Lecture 2- the small animal consult

Question 1

What is an important consideration when palpating the lymph nodes of rabbits and guinea pigs?

Answer 1

• They store fat around their lymph nodes

Question 2

Why is it important to always check the front and back teeth in rabbits and guinea pigs?

Answer 2

• Dental disease is common in these species

Question 3

Why is it important to check the abdomen in rabbits and guinea pigs?

Answer 3

• There guts should always be full otherwise they die (a quite abdomen is an unhappy abdomen)

Question 4

Why is an otic exam so important within lop eared rabbits?

Answer 4

• About 80% of them are bred without a proper ear canal meaning they will collapse by 3 years of age (makes most of them deaf)

Question 5

Is a ferret that has lost large amounts of weight a concern (why/why not):

Answer 5

• Not ferrets loose up to 40% of their weight in summer

Question 6

Why is it important to examine the lymph nodes of a ferret?

Answer 6

• Neoplasia’s are very common in ferrets

Question 7

How is it possible to get rid of the smell of a ferret?

Answer 7

• Don’t remove anal glands (remove the gonads- these are the source of the smell)

Question 8

How would you go about investigating the possibility of respiratory disease within rats and mice?

Answer 8

• Due to relatively small sizes it is much easier to osculate respiratory disease by listening to whether heart sounds are obstructed (the lungs are too small)

Question 9

Compare the severity of rat tumours to mice tumours:

Answer 9

• Mice tumours are often malignant

- Rat tumours are often benign