Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in the Northern Tree Shrew (Tupaia belangeri)

Within a 2-year period, 5 adult, single-housed, northern tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri) presented for a range of clinical signs including lethargy, hindlimb lameness, decreased visual acuity, polyuria, and polydipsia. Diagnostic findings, including point-of-care blood glucose and ketone measurements, urine dipstick analysis, insulin, fructosamine, and glycosylated hemoglobin levels, and gross and histopathologic lesions, were consistent with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although spontaneous diabetes mellitus has been reported in other members of the order Scandentia, to our knowledge, this represents the first published case series describing naturally occurring type 2 diabetes mellitus in the northern tree shrew.