| dc.description.abstract | It is possible to chemically neuter several mammal species with Deslorelin implants. The big advantage of chemically neutering an animal over surgically neutering, is that chemically neutering is reversible. Deslorelin is a gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist and therefore it stimulates the release of both follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). When administered over a long period of time, it will suppress the release of FSH and LH and stop ovulation in some female mammals. Contraception in reptiles is not widely used, but with an increase in reptiles kept as recreational pets, this might change. To research if reptiles can be chemically neutered, female leopard geckos were administered deslorelin implants (suprelorin 4,7 mg from Virbac) intracoelomic and their health was monitored after the procedure. The leopard geckos were then followed up on for 6 months to see if there was egg production. In this study 14 female leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) were used. In 9 female leopard geckos were given a deslorelin implant and 5 geckos were given a placebo implant. The time it took the geckos to recover from the procedure and the complications during the healing progress were also monitored. All 14 geckos recovered completely in 1-4 weeks (mean: 2.43, median 2.00, s.d. +- 0.756). The only complications that were seen, were mild (hematoma (6), some blood loss (4) and inflammation of the insertion wound (2)). After 6 months, all 14 geckos had laid eggs, both the geckos with a deslorelin implant and the geckos with the placebo implants. From these results, it can be concluded that it is safe to administer a deslorelin implant in a female leopard gecko, but that the implants do not prevent the geckos from laying eggs in the six months after administration. | |
