The Veterinary Record, Vol 140, Issue 11, 282-287
Copyright © 1997 by British Veterinary Association

Review of the literature and investigations on the prevalence and consequences of yeasts in reptiles

¹ Institut für Geflügelkrankheiten der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Frankfurter Strasse 87, 35392 Gießen, Germany
² Staatliches Medizinal-, Lebensmittel- und Veterinärunter-suchungsamt Mittelhessen, Marburger Strasse 54, 35396 Gießen, Germany

Ninety-one reptiles were examined for the presence of yeasts by standard protocols and pathohistological methods. Yeasts were isolated from 42 of the animals. Representatives of herbivorous families (Testudinidae and Iguanidae) carried yeasts more often than animals belonging to carnivorous taxa (Boidae and Emydidae). Yeasts were most often isolated from the gastrointestinal tract, and in 24·6 per cent of cases they could be cultured from the oral cavity and/or cloaca of living animals. Postmortem examination revealed that the intestines of 80·6 per cent of the animals carried yeasts. In all, 56 isolates, belonging to the genera Candida (32), Trichosporon (11), Torulopsis (9) and Rhodotorula (3), and one perfect yeast were obtained. The species included taxa potentially pathogenic to man. However, no sufficiently reliable criteria could be established to prove that positive culture results were associated with disease. In the reptiles examined postmortem, three cases of dermatomycosis were detected histologically. No case of organ mycosis was identified.