Estudo da incidência de endo- e ectoparasitas em répteis do Parque Zoobotânico do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi.

Abstract

The Zoobotanical Park of MPEG, located in the city center of Belém, Pará State, has a rich collection of captive reptiles (mainly snakes, alligators and chelonians), but also some loose reptiles, such as Iguana iguana. The project consists in determining endo- and ectoparasites in these animals and in those coming from donations. Every 15 days the animals are submitted to a preliminary examination, to evaluate their nutritional status, and then the biological samples are examined (feces, blood, and skin scrapings). In newly acquired animals this procedure is done at the time of donation. So far, the following parasites have been detected in donated animals: protozoan parasites of the Balantidium sp genus and Entamoeba invadens (the latter detected only in boa constrictors and anacondas), ticks of the Amblyoma sp genus (except for turtles, racoon and aperemas). Of the 14 tests performed on animals from the collection (boa constrictors, anacondas, yellow and red jabutis, chameleons and alligators) the following have been detected so far: Balantidium sp, nematode of the genus Strongyllus sp (collected during the necropsy of a boa constrictor) and Amblyoma sp.