{"id":1536919,"date":"2024-10-28T10:43:16","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T09:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laboklin.com\/thyroid-hormones-in-birds\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T13:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T12:23:20","slug":"thyroid-hormones-in-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laboklin.com\/fr\/thyroid-hormones-in-birds\/","title":{"rendered":"Thyroid Hormones in Birds and Reptiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=\u00a0\u00bb2\/3″][vc_column_text css=\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0\u00bb]The diagnosis of thyroid hormone disorders plays a significant role in small animal medicine, especiall in dogs, cats, and guinea pigs. However, birds and reptiles can also exhibit thyroid disorders, often due to causes like thyroiditis or iodine deficiency.
\nHypothyroidism has been reported in various bird species, including grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus<\/em>), amazons, macaws, parakeets, and others.
\nFor instance, a case involving a hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus<\/em>) revealed ulcerative dermatitis and valvular endocarditis (Huynh et al., 2014). Additionally, feather loss, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and non-regenerative anemia have been documented in affected birds (Oglesbee, 1992). On the other hand, hyperthyroidism, often resulting from hormone-producing tumors, is rare in birds.<\/p>\n

Tortoises with hypothyroidism exhibit anorexia, lethargy, and myxoedema of the skin around the head, neck, and forelimbs. Due to the thyroid gland’s location at the base of the heart, swelling in the neck area is rarely observed. Giant tortoises, such as the Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoides nigra<\/em>) and Aldabra tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea<\/em>), are particularly affected. The underlying cause is usually an iodine deficiency in the diet or the consumption of goitrogenic plants, such as pak choi, broccoli, cabbage, and soya. A case of hyperthyroidism has also been documented in a green iguana (Iguana iguana<\/em>), triggered by a thyroid adenoma. This condition led to weight loss, polyphagia, hyperactivity, increased aggression, loss of dorsal spines, tachycardia, and swelling in the neck area (Hernandez-Divers et al., 2001).<\/p>\n

The diagnosis of hypothyroidism in birds and many reptile species can be particularly challenging, as thyroxine levels (tT4) in the blood are typically very low within the normal range. As a result, they often fall below the detection limits of commonly used analyzers (e.g. < 0.12 \u00b5g\/dL). In birds, TSH stimulation tests using bovine and human TSH have also shown success. However, routine TSH measurement is not currently possible due to the species-specific molecular structure, and free T4, T3, and fT3 are rarely determined diagnostically.<\/p>\n

Laboklin has developed an LC-MS method that reliably measures low tT4 levels in birds and reptiles, with a detection limit of < 0.02 \u00b5g\/dL. This method has been tested and validated using blood samples from various species of turtles, lizards, snakes, and psittacids and is now available for routine diagnostics under service number 1089. However, due to the large species variability, no reference values can be provided.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\u00a0\u00bb1\/3″][vc_column_text css=\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0\u00bb]<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t