Vol. 12 No. 2 (2020): Archives of Public Health
Public Health

Identification of the microflora from the oral cavity of exotic snakes kepth as pets

Marko Naumovski
Faculty of Medicine, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
Ivamaria Jovanovska
University of Audiovisual Arts ESRA, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
Kakja Popovska
Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
Vesna Velikj Stefanovska
Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
Gordana Mirchevska
Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

Published 2020-07-16

Keywords

  • non-venomous snakes,
  • pets,
  • oral cavity,
  • microbiome

How to Cite

1.
Naumovski M, Jovanovska I, Popovska K, Velikj Stefanovska V, Mirchevska G. Identification of the microflora from the oral cavity of exotic snakes kepth as pets. Arch Pub Health [Internet]. 2020 Jul. 16 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];12(2):56-63. Available from: https://id-press.eu/aph/article/view/5272

Abstract

In recent years, snakes have become suitable pets for people with little spare time. By buying these animals people ignore the fact that they carry many microorganisms that are pathogenic for humans. The idea of ​​this study was to identify the microorganisms from the oral cavity of exotic snakes kept as pets in the Republic of North Macedonia, which can help in the treatment of bite infections if they occur. The study comprised 30 snakes of 9 species, from 3 families of non-venomous snakes: Pythonidae, Boidae and Colubridae. Snakes are part of the 5 largest collections of exotic snakes in the Republic of North Macedonia. Only one swab from the oral cavity was taken from each snake. The brushes were cultured and microscopically analyzed at the Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology at the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje. From 59 isolated microorganisms from the oral cavity of 30 exotic snakes, 37.3% were Gram-positive bacteria, 61.01% were Gram-negative bacteria and 1.69% were fungi. Of the total number of microorganisms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was predominant with 27.11%, Providencia rettgeri / Proteus vulgaris with 18.64% and KONS / Micrococcus luteus with 16.94%. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was present in all three snake families, with 62.5% of the snake in the fam. Pythonidae; 50% in the fam. Boidae and 50% in the fam. Colubridae. The isolate Providencia rettgeri / Proteus vulgaris was most frequently found in the fam. Colubridae with 71.43%, followed by fam. Pythonidae with 12.5%, but was not isolated in any specimen of the fam. Boidae. The microbiome of the non-venomous snakes is composed of Gram-positive bacteria in healthy snakes, but also in snakes kept in inadequate hygienic conditions. Gram-negative bacteria were predominant, of which the most significant was the presence of multiple drug resistance Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Snakes as pets require proper knowledge of terms and conditions.

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