occasional goblet cell metaplasia of renal tubules, fibrosis and concretions in interlobular septum were also observed. Severe chronic gastroenteritis, chronic pancreatitis, myocarditis and pulmonary edema were the frequent extra-renal lesions. The gross as well as histopathological lesions were suggestive of urolithiasis. On evaluation of the feeding practices, a dietary cause was suspected and a change in feeding regimen from a cactus-based fiber-rich diet to long yard beans-based protein diet was observed. The reversal of the feeding schedule contained the mortality.
Chronic pancreatitis, Cloacal impaction, Dietary management, High protein diet
