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Cloacal Aerobic Bacterial Flora and Absence of Viruses in Free-Living Slow Worms (Anguis fragilis), Grass Snakes (Natrix natrix) and European Adders (Vipera berus) from Germany

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Abstract

Disease problems caused by viral or bacterial pathogens are common in reptiles kept in captivity. There is no information available on the incidence of viral pathogens or the physiological cloacal bacterial flora of common free-living reptiles in Germany. Therefore, 56 free-living reptiles including 23 European adders (Vipera berus), 12 grass snakes (Natrix natrix) and 21 slow worms (Anguis fragilis) were investigated on the island Hiddensee in northeastern Germany. Pharyngeal and cloacal swabs were taken immediately after capture. Bacteriological examination was performed from the cloacal swabs to study the aerobic cloacal flora. Molecular biological examination included amplification of DNA or RNA from adeno-, rana- and ferlaviruses as well as culturing on Russell’s viper heart cells for virus isolation. Salmonella spp. were isolated from European adders but not from the other reptiles examined. The minimal inhibitory concentration was determined from the isolated Salmonella spp. However, some potentially human pathogenic bacteria, such as Proteus vulgaris, Aeromonas hydrophila, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli were isolated. Viruses were not detected in any of the examined reptiles. To the authors’ best knowledge, the present study is the first survey of viral pathogens in free-living snakes and slow worms in Germany and the first survey of cloacal aerobic bacterial flora of slow worms.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the National Park Administration of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, for the kind permission to investigate reptiles on the island of Hiddensee.

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Author notes

  1. Rachel Marschang

    Present address: LABOKLIN GmbH & Co.KG, Steubenstr. 4, 97688, Bad Kissingen, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic for Birds and Reptiles, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 17, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Volker Schmidt, Ronja Mock, Eileen Burgkhardt & Maria-Elisabeth Krautwald-Junghanns

  2. Ornithological Station Hiddensee, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 23, 17487, Greifswald, Germany

    Anja Junghanns, Falk Ortlieb & Irmgard Blindow

  3. Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, National Salmonella Reference Laboratory, Diedersdorfer Weg 1, 12277, Berlin, Germany

    Istvan Szabo

  4. Institut für Umwelt- und Tierhygiene, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 30, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Rachel Marschang

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  1. Volker Schmidt
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Correspondence to Volker Schmidt.

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Schmidt, V., Mock, R., Burgkhardt, E. et al. Cloacal Aerobic Bacterial Flora and Absence of Viruses in Free-Living Slow Worms (Anguis fragilis), Grass Snakes (Natrix natrix) and European Adders (Vipera berus) from Germany. EcoHealth 11, 571–580 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-014-0947-6

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