Lsm. Diniz et al., CLINICAL DISORDERS IN ARMADILLOS (DASYPODIDAE, EDENTATA) IN CAPTIVITY, Journal of veterinary medicine. Series B, 44(10), 1997, pp. 577-582
The major health problems found in 113 armadillos are presented and co
rrelated with management in captivity. The most common of 217 recorded
clinical disorders involved injury (28.5%), digestive system (17.9%),
respiratory system (15.2%), nutritional deficiency (13.3%), skin prob
lems (3.6%), septicaemia (1.8%), nervous system (1.3%), urinary system
(0.9%) and effects of environmental (0.9%), with 14.7% of the cases i
nconclusive. Internal parasites were identified in 42.0% of faeces sam
ples, mainly eggs of helminths (66.6%), of which the commonest were An
cylostoma sp. (33.3%), Strongyloides sp. (30.5%), Ascaris sp. (25.0%),
Trichuris sp. (11.1%), and also protozoa (13.0%). Enterobacteriaceae
were the bacteria most frequently isolated, with Escherichia coil the
most prevalent, followed by Salmonella sp. and Enterobacter aerogenes.
The most successful treatments are listed. The influence of some capt
ive factors on the onset of the diseases was also analysed: donated an
imals 91.1% and zoo born 8.8%; quarantine enclosure 84.0% and exhibiti
on 15.0%; and related to time in captivity, 92.2% occurred with animal
s in the first 6 months in the zoo and 7.8% with animals more than 6 m
onths.