Reptiles and Amphibians Q&A 19

This necropsy specimen is of a tortoise’s forelimb incised in sagittal section. The tortoise had been reluctant to walk.

Question	Answer		Article
What is your diagnosis?	Periarticular gout.		[[|Link to Article]]
Had this tortoise lived, how would you have treated this condition?	Increase the tortoise’s hydration by feeding moisture-laden food – for example, soft fruit. Decrease sources of dietary animal protein. Administer allopurinol orally (10–15mg/kg daily). Allopurinol will only reduce the amount of urate salts produced by the liver; it does not diminish the urates already deposited in and around the joints and in other sites. Small (0.10–0.75mg/kg) oral doses of aspirin will provide some relief from the pain associated with gout, but may predispose the tortoise to gastrointestinal irritation and bleeding.		[[|Link to Article]]