Bacteria Isolated from the Oral and Cloaca Swabs of Lizards Co-habitating with Poultry in Some Poultry Farms in Ibadan,

Reptiles like lizards can carry bacteria agents in their digestive tract without manifesting any associated symptom other than serving as sources of contaminating the environment and of infections to human and animal. In this study a total of 20 species of bacteria including Salmonella enterica, Esherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa among some other Enterobacteria were isolated and identified from 193 mouth swabs, and 193 cloaca swabs sampled from 193 Agama agama lizards co habituating with poultry from 8 commercial poultry farms in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The bacteria were isolated and identified based on standard cultural, morphological, biochemical methods and the use of MICOBACTR identification kit. Based on the free access and close contacts of Agama agama lizards to the poultry environment, feed and water supply in many poultry houses in Nigeria and particularly in the studied area, they could be sources of contaminating the environment, poultry feed and water with the potential pathogenic bacteria identified from the mouth and cloaca swab sampled