Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Dr Kwok · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 130 Location: Selangor

:oops: hello i 'm new here, just want to ask anyone have any experience with aquatic animals. Actually I just did my final year project on penguins, i got my samples from under water world langkawi, and i think the penguins are really unique creatures.
It was the first time i ever touch and hug a penguin. i really enjoy it.
one common disease i learned that they have is bumblefoot.

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:51 pm Post subject:

Nice project on penguin! Oh they have bumblefoot? Like those in the poultry?

Dr Kwok · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 130 Location: Selangor

i m not sure whether like poultry or not. its like a yellow round spherical lesion with rough surfaces just the the ventral of the feet.

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:07 pm Post subject:

I see. Interesting. The microbes that cause the disease must be quite tough to have survive in such a cold environment to infect the penguins. Are you trying to isolate the pathogen(s) that causing the bumblefoot? I'm just curious.

Dr Kwok · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 130 Location: Selangor

Nope, i m just taking blood for haematology and biochemistry parameters. another common disease is aspergilosis like poultry
may i ask what is the aetiological agent for bumblefoot ?

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:08 pm Post subject:

Not sure. Haven't came across penguin disease. A search in PubMed at

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed

and Scirus
http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/

with the search term of "penguin bumblefoot" does not return any scientific article pertaining to bumblefoot in penguin.

Although this site do describe some information about penguin problems in captivity, I'm not so sure of the site's reliability. See here:

http://www.behavior.org/animals/index.cfm?page=http%3A//www.behavior.org/animals/animals_professional_articles.cfm

Anyway, whenever little information can be found in the major scientific databases it means we human do not know much about it. It should be interesting to learn more about the "penguin bumblefoot disease" :-)

Dr Chong · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 666 Location: KL

Nice project! :o Bumblefoot in penguin? :shock: No idea... :wink:

Mytaninn · Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 28

Hi Kwok,

Refer to the bumblefoot, do you think that this is something to do with the 'management' of the bird? I mean, this problem will also incurred in some species of bird especially bird of prey which is known from the 'mismanagement' of the bird.

In the case of BOP, their feet is prone to bumblefoot if they perch on a 'wood' for long time. Therefore, falconry will have special perch for their falcon.

Just my humble opinion. :)

Dr Free · Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 33 Location: ASEAN

I think u are right about the management part. Bumble foot is cause by suppurative bacteria, usually Gram +ve, S.aureus.

If bumble foot and aspergillosis is coming in, then it is usually management problem. May i ask is the water changed regularly or treated?

Another side question, is my coursemate Dr Jacqueline Lusat still there in Langkawi?

Mytaninn · Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 28

Hi Dr,

Since aspergillosis is tend to be more likely to happen in humid and 'warm' environment, is it possible that the Penguin get this?

Dr Free · Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 33 Location: ASEAN

Penguin usually lives in colder climate. Aspergillosis most likely not very prevalent there. Aspergillus spp. as you said correctly, usually more apparent in hot and moist environment. In other words, immunity of the penguin are rather naive or supceptable to it. The spore of Aspergillus spp. is very hard to be eliminated. Water treatment with chlorine can be effective but another question will arise. Would the treated water cause irritation the penguin? Yes i would assume so.

So the next best action would be regular change of water. It will definately reduce the incidence of it. However it can be a costly affair since the water in the gigantic tank needs to be change regularly.

Another method is regular dosing the penguin with antifungal drug. It is a prophalaxis measure. Drug like ketoconazole, itraconazole has been proven to be effective as treatment. However I am not too keen on this method as it doesn't really solve the root of the problem.

From what i know, captive penguin all around the world have problem controlling it as well. I read from the internet, Eddinburg zoo have problem with it from 1964 to 1988. That means they have tried and tested method of over 20 years before it is solved. Perhaps you can liase with other zoos around the world to see how they tackle it.

Please share other findings that you may have. I am also open to discussion on this interesting topic. Btw is Dr Jac still there or another vet have taken over?

Mytaninn · Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 28

Quote: Btw is Dr Jac still there or another vet have taken over? ...

Hi Dr.,

After re-read some of the posting, I think the question is for me right :oops: ... I am sorry, actually I am not from the bird park in Langkawi... maybe Kwok able to give some opinion... :oops: :oops:

btw, I just read that the penguin is breeding... congratulation!

varanus · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 469

Bumble foot is very common in captive penguin, not among penguin. In fact bumble foot is very common among captive birds due to husbandry. Basically it is management problem.

Contaminated water, cages or floor of course contribute to the occurence of bumble foot but the most important factors are flooring and weight. Captive animal has lots of food but minimal exercise, that increase the body weight and reduced some muscle mass. Prolong standing or perching causing increasing amount of stress on the pressure point and contact surface. The bacteria might just be opportunist. Flooring is a major problem. A lot of zoological set up in the world have this problem due to unsuitable flooring and perch. Different birds need different diameter of perch and surface.

Dr Chong · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 666 Location: KL

varanus wrote: Prolong standing or perching causing increasing amount of stress on the pressure point and contact surface. The bacteria might just be opportunist. Flooring is a major problem. A lot of zoological set up in the world have this problem due to unsuitable flooring and perch. Different birds need different diameter of perch and surface.

Is prolong perching or unsuitable perch a factor in causing bumble foot in penguin? Or is more referred to other birds? And do penguins perch? Just curious...

varanus · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 469

Dr Chong wrote: varanus wrote: Prolong standing or perching causing increasing amount of stress on the pressure point and contact surface. The bacteria might just be opportunist. Flooring is a major problem. A lot of zoological set up in the world have this problem due to unsuitable flooring and perch. Different birds need different diameter of perch and surface.

Is prolong perching or unsuitable perch a factor in causing bumble foot in penguin? Or is more referred to other birds? And do penguins perch? Just curious...

In the case of water bird, the problem is not from the perching, but flooring instead like what I mentioned in the earlier post. Quote: Contaminated water, cages or floor of course contribute to the occurence of bumble foot but the most important factors are flooring and weight. Captive animal has lots of food but minimal exercise, that increase the body weight and reduced some muscle mass. Prolong standing or perching causing increasing amount of stress on the pressure point and contact surface. The bacteria might just be opportunist. Flooring is a major problem. A lot of zoological set up in the world have this problem due to unsuitable flooring and perch. Different birds need different diameter of perch and surface.

Just take a look at the type of flooring in the penguin enclosure and compare it to those of the wild. This is not limited to the penguin. Other water bird like flamingo, ibis, pelican, spoonbill... They will have similar problem. Take flamingo for example you see them standing in the water body all the time. But do you realised most of the enclosure with water body have cement flooring which is extremely hard for their foot. In Taipeng zoo, those bird in the savannah enclosure will have less incidence of bumble foot because of the "natural" kind of setup. Walking on the sand, and mud at the edge of water provide a lot of cushing for ther feet.