Exotics Flashcards
A large male guinea pig from a group of four is presented with swollen and scabby hind feet from which Staphylococcus aureus is cultured.
Which one of the following recommendations is the most appropriate choice?
A - Isolate affected animal, treat with oral amoxicillin
B - Improve sanitation, install smooth-floored enclosure
C - Cull affected animal, increase ventilation of environment for remaining animals
D - Tetracycline-medicated water for all animals
E - Debridement and topical 1% butenafine cream
B
The preferred answer is to improve sanitation and install a smooth-floored enclosure.
Bumblefoot (pododermatitis) in guinea pigs usually occurs secondary to poor sanitation, obesity and wire cage floors or rough bedding.
If detected early, switch to smooth-bottom flooring, keep the enclosure clean, and change to a softer bedding.
Chlorhexidine soaks and debridement can help the feet. Prognosis is guarded.
Avoid penicillins in guinea pigs.
A dozen young chickens at a broiler-raising facility are found dead on their backs and sides with no premonitory signs.
Necropsy of a dead bird shows good body condition and no particular pathology. What is the most likely clinical diagnosis?
A - Ascites syndrome B - Newcastle C - Flip over disease D - Highly pathogenic avian influenza E - Dissecting aneurysm
C
This is the clinical picture of flip-over disease, a production-related disease associated with intensive husbandry. The cause is not known but thought to be related to high carbohydrate intake.
Ventricular fibrillation may be the cause of sudden death, and a lack of gross pathology is common.
Because broilers affected with flip over disease frequently die on their backs, differential diagnosis includes ascites syndrome (waterbelly).
Sick birds with ascites syndrome typically show clinical signs like cyanosis, panting and abdomens distended by fluid.
Essentially a form of right ventricular heart failure secondary to pulmonary hypertension or more rarely, hepatic failure.
Dissecting aneurysm is another cause of sudden death, but animals display severe hemorrhage on necropsy.
A client calls in the middle of winter to say her furnace went out the night before and the whole house became very cold.
This morning one pet hamster appears to be dead and several others are lethargic.
What message should be communicated to the owner?
A - The other animals are likely to die
B - The hamster is not dead
C - Put tetracycline in the water and maintain the ambient temperature
D - Need to examine the lethargic animals and increase calorie intake
E - Males are more likely to die from cold stress
B
The hamster is not dead. At temperatures under 41°F (5°C), hamsters will enter pseudohibernation. Though not a true hibernation, they are called “permissive hibernators”.
They may look “dead” to the owner, but they are alive. Cold temperatures may also stimulate hamsters to gather up food.
A rabbit is presented with inflamed and chapped membranes of the anus and genital region. The genital area is scalded and raw, with brownish crusts and purulent exudate.
What two conditions top the differential diagnosis list?
A - Treponematosis, Hutch burn B - Tularemia, Cystitis C - Myxomatosis, Moist dermatitis D - Glomerulonephritis, Coccidiosis E - Pasteurellosis, Ulcerative pododermatitis
A
Treponematosis (rabbit syphillis, vent disease) and hutch burn (urine burn) resemble each other and are often confused.
Treponematosis (rabbit syphillis, vent disease) is a venereal disease of rabbits caused by Treponema paraluis cuniculi. Affects the genitalia, may affect eyes and nose. Click here to see a rabbit with cutaneous treponematosis.
Hutch burn is caused by wet and dirty floors, affecting the anus and genitalia. Click here to see a rabbit with hutch burn and here to see severe dermatitis secondary to hutch burn.
Remember that cauda equina neuritis (polyneuritis equi) in horses may present with urine scald on the thighs. Other signs include a weak tail, hypotonic anus, urine dribbling and fecal retention. There may be a history of rubbing or chewing the tail head.
A guinea pig is presented for seizure-like activity. On closer observation the guinea pig is not having a seizure but is actually severely pruritic.
It also has hyperkeratosis and generalized alopecia.
Which one of the following choices is the most likely diagnosis?
A - Klossiella cobayae B - Copper deficiency C - Follicular ovarian cysts D - Scurvy E - Trixacarus caviae
E
Trixacarus caviae causes the most severe dermatitis of all guinea pig ectoparasites. Ivermectin treatment is usually successful but is used off label.
Scurvy (hypovitaminosis C) can occur in guinea pigs as they rely on dietary intake of vitamin C.
Clinical signs include diarrhea, joint pain, alopecia, petechiae, weight loss, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, and skeletal muscle hemorrhage.
What is the primary clinical presentation in chickens infected with Campylobacter jejuni?
A - Enterocolitis B - Nothing C - Diphtheritic tracheitis D - Depression, anorexia, lethargy E - Hemorrhagic diathesis
B
The preferred answer is “nothing”. Campylobacter jejuni from contaminated chicken is one of the leading causes of enterocolitis IN HUMANS, but the chickens themselves are asymptomatic.
A poultry operation has experienced sudden die-off of 5% of its’ birds. Another 10% are sick with cyanosis and edema of the head, comb, and wattle. Many have subcutaneous ecchymotic hemorrhages on the shanks, feet and head.
Some have a greenish diarrhea. On necropsy, petechial hemorrhages are visible on visceral organs and in muscles and there are blood-tinged oral and nasal discharges. A few birds that survived illness have developed torticollis, opisthotonos, and appear incoordinated.
What test is most appropriate to confirm the presumptive diagnosis?
A - Virus isolation from tracheal or cloacal swab
B - Hemagglutination test on acute plasma
C - Biopsy brain, spinal cord, proventriculus, gizzard
D - Bacterial culture and isolation from visceral lesions on 5% blood agar
E - Demonstration of toxin in serum, liver homogenates, or crop washings
A
This is the clinical picture of an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian influenza (HPAI). AI viruses can be readily isolated from tracheal and cloacal swabs.
AI viruses vary in pathogenicity. In general, see nothing with subclinical infections.
If clinical signs appear, may see sinusitis and respiratory signs in low pathogenicity strains, and fulminating multisystemic, hemorrhagic signs with highly pathogenic strains. Think-edema, cyanosis of head, wattle, and comb; hemorrhagic discoloration of feet and legs, and petechial hemorrhages on visceral organs on necropsy.
