Exotics Flashcards

1
Q

reptile key anatomy

A
  • regulate body temp externally
  • chelonia shell has nerves and blood supply
  • no diaphragm
  • air is drawn in by body movement
  • single body cavity (coelom)
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2
Q

assessing the reptile

A
  • hide illness well
  • weight (environment dependant)
  • resp rate (difficult to see)
  • defecation/urination
  • activity
  • shedding
  • environmental temp
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3
Q

blood sampling of lizards

A
  • ventral tail vein (advance until you hit bone then pull back a bit)
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4
Q

blood sampling of snakes

A
  • ventral tail vein (tricky)
  • cardio-centesis
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5
Q

blood sampling of chelonia

A
  • right jugular
  • subvertebral sinus (underneath dorsal shell)
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6
Q

fluid therapy of chelonia

A
  • soaking
  • oral
  • intracoelomic
  • epicoelomic (cranial insertion above plastron)
  • subcutaneous
  • Iv
  • intraosseous
  • 10-30ml/kg/day
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7
Q

assisted feeding

A
  • stomach tube/oesophagostomy tube
  • electrolytes and amino acids
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8
Q

analgesia

A
  • difficult to assess
  • NSAIDs and opiates
  • meloxicam usually safe (ensure hydrated)
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9
Q

parasites

A
  • wet prep or faecal floatation
  • worms (ascarids and strongyles)
  • protozoa (flagellates and ciliates)
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10
Q

common medical presentations

A
  • anorexia (environmental)
  • impaction
  • metabolic bone disease
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11
Q

metabolic bone disease

A
  • imbalance between Ca and PO and lack of vit D3
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12
Q

clinical signs of metabolic bone disease

A
  • shell deformity
  • fractures
  • rubber jaw
  • weakness
  • muscle tremors/seizures
  • bones not as dense on x-ray
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13
Q

metabolic bone disease treatment

A
  • UV light
  • Ca and vit D supplementation
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14
Q

abscesses

A
  • usually solid
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15
Q

dysecdysis

A
  • difficult shedding
    snakes- retained spectacle
  • provide humidity
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16
Q

mouth rot

A
  • usually caused by shedding disease
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17
Q

what is an exotic animal?

A

animals that don’t fit into other categories
- small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish
- anything not farm animal, equine, dogs or cats

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18
Q

the exotic consult

A
  • ideally 30 mins, at least 20 mins
  • often need to do diagnostics, consult literature
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19
Q

communication with owner before consult

A
  • advise on transport
  • request faecal sample
  • food
  • photos of home environment
  • pre-consult questionnaire
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20
Q

transport (rabbits/rodents, reptiles, snakes, birds, birds of prey, fish)

A
  • rabbits/rodents= standard box/carrier
  • reptiles= provide heating (hot water bottle)
  • snakes= pillow case
  • birds= cages
  • birds of prey= travel box or on hand
  • fish= double plastic bag in water proof box, bring second bag of water
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21
Q

housing for exotics

A
  • birds= heated tank (30*C)
  • reptiles= vivarium
  • rabbits- avoid predators, temp (<22*C)
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22
Q

first aid

A
  • ABC’s
  • stop any haemorrhage
  • warmth for birds and reptiles
  • oxygen supplementation (not reptiles)
  • analgesia
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23
Q

chlamydophila psittaci

A
  • carried by birds, intracellular bacteria
  • air born, bodily fluids
  • affected birds present with systemic signs or symptomless
  • causes flu like symptoms in ppl
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24
Q

mycobacterium spp

A

fish tuberculosis

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25
mycobacterium spp symptoms
- local non healing ulcers - reduced appetite, weight loss, body deformities - causes localised lesions in people - aquarists nodule
26
mycobacterium spp prevention
- cover any wounds with waterproof bandage and gloves - wash hands well - wash fish equipment in separate sinks
27
dermatophytosis
- fungal infection (ringworm) - spread through contact - trichophyton mentagrophytes - causes scaly itchy patches in ppl - common in hedgehogs
28
salmonella
- causes GI upset, can lead to septicaemia - common in reptiles - part of gut flora in captive reptiles (normal) - shed in faeces - always assume animal is positive
29
routes of euthanasia in mammals
- Iv or into liver/kidney - rabbit= ear vein - rodents/ferrets= cranial vena cava
30
routes of euthanasia in reptiles (snakes, lizards, chelonia)
- Iv then pith (needle into brain) - snake= intracardiac or liver - lizard= tail vein (cran. vena cava in small species) - chelonia= jugular or subcarapacial sinus
31
routes of anaesthesia in birds
- gaseous anaesthesia then iv jugular/tibiotarsal vein (in larger birds) or into liver
32
routes of euthanasia in fish
- anaesthesia followed by pentobarbitone injection/severing spinal cord behind gill covers
33
prep for surgery
- pre-empt problems - blood loss, catheter, prep fluids - heat loss, avoid alcohol use (cools body) - apnoea- pre-oxygenation - clipping - skin may tear easily (rabbits) - raise chest when positioning for surgery
34
hypoglycaemia as post-op complication
- high metabolism - if not eating post-op, check blood glucose - syringe feed
35
gut stasis as post-op complication
- encourage to eat asap after surgery - syringe feed - prokinetics (ranitidine) - analgesia - monitor for droppings, may not produce any for 24hrs
36
suturing in small mammals
- absorbable monofilaments are best - monocryl, caprosyn - avoid catgut (esp rabbits)- causes pyo-granulomatous reaction as it dissolves - buried skin suture as may chew out - tissue glue?
37
wound care
- difficult to keep dressings on - tissue glue preferable - buried sutures - clean, dry bedding, avoid hay and straw initially (vetbed)
38
support for reptiles under GA
- breathe by means of skeletal muscle movement so need resp support under GA - IPPV, ventilator, body temp
39
anaesthetic monitoring of reptiles
- difficult (can't monitor breathing cause ventilator) - doppler probe to monitor HR - capnograph
40
prep for surgery- reptiles
- iodine/chlorohexadine needs times to soak between scales - alcohol not recommended (cooling effect) - clear plastic drape to visualise patient
41
post-op recovery- reptiles
- gradually reduce resp rate (1bpm) - breathing stimulated by low O2 not high CO2 - oxygen too high= won't breathe
42
general surgical techniques
- incision made between scales - wound closed with monofilament - sutures are everting suture pattern (scales curl in) - avoid cat gut/polyfilament due to tissue reaction
43
key anatomical features of rabbits
- light skeleton, powerful hind legs - nasal breather, larynx not easily visible - open rooted teeth - can't vomit, stomach never truly empties - coprophagia (re-eating droppings) - male has open inguinal canal - female has 2 cervixes - venous plexus behind eyes (increased bp can cause protrusion)
44
assessing the rabbit
- posture - HR (rapid) - RR (fast and shallow) - temp (38.3-39.4) - weight - droppings (round and plump)
45
hospital environment for rabbits
- non slip floor - correct temp (suffer from heat stress) - no predators - companions - out of cage exercise
46
blood sampling in rabbits
- lateral saphenous - marginal ear vein (small samples) - cephalic - jugular (need good restrain) volume= max 10ml/kg
47
pain medications in rabbits
NSAIDs= meloxicam (unless dehydrated) opioids= buprenorphine
48
fluid therapy in rabbits
- crystalloids are first choice - colloids can be used to increase bp in hypovolaemia - blood transfusion
49
fluid maintenance rate in rabbits
100ml/kg/24hrs - double dogs and cats
50
buster collars in rabbits
- stressful - coprophagia - can still chew through fluid lines
51
syringe feeding in rabbits
- 1ml syringe (end cut off to increase size of hole) - finely ground grass based food - still need long chain fibre (plants)
52
parasites in rabbits
- mites (cause hair plucking) - cheyletiella parasitivorax, listrophorus gibbus, psoroptes cuniculi - fleas - coccidia - worms
53
GI stasis in rabbits
- emergency!! - reduced or stopped intestinal motility
54
clinical signs of GI stasis in rabbits
- anorexia - absence of droppings - bloated abdomen - abdominal pain
55
causes of GI stasis in rabbits
- pain - stress - inappropriate diet (too high carbs) - neoplasia
56
treatment of GI stasis in rabbits
- analgesia (buprenorphine) - fluids - prokinetics - syringe feeding - treat underlying cause
57
blood glucose levels in rabbits
- <5= pathology, inappetence - 5-10= normal - 10-15= stress, low pain - 15-20= significant pain - 20+ = likely to be GI obstruction
58
respiratory infections in rabbits
- pasteurella spp. - can cause abscesses, upper resp problems, pneumonia
59
vestibular disease in rabbits
- head tilt/circling - caused by middle ear infection, E cuniculi
60
E-Cuniculi (encephalitozoon cuniculi)
- microsporidian parasite - primary pathogen of kidney - affects CNS - shed in urine, possible zoonosis
61
symptoms of E-cuniculi
- head tilt - ataxia, hindlimb weakness - urinary incontinence, renal failure - cataracts
62
treatment of E-cuniculi
fenbendazole
63
faecal clagging in rabbits
- impaction of caecotrophs around bum caused by: - obesity, dental disease, too much carbs, back pain
64
myxomatosis- pox virus in rabbits
- spread by biting insects and direct contact - symptoms: swelling around eyes and genitals, ocular discharge
65
rabbit haemorrhagic disease- calicivirus
- spread by fomites or direct contact - symptoms: sudden death, haemorrhage from mouth, nose or anus
66
BWRC's 3S's of wildlife rescue
- sure= if in doubt call specialist - safety= own safety comes first - stress= minimise stress on animal (warm, dark, quiet)
67
treat or euthanise wildlife
- balance stress of treatment vs chance of successful return to wild - unethical to release animals for potential for future complications (orthopaedic implants)
68
advantages of perm. captivity vs euthanasia
- animal isn't killed - protects against extinction
69
disadvantages of perm. captivity vs euthanasia
- quality of life - public display can cause stress
70
anaesthesia in fish
- inhalational - phenoxethanol (aqua-sed) - can stay out of the water for 5 mins to examine
71
diagnostics in fish
- mucus scraping - gill and fin preparations - bacteriology - bloods - radiography - ultrasonography
72
mucus scrapings
- run cover slip or scalpel blade over dorsal/pectoral fin - microscopy
73
gill and fin preparations
- should be liver colour - snip of gill/fin
74
how to give meds to fish
- in water (not antibiotics) - in food - injection - topical
75
ulcer disease in fish
secondary to septicaemia or trauma
76
treatment of ulcer disease in fish
- GA, debride - clean with iodine and pack ulcer - inject antibiotics - treat underlying problem (parasites, water quality)
77
fish first aid advice (7 steps)
1. test water quality (if NH4 high, add zeolite 2. quarantine affected fish 3. change 30% of water, replace with fresh 4. add salt (2g/L) to reduce stress (remove zeolite, formalin) 5. stop feeding 6. improve aeration 7. do not add meds indiscriminately
78
amphibians
- frogs - toads - newts - salamanders
79
husbandry of amphibians
- poikilotherms (provide appropriate temp) - light (most nocturnal) - UV light (required for ca2+ metabolism) - water (some aquatic, need land) - high humidity
80
common problems in amphibians
- water quality - skin infections (bact., fung.) - chytridiomycosis (fungal disease) - foreign bodies - metabolic bone disease
81
commonly kept invertebrates
- giant African land snails - spiders - millipedes - stick insects - scorpions
82
common problems in invertebrates
- shedding difficulties (need humidity) - mites - nematodes (milky around mouth) - worms under microscope - traumatic injuries