Exotics - rabbits Flashcards
What are the two main aetiologies of rabbit dental disease?
Inadequate attrition - not getting worn down
Metabolic bone disease - jaw bone weakened
What is the correct diet for rabbits?
Lots of grass/hay
Some green leafy vegetation
Tiny amount of pellets
What indicates dental disease in rabbits on distant exam?
Epiphora - presence or absence
Obvious incisor elongation
Grossly evident abscessation
drooling
Eye globe position
What teeth are continuously growing in rabbits, hystricomorphs, scuriomorphs and rodents?
Rabbits - all
Chinchillas and cavies - all
Squirrels, chipmunks - only incisors
Rodents - only incisors
What do chincilla/cavies incisors look like?
Lower incisors longer than upper incisors
Slightly orange in chincillas
How do you do a concious intraoral examination on rodents/rabbits?
Otoscope - plastic cone
Little finger in diastema to palpate spurs
How do you examine intraorally under anaesthesia?
Head clamp/nurse positioning
Endoscopy
Radiography
How do you treat rodent/rabbit incisor overgrowth?
Regular trimming with dental burr
Removal
When do you remove incisors in rabbits?
When the teeth are never going to meet so arent functional and will just have to keep clipping them for the rest of the rabbits life
What is the name for dental problems causing blockage of the nasolacrimal duct?
Dacryocystitis
What are the essentials of cheek tooth treatment?
Take teeth out of traumatic occlusion with soft tissues
Allow normal anatomical closure of mouth
Remove loose/abscessated teeth
Will never restore normal anatomy though - jaw changes
How do you know how much of the cheek teeth to trim?
Image
When can you clip cheek teeth?
For removal of angled small spurs going into tongue ONLY
What are the issues with filing cheek teeth in rabbits?
Never do it - slow, jarring, inefficient method
Massive risk of hitting vessel at angle of jaw - fatal
What is the method of choice for crown reduction and shaping of cheek teeth in rabbits?
Burring
How do you treat rodent teeth overgrowth?
Trim - only incisors grow
In rabbits and chinchillas which is wider - maxilla or mandible?
Chinchillas - mandible is wider than the maxilla
Rabbits - maxilla is wider than the mandible
But both dont bring both sides into occlusion at the same time
How do chinchilla cheek teeth tend to overgrow?
Grow very long before getting noticed - grow forward into the diastema so dont hit anything for a while
Dont tend to form spurs which affect the tongue
Stab into buccal mucosa
What are the main GI diseases that rabbits get?
Hypomotility disorders - cant vomit
Hypermotility disorders and caecotrophs - diarrhoea
How do rabbits normally eat?
Lots of low nutritional value food (grass) continuously over long periods of time
Caecotrophs
What is the purpose of indigestible ‘long’ fibre in rabbit diets?
Dental attrition
Gut motility stimulation
What is the purpose of digestible ‘short’ fibre in rabbit diets?
Substrate for caecal fermentation (caecotroph formation)
What are the two phases of rabbit caecum motility?
1 - just gets rid of long fibre
2 - Soft faecal component phase - short fibre ferments to get extra nutrition out of grass
What are caecotrophs? How do they work?
Full of bacteria and covered in mucous
Carry on fermenting until stomach acids digest them, kill bacteria and absorb the nutrients that are left in SI
What does a high carb diet cause in rabbits?
Change in caecal flora/caecal pH
GI stasis, enteritis, caecotrophs not being eaten
What are the 5 causes of gut stasis?
Pain
Stress
Dehydration
Obesity
Abdominal lesions/obstruction/adhesion/neoplasia
What are two common causes of pain causing gut stasis?
Pain following surgery - pre-emptive analgesia needed
Urological pain - uroliths, sludgy urine
How do you tell it is obstructive and non GI stasis in rabbits?
Obstructive - sudden onset, moderate to severe depression
Marked abdominal pain
Hunched
Shock/dehydration
What does obstructive gut stasis in rabbits look like on radiograph?
Gas proximal to site of obstruction
Bubbles of gas rather than halo in stomach
What are the signs of non-obstructive GI stasis in rabbits?
Slow insidious onset
Gradual decrease in size of faecal pellets
Craving high fibre items
Normal hydration to moderate dehydration
Normal demeanor progressing to depression
What is seen on radiograph in rabbits with non obstructive gut stasis/ilius?
Impacted material in stomach/caecum
Halo of gas around them
How does duration of ileus affect prognosis in rabbits?
Longer the rabbit is not eating, the more dehydrated and impacted
Permanent and irreversible ileus can develop
What can cause impaction in the caecum of rabbits?
Cat litter as bedding
What is the most important finding on biochem/haem of ileus in rabbits?
Gradual increase in blood glucose indicates blockage
How do you treat obstructive ileus in rabbits?
Aggressive fluid therapy
Analgesia
Surgery - ex lap
What are some common sites of GI obstruction in rabbits?
Ileocaecal valve
Sacculus rotundus
Pylorus
What are some common GI FBs in rabbits?
Locust bean pods
Fur mats
How do you treat non obstructive ileus in rabbits?
Abdominal massage
Exercise
Probiotics
GI prokinetics - ranitidine, metoclopramide
Laxative s
Enema
Enzymes
How can you encourage feeding in rabbits?
Direct feeding by mouth
Naso-gastric tubes
How quick can you make a rabbit lose weight?
No more than 1.5% bodyweight per week - go into ketotic crisis
What is a big cause of shock in rabbits?
Diarrhoea
What can cause diarrhoea in rabbits?
Dietary upset
Bacterial overgrowth
Viral infection - rota, coronavirus
Coccidiosis
What is massive dietary change likely to cause in rabbits?
Change in caecotroph nature
May cause diarrhoea also
What can cause bacterial overgrowth in rabbits?
Poor diet
Antibiotic use
What causes hair loss in rabbits?
Normal moulting - twice a year, from head and proceeding caudally
Females have dewlap - pull fur out to line nest when pregnant
What causes dermatological disease in guinea pigs?
Vitamin C deficiency - cant synthesise so need to get from the diet
How do guinea pigs maintain their fur?
Scent/grease gland over rump - greasy fur
How do chinchillas maintain their very dense fur?
Must have daily sand bath
Avoid humidity
What is a defence mechanism that chinchillas use?
Fur-slip
What are common rabbit derm conditions?
Cheyletiella mites
Fly strike
Pododermatitis
Pasteurellosis