Temporoorbital pulse rate can be obtained in ball pythons (Python regius) of any size and age and agrees with heart rate.

Background: Currently, a standardised technique to obtain pulse rate in reptiles is lacking. We evaluated the feasibility of obtaining a temporoorbital pulse rate in ball pythons of various ages and sizes and whether it agreed with the heart rate.

Methods: Heart rate and pulse rate were recorded in 40 ball pythons (Python regius) weighing between 0.

Cutaneous Lesions in the Gular Region Caused by Feather Follicle Infestation with Harpirhynchidae sp. Mites in Great Crested Flycatchers (Myiarchus crinitus) in New York, USA, 2016-23.

Great Crested Flycatchers (Myiarchus crinitus), migratory passerines with a breeding range throughout the northeastern, midwestern, and southern US, are banded annually at the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, New York, USA. In 2016, a Great Crested Flycatcher was observed with distinct lesions in the gular and ventral neck region, which prompted evaluation for similar lesions in subsequently trapped flycatchers and other passerine species. From 2016 to 2023, 62/102 banded Great Crested Flycatchers had their gular region examined, and seven were found to have lesions (11.

Are Purple Finches () the Next Host for a Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis Epidemic?

Ever since 1994, when the bacterial pathogen jumped from poultry to wild birds, it has been assumed that the primary host species of this pathogen in wild North American birds was the house finch (), in which disease prevalence was higher than in any other bird species. Here we tested two hypotheses to explain a recent increase in disease prevalence in purple finches () around Ithaca, New York. Hypothesis 1 is that, as evolved and became more virulent, it has also become better adapted to other finches.

CHANGES IN TISSUE TROPISM OF MYCOPLASMA GALLISEPTICUM FOLLOWING HOST JUMP.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a pathogen of worldwide economic importance in poultry, is recovered in chickens, especially from the respiratory tract. Some strains, however, are specialized to other tissues and because it jumps from poultry to wild birds, the new strains also cause severe conjunctivitis in new hosts. Nevertheless, most studies of M.