Veterinary case
A camel kept bumping into things: a hidden skull mass
⚠️ This information is provided for awareness only and does not replace an examination by a veterinarian.
🤖 Summary produced automatically from the scientific publication cited at the bottom of the page.
A circus camel kept bumping into objects: the cause was a hidden fungal mass inside her skull.
What happened?
This 11-year-old camel, living in a circus, showed worsening nervous signs for about three weeks. She walked compulsively and kept bumping into objects around her. An initial treatment with antibiotics, painkillers and vitamins brought no improvement. As her condition worsened, she was brought in for further examination.
What did the vet find?
On examination, the camel alternated between dullness and agitation, walked compulsively, pressed her head against walls, and held her head tilted. She had many abrasions on her body from repeated collisions. Blood tests showed a mild increase in a kidney marker, while everything else was normal. The veterinarian suspected a brain lesion, and an MRI confirmed a mass compressing the front part of the brain.
What did the vet do?
ℹ️ Treatment given to THIS animal, decided by its veterinarian. It is not a prescription: never apply it without veterinary advice.
Because the brain mass had a very poor prognosis, no curative treatment was possible at this advanced stage. The veterinarian chose euthanasia to prevent further suffering. A post-mortem exam was then performed to understand the cause.
What happened next?
Given the poor prognosis of the mass found inside the skull, the team chose to euthanize the animal. The post-mortem exam confirmed a large fungal granuloma compressing the brain, caused by an Aspergillus-type fungus. A small, unrelated kidney tumor was also discovered incidentally.
Advice for the farmer
When a camel shows persistent nervous signs that do not respond to usual treatments, brain imaging should be considered quickly, so time is not lost in front of a mass compressing the brain.
Source
- Source
- PubMed Central
- Title
- Case report: intracranial fungal granuloma in a dromedary (Camelus dromedarius).
- Authors
- Schmidt ML, Sickinger M, Rickerts V, McCormick-Smith I, Köhler K.
- Year
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12917-026-05391-1
- Licence
- CC BY
