Reptilesand most fish have hard protective scales on theirskinfor protection, and birds have hard feathers, all made of tough beta-keratins. Amphibianskinis not a strong barrier, especially regarding the passage of chemicals viaskin, and is often subject to osmosis and diffusive forces.
Parasites that live on theskincan be a problem withwild-caught and newly acquiredreptiles. Infestations are best prevented by thorough examination and a period of quarantine for all new animals entering a collection.
Reptileintegument Before reviewing the methods for diagnosing and managing cases withreptileskindisease, it is important to understand the differences between the integuments ofreptilesand domestic species, where most of our understanding for managing these cases arise.
Theconditionof areptile'sskincan be an important indicator of the animal's overall health and well-being and can reflect issues of husbandry, nutrition, and environment. Because it would be impossible to address the subject of dermatology in all 6, 500 or more species of livingreptiles, the following discussion addresses dermatologicconditionsseen inreptilescommonly kept by ...
Bacteriological causes Bacterialskininfections inreptilesare usually the result of systemic diseases or poor husbandry. Clinically, they may present as dermatitis or abscesses. Bacterial pathogens can colonise theskinprimarily or by haematogenous spread. The spectrum of pathogens found inskinlesions inreptilescan vary significantly.
Reptilianskinis covered with scales forming armor that makes it watertight and enablesreptilesto live on land in contrast to amphibians.
Notedreptilevet John V. Rossi, in his chapter on Dermatology in Mader's book,ReptileMedicine and Surgery (pp. 104-117), notes the followingskinconditionsencountered inreptilesthat may be described byreptilekeepers as "lumps", "bumps" or "scrapes".
