• Cause: causes of diarrhea in reptiles range from infections such as protozoal, bacterial, or viral infections, to inflammatory conditions such as gastrointestinal ulceration. Poor diet and temperature provision can also be contributing factors to developing dysbiosis and diarrhea.
• Signs: acute or chronic diarrhea and may be mild or severe. Drooling, vomiting may accompany in advanced stages, nausea, lethargy, anorexia, fecal staining of the vent and hind legs, coelomic distension, dehydration, sudden death.
• Diagnosis: clinical history, dietary review, clinical examination findings, fecal analysis, blood work including complete blood cell count and biochemistry, diagnostic imaging, histopathology, post-mortem.
• Treatment: dependent on cause.
• Prognosis: dependent on cause and time of presentation, can range from good to poor. 

Presenting signs

• Acute, chronic or intermittent diarrhea ranging in color and consistency.
• Loose, unformed feces are common in many reptile species and normal fecal appearance for that species should be differentiated from diarrhea. It is also important to differentiate diarrhea from polyuria given the common vent outlet for feces and urine.
• Tenesmus.
• Open mouth breathing or gasping due to coelomic distension and pain.
• Coelomic distension.
• Nausea and drooling.
• Vomiting.
• Anorexia.
• Weight loss.
• Young animals may be failing to thrive.

Acute presentation

• Sudden onset diarrhea: animal may either be well or present collapsed due to dehydration.
• Coelomic distension in non-shelled reptiles.
• Nausea and drooling.
• Overall good body condition score and well kept.
• May or may not have a short history of anorexia.

Geographic incidence

• Worldwide.

Age predisposition

• Parasitic disease is more commonly seen in younger as well as wild or wild-caught reptiles.
• Neoplastic conditions are more common in older individuals.

Public health considerations

• Reptiles are a common carrier of Salmonella which carries a zoonotic risk to humans.
• Balantidium coli infections Flagellate / ciliate infection may rarely affect people.

Cost considerations

• Cost of initial stabilization in a collapsed animal including hospitalization, intravenous fluid therapy Fluid therapy and medication.
• Cost of consultation, usually repeat checks are needed.
• Cost of diagnostic investigations such as fecal flotation Fecal flotation Fecal smear, culture and sensitivity, blood analysis Hematology, biopsy Biopsy overview and diagnostic imaging.

Special risks

• Animals presented dehydrated and collapsed will need to be stabilized before undergoing investigations under anesthesia.