Avian & Exotic Flashcards
A male lizard is presented for evaluation of recent-onset swelling of the ventral tailbase, adjacent and caudal to the cloacal opening. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Normal enlargement of the hemipenes with sexual maturity, or abnormal debris accumulation (seminal plugs)
What does measuring the anogenital distance tell you in a juvenile rat?
Gender
Which zoonotic pathogen of wild rabbits and rodents may cause cutaneous lesions, respiratory disease or meningitis?
Francisella tularensis (causing ‘‘rabbit fever’’ or tularemia)
What is the average lifespan of pet chinchillas?
10 years (Much longer than that of other pet rodents; some chinchillas are reported to have lived 20 years!)
Inflammation in avians is characterized by mainly caseous exudate, due to minimal amounts of which enzyme in heterophils?
Myeloperoxidase
What are examples of animals that are referred to as chelonians?
Chelonians are the group that includes turtles, terrapins, and tortoises.
What is the most common cause of exophthalmos in rabbits?
Abscess - Usually tooth root. Less commonly, neoplasia.
This gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog is used in medical treatment of adrenocortical disease in the ferret.
Leuprolide acetate
Which one of the following is absent in snakes?
A) 12 pairs of cranial nerves (like mammals)
B) Gastroesophageal sphincter
C) 2 kidneys
D) Pancreas
B) Gastroesophageal sphincter
If respiratory signs are present in passerines or budgies, you transilluminate the trachea looking for evidence of what?
Mites
What is ‘‘ophthalmia neonatorum’’ of ferrets?
Infection of the unopened eyes of kits
A turtle is presented for evaluation of a mass protruding from the cloaca. What are the most common ddx?
Penile prolapse, urinary bladder prolapse, cloacal prolapse, colonic prolapse, or prolapse of the oviduct.
In birds, dysfunction of which body system is most likely to cause green urates?
Hepatic.
Green, bile-stained urates may be observed in feces during liver disease. Birds lack biliverdin reductase and form biliverdin instead os bilirubin as the primary breakdown product of heme.
Which serum biochemical parameter is the best indicator of renal disease in birds?
Uric acid.
It is the end product of nitrogen catabolism in birds. Other causes of hyperuricemia include ovulation and postprandial.
Besides mosquito bites, name 2 other routes of transmission of West Nile virus in birds.
Consumption of infected animals, ingestion of infected mosquitoes, close contact between birds.
What is the average litter size for guinea pigs?
2 to 4 (a range of 1-13 young has been reported)
What are the usual cause of, and best treatment for, bumblefoot in caged birds?
Pododermatitis (bumblefoot) is usually caused by poor captive environment.
Proper perches, good nutrition, and if necessary, bandaging with or without debridement, are indicated.
Which tendon may be cut in order to pinion a bird (prevent it from flying…)?
Extensor carpi radialis tendon
In a pet bird with an unknown dietary history, you notice incidentally on radiographs that the long bones have very thin cortices. There are no fractures. Is this more likely to be normal or an early marker for metabolic bone disease?
Usually normal.
Normal healthy bird bones usually have very thin cortices compared to those of mammals, at least partly because of the intramedullary air sacs.
What is the most common cause of dyschezia and hematochezia in young ferrets?
Coccidiosis
What is the normal pre-surgical fasting interval for a rabbit?
2-4 hours, or not at all.
Why may excessive handling of fish lead to heavier external infections with pathogens and possible life threatening ulcerations in the skin?
Excessive handling disrupts the mucous layer of the epidermis which protects it from the environment.
This coronaviral disease of chickens produces respiratory signs, often followed by renal disorders (with pale, swollen kidneys) and reproductive dysfunction.
Infectious bronchitis
Name one family or species of snake that is naturally herbivorous (exclusively vegetarian).
None. All snakes are either carnivorous or omnivorous.
What is the typical lifespan of pet guinea pigs?
5 to 6 years
What is the most common cause of diarrhea in chinchillas?
Inappropriate feeding
Which normal process in rabbits is an important oral source of protein and vitamins B and K that does not require the rabbit to eat more food?
Coprophagy
Which organism causes disease in turkeys classically characterized by vertebral lesions (‘‘Crooked neck’’) and shortening, bowing, and torsion of the tarsometatarsus?
Mycoplasma meleagridis
What are the differential diagnoses for a soft shell in a pet turtle?
Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism, bacterial infection, fungal infection, trauma, normal (softshell turtles - Apalone spp.)
What is the composition of ‘‘red tears’’ (chromodacryorrhea) shed by rats when they are stressed?
Porphyrin secretion by the harderian glands
How do you distinguish a ferret’s ileum from its jejunum on gross examination?
You can’t! They have a duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, but no visible distinction between each. They also lack a cecum and ileocolonic valve.
Which virus, for which Macaque primates are the natural host, is a well-documented cause of fatal neurotropic infections in humans?
Herpes V virus (simian herpesvirus)
Antibiotic-associated enterotoxaemia in guinea pigs is a sequela of intestinal overgrowth of which bacterium?
Clostridium difficile
The presence of eosinophilic intranuclear inclusions in respiratory and conjunctival epithelium is pathognomonic for which disease of chickens?
Infectious laryngotracheitis
Why is heparin the preferred anticoagulant in birds and reptiles as opposed to EDTA?
The blood from some birds and reptiles hemolyzes when collected in EDTA.
What are the veterinary terms for the crop and the gizzard in birds?
Crop: Ingulvies (Jabot)
Gizzard: Ventriculus
The operculum of fish reared in captivity is often deformed. How would this affect the health of the fish?
Respiration would be impaired, and the gills would be more susceptible to infection, parasitism and physical damage (the operculum is the covering of the gills of a fish).
Which gastrointestinal disease of ferrets if classically associated with prolapsed rectum and tenesmus?
Proliferative bowel disease
An adult box turtle has a circumscribed, firm subcutaneous swelling in the cranial neck, ventral and caudal to the eye. The diet is not nutritionally balanced. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Aural abscess
The dermatophyte most commonly isolated from guinea pigs and chinchillas is:
Trichophyton mentagrophytes