| prevalence of mycoplasma agassizii and chelonian herpesvirus in captive tortoises (testudo sp.) in the united kingdom. | during the months of april to august in 1999 and 2002, oral swabs were collected from 146 tortoises (testudo sp.) in private collections in the united kingdom and tested by polymerase chain reaction (pcr) for the presence of mycoplasma agassizii and chelonian herpesvirus (chhv). the presence of m. agassizii was confirmed by restriction digestion of the pcr product. a 307-bp fragment of the chhv ul5 homologue gene was sequenced and found to show most similarity to equine herpesvirus type 1. a pre ... | 2004 | 15193070 |
| epidemiology and biology of nematodofauna affecting testudo hermanni, testudo graeca and testudo marginata in italy. | tortoises of the genus testudo living in italy are testudo hermanni, testudo graeca and testudo marginata. although a great deal of information has been acquired on the internal medicine and surgery on these animals, little is known of their parasitological fauna. a survey on the presence of gastro-intestinal parasitic nematodes in tortoises bred in italy was carried out to acquire extensive epidemiological data. stool samples of 62 tortoises (37 t. hermanni hermanni, 13 t. graeca, 6 t. hermanni ... | 2005 | 16237575 |
| prevalence of hemolivia mauritanica (apicomplexa: adeleina: haemogregarinidae) in natural populations of tortoises of the genus testudo in the east mediterranean region. | hemolivia mauritanica (sergent et sergent, 1904) infections were found in 14% (n= 14) of testudo graeca linnaeus, 1758 tortoises in bulgaria and in 92% (n = 26) of those in turkey. hemolivia mauritanica-like gametocytes were found in 81% (n = 47) of wild testudo marginata schoepff, 1792 tortoises in greece. parasitaemia intensity (the percentage of infected red blood cells found in approximately 104 cells) was 0.03-22.4% in t. graeca and 0.06-12.27% in t. marginata. on the other hand, all blood ... | 2005 | 16405300 |
| hyalomma aegyptium as dominant tick in tortoises of the genus testudo in balkan countries, with notes on its host preferences. | collection of 1327 ticks sampled throughout greece, bulgaria, romania and croatia, from 211 tortoises belonging to three species, testudo marginata schoepff, t. graeca linnaeus, and t. hermanni gmelin, revealed the presence of four species of ixodid ticks, namely hyalomma aegyptium (linnaeus), haemaphysalis sulcata canestrini and fanzago, h. inermis birula and rhipicephalus sanguineus (latreille). study confirmed the strong dominance of all life stages of h. aegyptium among ticks parasitizing we ... | 2007 | 17237970 |
| cryptosporidium from tortoises: genetic characterisation, phylogeny and zoonotic implications. | cryptosporidiosis is a disease caused by apicomplexan parasites of the genus cryptosporidium, which affect the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals worldwide. in the present study, cryptosporidium isolates from captive european tortoises (testudo graeca, testudo hermanni and testudo marginata) in italy were genetically characterised using gene/s encoding cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein (cowp) and/or the hypervariable segment internal to the ssu rdna. six isolates from t. graeca, t. h ... | 2008 | 18234467 |
| comparison of total calcium, ionised calcium and albumin concentrations in the plasma of captive tortoises (testudo species). | plasma total calcium, ionised calcium and albumin levels in hermann's tortoises (testudo hermanni), spur-thighed tortoises (testudo graeca), marginated tortoises (testudo marginata) and horsfield's tortoises (testudo horsfieldi) were investigated. the animals were captive adults maintained under natural unfiltered sunlight in the uk with no dietary sources of cholecalciferol. analysis of total calcium data showed statistically significant seasonal elevations in females in august compared with ma ... | 2009 | 19850853 |
| detection of anaplasma phagocytophilum in amblyomma flavomaculatum ticks (acari: ixodidae) collected from lizard varanus exanthematicus imported to poland. | adults and nymphs of amblyomma exornatum, a. flavomaculatum, a. latum, amblyomma spp. and hyalomma aegyptium, were collected from savannah monitors, royal python (africa, ghana) and marginated tortoises (europe, greece) imported to poland, in 2004-2007. altogether 345 ticks were examined by polymerase chain reaction for rickettsial agents. none of the tested ticks was positive for the glta gene of rickettsia spp. dna of 16s rrna gene from anaplasma phagocytophilum was amplified and sequenced fro ... | 2010 | 20084536 |
| life cycle of tortoise tick hyalomma aegyptium under laboratory conditions. | the tortoise tick hyalomma aegyptium has a typical three-host life-cycle. whereas its larvae and nymphs are less host-specific feeding on a variety of tetrapods, tortoises of the genus testudo are principal hosts of adults. ticks retained this trait also in our study under laboratory conditions, while adults were reluctant to feed on mammalian hosts. combination of feeding larvae and nymphs on guinea pigs and feeding of adults on testudo marginata tortoises provided the best results. feeding per ... | 2011 | 21431927 |
| detection and characterization of mycoplasma spp. and salmonella spp. in free-living european tortoises (testudo hermanni, testudo graeca, and testudo marginata). | free-living and captive chelonians might suffer from upper respiratory tract disease (urtd), a pathology primarily caused by mycoplasma agassizii. wild tortoises can also be an important reservoir of salmonella spp., which are commensal in the host reptile but are potential zoonotic agents. between july 2009 and june 2010, we screened free-living european tortoises (spur-thighed tortoises testudo graeca, hermann's tortoises testudo hermanni, marginated tortoises testudo marginata) temporarily ho ... | 2011 | 21719840 |
| cryptosporidiosis caused by two distinct species in russian tortoises and a pancake tortoise. | cryptosporidiosis in squamates is well documented, but there is very limited information available on cryptosporidiosis in testudines. we describe three cases of cryptosporidiosis in tortoises with associated pathology. two russian tortoises (agrionemys [testudo] horsfieldii) and a pancake tortoise (malacochersus tornieri), all from separate collections, were found dead. at necropsy, two had histological evidence of intestinal cryptosporidiosis and one had gastric cryptosporidiosis. consensus cr ... | 2010 | 20189312 |
| evidence for a new species of cryptosporidium infecting tortoises: cryptosporidium ducismarci. | cryptosporidiosis affects the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract of humans as well as of a wide range of companion, farm, laboratory and wild animals. in the past few years, three independent studies have provided strong evidence for the existence of a distinct cryptosporidium species affecting tortoises and likely circulating in other reptile species as well. a new cryptosporidium genotype was firstly detected and genetically characterized in a marginated tortoise in italy in 2007 and named ... | 2010 | 20338035 |
| long-term occurrence of hemolivia cf. mauritanica (apicomplexa: adeleina: haemogregarinidae) in captive testudo marginata (reptilia: testudinidae): evidence for cyclic merogony? | blood smears from wild-caught, long-term captive tortoises, testudo marginata, revealed the presence of gametocytes of a hemolivia mauritanica-like hemogregarine in the erythrocytes of 72% tortoises examined. significant parasitemia was also found in animals living several years in captivity. experimentally infected tortoises showed no evidence of a decrease in parasitemia level more than 15 mo after infection. morphologically, stages found in tortoises' erythrocytes were indistinguishable from ... | 2004 | 15715234 |
| phylogenetic relationships among the species of the genus testudo (testudines: testudinidae) inferred from mitochondrial 12s rrna gene sequences. | to test phylogenetic relationships within the genus testudo (testudines: testudinidae), we have sequenced a fragment of the mitochondrial (mt) 12s rrna gene of 98 tortoise specimens belonging to the genera testudo, indotestudo, and geochelone. maximum likelihood and neighbor-joining methods identify two main clades of mediterranean tortoises, one composed of the species testudo graeca, testudo marginata, and testudo kleinmanni and a second of testudo hermanni, testudo horsfieldii, and indotestud ... | 2002 | 11820839 |
| alfaxalone as an induction agent for anaesthesia in terrapins and tortoises. | the aim of this study was to evaluate short-term intravenous anaesthesia with alfaxalone in chelonians. in the first part of the study, alfaxalone at a dose rate of 5 mg/kg was administered intravenously to 10 adult female red-eared terrapins (trachemys scripta elegans) following 24 hours of fasting. the induction time, tracheal tube insertion time, surgical plane of anaesthesia interval, and full recovery time were recorded. the head, neck and leg withdrawal reflex was lost within 21.09±8.07 se ... | 2014 | 24989034 |
| calcium and phosphorus values and their derivatives in captive tortoises (testudo species). | to evaluate the relationships between total calcium and phosphorus and ionised calcium and phosphorus values in clinically healthy tortoises. | 2010 | 20630020 |
| variations in the concentration of ionised calcium in the plasma of captive tortoises (testudo species). | the concentration of ionised calcium was measured in the plasma of 13 hermann's tortoises (testudo hermanni boettgeri), nine spur-thighed tortoises (testudo graeca ibera), two marginated tortoises (testudo marginata) and six horsfield's tortoises (testudo horsfieldi) maintained under natural unfiltered sunlight in the uk. the numbers were too small to analyse the differences between the species, sexes or the time of the year statistically, but the concentrations of ionised calcium were generally ... | 2009 | 19617613 |
| plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol in 22 captive tortoises (testudo species). | the plasma concentration of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol was measured in 13 adult hermann's tortoises (testudo hermanni), seven adult spur-thighed tortoises (testudo graeca) and two adult marginated tortoises (testudo marginata) during 2004. they were healthy, of both sexes, and kept in captivity under natural unfiltered sunlight in southern england with no dietary sources of cholecalciferol. blood samples were taken in march, june and august, and the concentration of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol did ... | 2008 | 18344499 |
| detection of intranuclear coccidiosis in tortoises in europe and china. | intranuclear coccidiosis of tortoises (tinc) has been described in association with systemic disease in various species of tortoises. tinc has been detected in numerous tortoises from the united states, but there are only a few reports from tropical tortoises in germany and no reports from asia. using a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay, samples from 1,011 tortoises were screened for the presence of tinc. samples originated from animals kept in captivity in europe and in china. coccidia ... | 2017 | 28749291 |
| evaluation of pulmonary function in european land tortoises using whole-body plethysmography. | the aim of this study was to evaluate the use of whole-body plethysmography as a non-invasive method to determine the respiratory parameters and profiles in two tortoise species belonging to the genus testudo. pulmonary functions and volumetric parameters were determined in 10 adults of testudo hermanni and in seven testudo marginata animals, using whole-body plethysmography. a profile pattern was regularly observed: an inspiratory flow peak, an expiratory peak, an apnoea phase and a second expi ... | 2012 | 22832080 |
| endogenous development of hemolivia mauritanica (apicomplexa: adeleina: haemogregarinidae) in the marginated tortoise testudo marginata (reptilia: testudinidae): evidence from experimental infection. | six young tortoises testudo marginata schoepff, 1792 were experimentally infected with hemolivia mauritanica (sergent et sergent, 1904). the prepatent period ranged from 6 to 8 weeks. young, smaller, club-like forms (6-9 x 3-6 am) of gametocytes appeared in the peripheral blood first, whereas mature, elongated, cylindrical forms (9-12 x 5-7 am) were detected after 1-2 weeks and predominated during later patency. three of the infected tortoises were euthanized and dissected to study the endogenou ... | 2007 | 17441432 |
| effect of venipuncture site on hematologic and serum biochemical parameters in marginated tortoise (testudo marginata). | blood samples were obtained from the dorsal coccygeal vein and the brachial vein of five adult (four females and one male) and two subadult males of marginated tortoise (testudo marginata) and hematologic and biochemical parameters were compared. significant differences were found for red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, total proteins, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphorus, whi ... | 2003 | 14733278 |