29th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the
Desert Tortoise Council, February 20-23, 2004
Abstracts

Necropsies of Six Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) from California

Elliott R. Jacobson¹ and Kristin H. Berry^2
1Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
²U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Moreno Valley, CA

Five male and one female desert tortoises (DT), Gopherus agassizii, were received at the University of Florida during 2002-2003 from Edwards Air Force Base, CA (n=1), Riverside County, CA (n=1), and San Bernardino County, CA (n=4), for complete evaluations. Five were salvaged alive and one was found dead in the field. Evaluations included hematology, plasma biochemicals, and urinalysis on live tortoises and full necropsies on all tortoises. Of the 6 DT, five had clinical signs and microscopic lesions of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD). Of the four live tortoises with URTD, all were ELISA positive for exposure to Mycoplasma. And using PCR, Mycoplasma agassizii was confirmed in the nasal cavity of four tortoises. Of the five live tortoises, one tortoise was ELISA positive for exposure to tortoise herpesvirus using two herpesvirus as antigens in the assay and three were ELISA positive with only one of the two antigens used in the assay. Using PCR, herpesvirus sequences were found in the brain of three tortoises. One tortoise that had URTD also had certain changes in the liver indicative of a possible toxic exposure. The tortoise submitted dead had lesions in the kidney supportive of renal failure. Another tortoise had crystals in the kidney and thyroid that were similar in appearance to oxalate; plasma biochemical findings for this tortoise were supportive of a diagnosis of renal failure. Two tortoises had an unusual proliferative pneumonia with hyperplasia of smooth muscle fibers in the interstitium of the lung. The principle investigator has not previously seen these unique changes.