LO1 - Rabbits & Guinea Pigs Flashcards
Rabbits - Key Facts
- crepuscular, so most active at dusk and dawn
- herbivores
- warm blooded
- prey animals
- live in large social groups
Rabbits - Lifespan Range
5 - 10 years
Rabbits - Average Weight
1 - 10kg
Rabbits - Heart Rate
180 - 300 bpm
Rabbits - Respiratory Rate
30 - 60 bpm
(higher when stressed)
Rabbits - Temperature Range
38.5 - 40*
Rabbits - Describe their Thermoregulation?
- they are extremely sensitive to heat
- they cannot sweat
- ears are essential to aid heat dispersion
- they burrow and stretch to cool down
Rabbits - Describe the use of their Ears?
- used for communication
- used for air-conditioning
Rabbits - Describe IV Placement
- marginal ear vein
- used for fluid therapy, IV medications, and blood samples
Rabbits - Where can Blood Samples be gathered?
Marginal ear vein
Cephalic vein
Saphenous vein
Jugular vein
Rabbits - Signs of pain?
- orbital tightening
- cheek flattening
- nostril shape
- whisker shape and position
- ear shape and position
Rabbits - Key point for nursing care?
- herbivores and need to continually eat
- should not be fasted prior to anaesthetic
- when clipping fur must be careful due to thin skin
- keep clipping to minimum to prevent heat loss
- require close post-op monitoring
Rabbits - Dental Formula
Incisors = 2/1
Canines = 0/0
Pre-Molars = 3/2
Molars = 3/3
= 28
Rabbits - What kind of teeth do they have?
They are open rooted, allowing continual growth throughout life
No canines, gap between incisors and premolars is diastema
Tooth behind incisor is known as peg tooth
Rabbits - Dental Functions
- incisors used for cutting grass
- ## premolars and molars used to grind vegetable material
Rabbits - Axial Skeleton Formula
- 12 paired ribs
Cervical = 7
Thoracic = 12-13
Lumbar = 7
Sacral = 4
Caudal = 16
Rabbits - Describe their forelimb
- scapula is triangular shaped
- ulna fuses to radius which are bowed in appearance
- radius and ulna articulate with metacarpals and 5 digits
Rabbits - Describe their hindlimb
- pelvis is narrow and positioned vertically
- acetabulum is made up of ilium, ischium, and os acetabuli (accessory bone)
- femur is flattened ventrodorsally
- fibula is half the length of the tibia and is fused
Rabbits - How many digits do they have?
5 digits forelimb
4 digits hindlimb
Rabbits - Describe their skin and glands
- they have no footpads, feet covered with fur
- females have dewlap, large fold of skin under chin which is for nesting
- discrete submandibular chin glands used to mark territory
- scent glands around anus and within inguinal area
Rabbits - Describe their stomach
- stomach is never truly empty
- a large simple structure with strong cardiac and pyloric sphincter
- strong sphincters make vomiting impossible
Rabbits - Describe their Small Intestine
- between 2 to 3 feet to aid digestion
- consist of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum
Rabbits - what makes up the large intestine
Consist of caecum and colon
Rabbits - Describe their caecum
- largest organ within abdominal cavity
- thin walled and coils on itself
- bacteria contained within aids digestion by breaking down cellulose from vegetation
Rabbits - Describe their colon
- divided into 3 parts the transverse, ascending, and descending
- both colon and caecum regulated by the autonomic nervous system
Rabbits - Describe their liver
- has 4 lobes
- contains the gallbladder which empties into the duodenum
Rabbits - Describe their pancreas
- diffuse organ, suspended in loop of duodenum
- has one single pancreatic duct which empties into the proximal duodenum
Rabbits - What is caecotrophy
- re-ingestion of their own faeces, directly from anus
- ingested food passes through GI tract 2x in 24 hours
- essential for rabbit health
Rabbits - Describe step 1 of caecotrophy
- food accumulates in the colon and reverses into he caecum
- bacterial and microbial fermentation occurs, breaking down the tough cellulose walls of the plant material
Rabbits - Describe step 2 of caecotrophy
- the larger fibre particles, which would not be digested adequately in the caecum, are selected out by the colon
- they then pass out of the gut during peristalsis as the caecotroph pellets
Rabbits - Describe step 3 of caecotrophy
- caecotrophs are re-eaten directly from the anus and so undergo a second digestion process
Rabbits - Describe step 4 of caecotrophy
- the caecotrophs are mucus covered to protect their microbial contents from the acidic stomach contents
- this allows further microbial breakdown of the fibre
Rabbits - Describe step 5 of caecotrophy
- smaller fibre particles which were flushed back into the caecum, once broken down as far as possible, will then be passed out of the caecum
- they then enter the colon and dare excreted as dry faecal pellets
Rabbits - Features of the respiratory tract
- they are obligate nasal features
- nose twitches 20-120 times in a minute
- lungs have 3 lobes = cranial, middle, caudal
Rabbits - Describe the respiratory system
- air breathed in by nares where its warmed, foreign materials are caught by cilia
- air moves through larynx, down the trachea which has incomplete c shaped cartilage rings and finally reaches the lungs
- air enters lungs via bronchi which branch into bronchioles
- moves from bronchioles to alveolar ducts and alveoli where O2 and CO2 is exchanged
- they rely on diaphragm for respiration, intracoastal muscles do not play a role
Rabbits - Describe kidneys and urethra
- kidneys are unipapillate, single medullary pyramid, which drain to the renal pelvis/ureter
- urethra empties into ventral wall of vagina
Rabbits - Difference in doe and bucks urinary system
- in does ureter drains into bladder, which is tough and thin walled
- bucks ureters drain low down on neck of the bladder, they are less able to concentrate their urine
Rabbits - Males reproductive tract
- 2 testes which descend around 12 weeks
- no os penis
- no nipples
Rabbits - Female reproductive tract
- ovaries elongated, and ovaries are coiled and long
- bicornaute, 2 separate uterine horns which are designed to hold lifters
- they have no uterine horn, each horn has own cervix opening to vagina
- 4 to 5 pairs of nipples
Guinea Pigs - Key Facts
- teeth are open rooted, so continually grow
- live in social groups
- they are diurnal, so active during the day
Guinea Pigs - Average lifespan
4 - 8 years
Guinea Pigs - Heart Rate
230 - 380 bpm
Guinea Pigs - Respiratory rate
90 - 150 bpm
(higher when stressed)
Guinea Pigs - Temperature
37.2 - 39.5*
Guinea Pigs - Dental Formula
Incisors = 1/1
Canines = 0/0
Pre-molars = 1/1
Molars = 3/3
Guinea Pigs - Dental Functions
- incisors for nibbling
- molars and pre-molars for grinding their food
- no canines so have diastema
Guinea Pigs - Skeletal formula
Cervical = 7
Thoracic = 13-14
Lumbar = 6
Sacral = 3-4
Caudal = 4-7
Guinea Pigs - Describe their skeletal system
- 13 to 14 ribs, the last 2 are cartilaginous
- 2 small clavicle attached between scapula and manubrium
Guinea Pigs - what type of stomach do they have?
Monogastric - single compartmented stomach
Guinea Pigs - describe the structure of their soft palate?
- soft palate is continuous with the rest of the tongue
- the oropharynx connects with the rest of the pharynx via a hole in the soft palate known as the palatal ostium
Guinea Pigs - how long does it take food to pass through the GI tract?
20 hours
Guinea Pigs - where is small and large intestine located?
- small intestine lies on right side of the body
- large intestine fills the central and left part of the abdomen
Guinea Pigs - why is their liver faulty?
- live is unable to synthesis vitamin C
Guinea Pigs - describe the structure of their respiratory system?
- small space for lungs
- right lung has 4 lobes (cranial, middle, accessory, caudal)
- left lung has 3 lobes (cranial, middle, caudal)
Guinea Pigs - what is their nasal cavity lined with?
- sensitive olfactory epithelium
- causes a sensitive sense of smell
Guinea Pigs - describe the structure of their urinary system?
- each kidney has a large renal pelvis with a single papilla
- the urinary bladder is large and saclike, and is triangular in shape
Guinea Pigs - is the presence of urinary crystals normal?
Yes
Guinea Pigs - describe the boars reproductive system?
- testes are in a large scrotum, can be retracted through the inguinal canal
- they have horny style projections which evert externally when the penis is erected
Guinea Pigs - describe the sows reproductive system?
- bicornuate uterus, consists of 2 uterine horns, short body, and cervix leading to the vagina
- polyoestrous and spontaneous ovulatory
- y shape formed by the perineal tissue