Veterinary Medical Sciences by

I would like to thank Drs. Mark Mitchell, Thomas Tully, and Alma Roy for serving on my graduate advisory committee. Their help and guidance during my studies and the completion of this project are deeply appreciated. I would like to thank the aquatic chelonian farmers of Louisiana for their support of this project. Their financial support and donation of the turtles used in this study were very gracious. I would like to thank Drs. Michael Walden and Rudy Bauer from the Department of Pathobiological Sciences for their help with the necropsy and histologic examinations of the turtles in this study. I would like to thank all of the faculty and staff in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. Their interest and support for my work has made my experience at Louisiana State University better than I could ever have expected. In particular, I would like to thank Ms. Jackie Bourgeois and Mrs. Marlana Roundtree. Ms. Jackie has helped me more during my stay at Louisiana State University than I had a right to ask. Without the help of Marlana, my accomplishments would have been much harder to achieve. I would like to thank all of my friends at the School of Veterinary Medicine, includin