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Detection of Cryptosporidium species in feces or gastric contents from snakes and lizards as determined by polymerase chain reaction analysis and partial sequencing of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene

Cryptosporidiosis is a well-known gastrointestinal disease of snakes and lizards. In the current study, 672 samples (feces and/or gastric contents or regurgitated food items) of various snakes and lizards were examined for the presence of cryptosporidia by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting a part of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene. A consecutive sequencing reaction was used to identify the cryptosporidian species present in PCR-positive samples. Cryptosporidium varanii (saurophilum) was detected in 17 out of 106 (16%) samples from corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) and in 32 out of 462 (7%) samples from leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius). Cryptosporidium serpentis was found in 8 out of 462 (2%) leopard gecko samples, but in no other reptile. The Cryptosporidium sp. “lizard genotype” was present in 1 leopard gecko sample, and 1 sample from a corn snake showed a single nucleotide mismatch to this genotype. Pseudoparasitic cryptosporidian species were identified in 5 out of 174 (3%) ophidian samples, but not in lizards. Other sequences did not show complete similarity to previously published Cryptosporidium sequences. The results stress the importance for diagnostic methods to be specific for Cryptosporidium species especially in snakes and show a relatively high prevalence of C. varanii in leopard geckos and corn snakes.