144 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1964 



intestine. This problem was further complicated by the presence of 

 a large number of fringed and diphyllobothrium tapeworms and in- 

 testinal flukes, as well as numerous strongyloides. Treatment vras 

 instituted immediately to relieve the parasitic infestation of the baby 

 rhino, Rajkumari, with excellent results, and her growth has been 

 quite satisfactory. 



On March 4, 1964, the director of the National Zoological Park 

 returned from Djakarta, Indonesia, with a pair of Komodo dragons 

 {Varanus komodoensis) . The male dragon was 8 feet 11 inches long 

 and weighed approximately 200 pounds. The smaller female was 6 

 feet long and weighed 75 pounds. The first fecal samples harvested 

 following their arrival revealed a heavy infestation of protozoa with 

 ameboid-like nuclei. On May 21 the large dragon became affected 

 with severe gastric cramps which were relieved by the injection of 

 atropine sulfate, but it died the next day. An intensive autopsy was 

 performed, and the cause of death was established as intestinal and 

 extraintestinal amebiasis. Histopathological sections were made from 

 tissues harvested during the autopsy. Outstanding degeneration was 

 noted in the liver, in which no functional tissue could be found; it 

 consisted entirely of a mass of ameboid-like cysts. This has been 

 reported only once in literature and much more extensive studies are 

 being conducted by the veterinary division in cooperation with the 

 Parasitology Department of George Washington University Medical 

 School and the staff of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology to 

 determine the incidence of such liver cyst occurrence in our available 

 lizards. 



With the assistance of Dr. Thomas Sappington, an internal medicine 

 specialist in Washington, a research program is being developed in 

 the incidence and extent of tissue damage caused by amebae in lizards. 

 This will include a study of the blood picture, parasite history, and 

 possible liver damage caused by amebiasis in the monitor lizard. 



A 6-day treatment of the female Komodo dragon consisted of re- 

 tention enemas of 200 cc. of physiological saline, containing 650 mg. 

 of diodoquin, and intramuscular injections of 500 mg. of tetracycline. 

 In the meantime, tests were being conducted on Varanus salvator to 

 determine the lizard's tolerance of 0.0325 mg. of intramuscular emetine 

 hydrochloride as an effort to arrest the extraintestinal amebiasis. This 

 test continued for 6 days with no apparent side effects. After estab- 

 lishing the safety of the drug, the Komodo dragon then received the 

 same dosage. The results were a marked reduction in the number of 

 amebae and flagellates in the stool. 



Studies are continuing in the hope of finding a more satisfactory 

 parasiticide for use in various species of mammals, birds, and reptiles. 

 Ambutochloride has been used in canines, as well as reptiles ; thiaben- 



