Literaturdatenbank
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Di Girolamo, N., Delogu, M., & Selleri, P. , Is tortoises’ pyramidal growth related to a variation in bone density? Paper presented at Proceedings 2012 International Conference on Reptile and Amphibian Medicine.
Added by: Admin (06 Jan 2014 18:24:19 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: DiGirolamo2013 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Emydidae, Ernährung - nutrition, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises, Trachemys scripta, Untersuchungsmethoden - examination method, Veterinärmedizin - veterinary medicine Creators: Delogu, Di Girolamo, Selleri Collection: Proceedings 2012 International Conference on Reptile and Amphibian Medicine |
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| Abstract |
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Testudinidae Pyramidal growth is a syndrome of unknown etiology that frequently affects captive-raised tortoises (Wiesner and Iben, 2003). The literature anecdotally suggests that causes of pyramiding may include overfeeding, rapid growth rates, high protein diets, calcium or vitamin D deficiency, or an improper calcium:phosphorous ratio in the diet (McArthur and Barrows, 2004; Ritz et al., 2009). The authors found that pyramiding was observed more frequently in tortoises in which hibernation was skipped, and in tortoises fed with vegetables against tortoises fed with wild plants (Di Girolamo et al., 2011). Previous studies proved that dietary supplementation of calcium and phosphorus does not induce pyramidal growth in Trachemys scripta (Stancel et al., 1998) and that elevated humidity of vivaria prevents this pathology (Wiesner and Iben, 2003). The objective of the present study is to compare bone density in healthy tortoises and in tortoises suffering pyramidal growth. For this purpose seventeen animals presenting pyramidal growth and nine clinically healthy animals have been scanned by use of dexa technique. The tortoises affected from pyramidal growth presented higher bone mineral density and bone mineral content (P < 0.0001, Student t-test for unpaired samples). Although Gerlach (2004) suggested that calcium deprivation results in pyramiding, the present study underlines the presence of higher bone mineral content in tortoises presenting pyramiding. The permanent scutes of the Hermann’s tortoise physiologically show growing rings forming pyramidal, step-like structures in the carapace, or lamellate but flatter scutes in the plastron (Alibardi, 2005). The authors suspect that in a similar way, tortoises presenting accelerated growth rates tend to accumulate bone tissue in the center of the scutes, which provokes the pyramidal growth. This findings corroborate the anecdotic relationship between bone calcium status and pyramiding. In addition, also considering that higher calcium intake led to enhanced digestibility of calcium in Hermann’s tortoises (Liesegang et al., 2007), we suggest supplementing calcium cautiously in the diet of Hermann’s tortoises.
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