Spinal osteoarthropathy (also known as Charcot's disease) is a rare disease affecting
reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s (including
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s and
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
s) which causes abnormal bone growth on
vertebrae
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...
, giving the reptile a lumpy appearance. The growth of animals with this disease is limited (a
python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
may only grow long), and their life spans are greatly shortene
The movement of reptiles with this ailment appears jittery and wooden, and the head movement will be greatly restricted. The condition worsens as the patient ages; the end result is a reptile fused together by its own bones. They are usually
Euthanasia, euthanized well before this stage, but in general these animals can live their short lives comfortably with little pain.
Spinal osteoarthropathy can also occur in humans.
Human Spinal osteoarthropathy
Causes
Spinal osteoarthropathy is genetic, carried by parents and passed onto their offspring. Another known cause of this disease is a vitamin B12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency, also known as cobalamin deficiency, is the medical condition in which the blood and tissue have a lower than normal level of vitamin B12. Symptoms can vary from none to severe. Mild deficiency may have few or absent symp ...
in the reptile, which can be treated by injecting its food with a vitamin supplement.
Housing
A reptile with spinal osteoarthropathy does not require a large vivarium
A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...
. Like all vivaria it needs to be heated according to the particular reptile's needs, with a dark hiding area (e.g. a log or dark box), normal substrate and clean water for the reptile to access. It is advisable not to have anything too high for them to climb because the reptile's ability to hold onto branches (for example) is restricted; floor space is more important. It is best not to keep them with a tank-mate (especially a healthy one), since bullying may occur.
Feeding
Reptiles with this condition are usually fed small rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s (e.g. mice
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
) which are small, easy to swallow and easily injectable with vitamin supplements.
Animals with this condition find it more difficult to eat (especially snakes, whose bony growths compromise their ability to manipulate food down their throat).
Handling
Handling may be painful and stressful because of their poor body movement and how the bones have grown. Due to the stress, handling should be kept to a minimum.
References
External links
Review of the literature and report on two cases
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinal Osteoarthropathy
Reptile diseases
Snakes