SPINAL NEMATODIASIS IN A LINED FLAT-TAIL GECKO (UROPLATUS LINEATUS)

A 5-y-old female lined flat-tail gecko (Uroplatus lineatus) presented for acute onset of lethargy and paraplegia and was subsequently euthanized. Histologic examination of the spinal cord revealed a verminous myelitis comprising moderate, multifocal, necrotizing myelitis with intramedullary adult and larval nematodes. Molecular data and morphology indicate a cosmocercid nematode, most likely of the genus Raillietnema, a diverse taxon reported to parasitize reptiles, amphibians, and teleost fish. To the authors' knowledge this is the first report of spinal nematodiasis in a reptile species, and the first report of spinal parasitism causing hind-limb paraplegia in a reptile.