Necropsy Photos

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NEERA'S NECROPSY

Neera was an estimated 8 year old female green iguana. She was abandoned by her owner at a local zoo and showed signs of advanced MBD including paralysis of her hind legs and little strength.

After rigorous therapy Neera was not improving and was in great pain, so it was decided the best course of action would be to euthanize her.

Wondering if she was perhaps egg-bound, we decided the best course of action was to perform a Necropsy to determine if she was egg-bound or if something else was causing her pain.

The resulting necropsy determined that Neera also suffered from Gastro-Intestinal (GI) Stasis.

We can not be sure if the GI Stasis was caused by the paralysis evident in her hind legs or a prior impaction or blockage.

Neera was loved and cared for right up to the last minutes of her life and her death taught us a great deal about rehabilitation for advanced MBD stricken iguanas.

We began by documenting Neera's measurements. Neera was 16" SVL and 43" STL.

Next, we made an incision caudally to open the main body cavity. You can clearly see the body fat (beige) and liver (dark red) in this picture.

Opening the main body cavity, you can clearly see the the liver exposed (dark red).

With some of the body fat removed, you can see the full bladder underneath (lower-center of image).

Once we removed the bladder from the body cavity, by inverting it outward, it was apparent how full the bladder was. This was what we were feeling when we gently squeezed her stomach (feeling in vain for eggs). Her stomach was round and full and very soft.

This next picture clearly showed what had happened. In the picture you can see the intestines, they are full and impacted with feces (the clear tube looking thing with dark lumpy pieces inside). The intestines were full from the cloaca all the way up through the large and small intestines and up as far as we could see into the chest.

This new picture clearly shows the impacted intestine.

This picture shows just how large the bladder was.

This is the large intestines. Hopelessly blocked up with feces.

This next shot clearly shows the extent of the blockage in her intestines.

Having performed and documented the Necropsy, we consulted with several Iguana folks to make the determination of GI Stasis. Neera was laid to rest properly afterwards.

Even in death, Neera was able to teach us many things about iguana behavior and physiology. Her full, round belly was due to the full bladder, her thrashing from side to side was likely due to her impacted bowels and her inability to defecate properly. While she was indeed bouncing back from the advanced MBD, her accompanying intestinal problems would have taken her life eventually as she turned septic form the extreme back-up.