Beating a dead horse, more urolith studies, it's NOT oxalates

[Kapidolo Farms]

Diagnosis and treatment of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians: 40 cases (1987–2012) Krista A. Keller, DVM; Michelle G. Hawkins, VMD; E. P. Scott Weber III, VMD, MSc; Annette L. Ruby, BA; David Sanchez-Migallon Guzman, LV, MS; Jodi L. Westropp, DVM, PhD Objective—To calculate the prevalence of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians examined at a veterinary teaching hospital and to describe the clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment of urolithiasis in chelonians. Design—Retrospective case series. Animals—40 client-owned turtles and tortoises with urolithiasis. Procedures—The medical record database of a veterinary teaching hospital was searched from 1987 through 2012 for records of client-owned chelonians with urolithiasis. The preva- lence of urolithiasis was calculated for client-owned chelonians examined at the hospital. Signalment and physical examination, hematologic, biochemical, urinalysis, diagnostic im- aging, treatment, and necropsy results were described. Results—The mean prevalence of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians for the study pe- riod was 5.1 cases/100 client-owned chelonians examined. Thirty-one of the 40 chelonians were desert tortoises. Only 5 of 40 chelonians had physical examination abnormalities as- sociated with the urogenital tract. Surgery was performed on 17 chelonians; 5 developed postoperative complications, and 4 of those died. Necropsy was performed on 18 cheloni- ans, and urolithiasis contributed to the decision to euthanize or was the cause of death for 9. Uroliths from 13 chelonians were analyzed, and all were composed of 100% urate. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated chelonians with urolithiasis have various clinical signs and physical examination findings that may or may not be associated with the urinary tract. Hematologic, biochemical, and urinalysis findings were nonspecific for diagnosis of urolithiasis. Many chelonians died or were euthanized as a consequence of urolithiasis, which suggested the disease should be identified early and appropriately treated. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2015;247:650–658)

 

[Tom]

Diagnosis and treatment of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians: 40 cases (1987–2012) Krista A. Keller, DVM; Michelle G. Hawkins, VMD; E. P. Scott Weber III, VMD, MSc; Annette L. Ruby, BA; David Sanchez-Migallon Guzman, LV, MS; Jodi L. Westropp, DVM, PhD Objective—To calculate the prevalence of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians examined at a veterinary teaching hospital and to describe the clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment of urolithiasis in chelonians. Design—Retrospective case series. Animals—40 client-owned turtles and tortoises with urolithiasis. Procedures—The medical record database of a veterinary teaching hospital was searched from 1987 through 2012 for records of client-owned chelonians with urolithiasis. The preva- lence of urolithiasis was calculated for client-owned chelonians examined at the hospital. Signalment and physical examination, hematologic, biochemical, urinalysis, diagnostic im- aging, treatment, and necropsy results were described. Results—The mean prevalence of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians for the study pe- riod was 5.1 cases/100 client-owned chelonians examined. Thirty-one of the 40 chelonians were desert tortoises. Only 5 of 40 chelonians had physical examination abnormalities as- sociated with the urogenital tract. Surgery was performed on 17 chelonians; 5 developed postoperative complications, and 4 of those died. Necropsy was performed on 18 cheloni- ans, and urolithiasis contributed to the decision to euthanize or was the cause of death for 9. Uroliths from 13 chelonians were analyzed, and all were composed of 100% urate. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated chelonians with urolithiasis have various clinical signs and physical examination findings that may or may not be associated with the urinary tract. Hematologic, biochemical, and urinalysis findings were nonspecific for diagnosis of urolithiasis. Many chelonians died or were euthanized as a consequence of urolithiasis, which suggested the disease should be identified early and appropriately treated. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2015;247:650–658)

Thank you Will, but I'm not sure this horse is dead yet...

In the rest of the paper is there info on probable causes or methods of prevention?

31 of 40 were DTs. That matches what I've seen anecdotally too. I wonder what the other species were. I see these most often in DTs, but also Russians and sulcatas. I can't recall seeing a bad case in any other species off hand.

5.1 out of 100 tortoises seen. Man... that's not good.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Thank you Will, but I'm not sure this horse is dead yet...

In the rest of the paper is there info on probable causes or methods of prevention?

31 of 40 were DTs. That matches what I've seen anecdotally too. I wonder what the other species were. I see these most often in DTs, but also Russians and sulcatas. I can't recall seeing a bad case in any other species off hand.

5.1 out of 100 tortoises seen. Man... that's not good.

At a show I did Tom Greek was in the next booth and we talked about this off an on over the weekend. Testudo, Sulcata and north american tortoises seem to be pretty much the whole of the species where uroliths occur. Oddly these are the species ofetn mentioned when they say more tortoise won't drink water. Hmm.

To be honest I did not read the whole paper, you are welcome to, that's why I put the whole citation there.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I read this paper among others when I did some research about bladder stones (my tortoise passed some last month). The numbers were concerning, especially the number that were asymptomatic/were presenting just symptoms that weren't related to urolithis.

DTs and Russians are known to be able to recycle their urine, when no hydration source is available. And many people don't provide them with enough hydration. This leads to no urates being passed and a bladder stone being built up over time. I wonder if this ability is the number one reason for these species being at the top of urolithis statistics.

 

[TammyJ]

Hydration, humidity, diet and space... these seem to me to be the major preventive items of husbandry.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Wow, Tom Greek is our tortoise's vet! Small world.