Effects of extreme high temperaure exposure on Leopard Geckos

Golden Gate Geckos said:

*** UPDATE ***

Dr. Harkewicz has confirmed that the heat victims do indeed have classic MBD. The x-rays show a low bone density, but he was unable to extract enough blood from the ones I left with him to perform a complete panel to determine the blood calcium levels. Two of them dropped their tails from the stress of having blood drawn... poor little babies). I brought him another affected gecko and one that was not exposed to the high heat to try and get blood for comparison.

He still suspects that the exposure to extreme high temperatures has affected the geckos' parathyroid glands (controls calcium metabolism) by either causing it to overwork and thereby diminished the blood calcium, or made the glands stop working.

I will let you all know his thoughts on the blood pH level rising.

I feel terrible about subjecting these little ones to these tests. They have been through so much already...

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I think it's been shown that intense heat can trigger a response where the blood, etc. can become to alkaline. I forget how old this info is or if it's been discredited.

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SFgeckos said:

Marica, I am very sad to hear about the unfortunate accident.

I think the extreme temperature may have affected either (or both) the thyroid and parathyroid glands. I remember reading about studies done on pigs (and possibly chickens and rats?) that conclude that high heat exposure produces modifications and decreased activity in the thyroid gland, mainly resulting in lower levels of T3 hormone concentration. Other effects on pig body organs were increased lipid (VLDL) metabolism in the liver and adipose tissue (LPL activity). I highly doubt there are any studies done on reptiles pertaining to those particular glands.

To make things a bit easier to understand for those who aren't sure what I'm talking about, here is a quick of background on the thyroid gland- it's main function is to regulate the body's metabolism and calcium balance. How does it do this?
The thyroid gland consists mainly of follicular cells which secrete hormones T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine). However, the thyroid tissue also has parafollicular cells that secrete the hormone calcitonin. The hormone calcitonin works together with the parathyroid hormone to regulate calcium levels in the body.

Without going into too much detail, the main purpose of the parathyroid gland is to regulate levels of calcium in the blood and in the bones through the production of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Normally, when the calcium blood levels are high enough, the parathyroid shuts down the production of PTH. The disease mentioned "hyperthyroidism" is when there is over activity of the parathyroid gland and too much parathyroid hormone is produced. This hormone goes into the bones and takes calcium out to put into the blood stream, when there is too much parathyroid hormone produced, there is a serious imbalance (or deficiency) of calcium in the bones. This would definitely cause the symptoms of MBD to occur.

"The x-rays show a low bone density, but he was unable to extract enough blood from the ones I left with him to perform a complete panel to determine the blood calcium levels. Two of them dropped their tails from the stress of having blood drawn... poor little babies). I brought him another affected gecko and one that was not exposed to the high heat to try and get blood for comparison."

=(* hmm...interesting, I wonder what machine Dr. H is using. To run a full panel (for most mammals, I don't work with enough exotics), usually 2 cc's of blood is required and after it is spun down, about 1 cc of serum is needed. However, some newer and more expensive machines only need a few drops of whole blood (2-3 drops) to run some tests. I can't imagine how difficult it is to get blood on a baby gecko! Even if enough blood was taken from the affected geckos, since so much time has pasted already, the body may have returned to normal hormonal/gland activities.

"He still suspects that the exposure to extreme high temperatures has affected the geckos' parathyroid glands (controls calcium metabolism) by either causing it to overwork and thereby diminished the blood calcium, or made the glands stop working."

More than likely, in my opinion, Dr. H is on the right track about the parathyroid, and less than likely (although quite possibly) there could be a situation with the thyroid as well. There just aren't enough studies done on reptiles so even though "reptile medicine" is still in its infancy, I'm glad that the reptile world will be gaining some helpful insight and knowledge through this unfortunate tragedy. I look forward to reading his paper, have a good night- it's almost 3am!



Jon

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SFGeckos said:

I can't imagine how difficult it is to get blood on a baby gecko! Even if enough blood was taken from the affected geckos, since so much time has passed already, the body may have returned to normal hormonal/gland activities.

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SFGeckos said:

More than likely, Dr. H will go for a cardiac puncture or possibly even an abdominal vein? Both are highly risky and require the animal to remain still- but if anyone has the experience and skills to do it - that would be him!

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