Nursing Flashcards
What is the major challenge for treating exotic species?
They are pretty much all prey species so will ask clinical signs of illness until they are VERY unwell. So by the time we see them in veterinary practise, they are usually pretty poorly!
What are small animals more susceptible to than dogs and cats?
Stress - will rapidly affect respiration and recovery
Hypothermia - due to increased surface area ratio and fast metabolic rate
Hypocalcaemia - due to fast metabolic rate
Quickly deteriorate if dehydrated, anorexic, hypothermic or ill
What can happen to reptiles when recovering? What do we need to do to combat this?
Very susceptible to stress. Can become hypometabolic which slows recovery. Don’t want recovery to slow down so need to keep stress levels down and metabolic rate up.
What should be considered when housing ectotherms in hospital?
Require a temperature gradient - correct environmental temperature for specific species.
When should feeding interventions occur if a small animal is not eating? Why?
Give nutritional support and appetite stimulants if anorexic for more than 12 hours. To prevent gut stasis.
Small animals are already prone to hypocalcaemia!
When do reptiles require nutritional support?
When the lose 10% of their body weight (even if eaten yesterday!) Ask owner for feeding records.
When are tortoises prone to anorexia? What should we do?
Post-hibernation. May need a ‘kick-start’ when they come out of hibernation. This will require warming and nutritional support (may include a tube feed).
What must an exotic be before nutritional support is given? Why?
Warm and hydrated. If they are cold, they will in a hypometabolic state and be unable to digest food.
What nutritional support can be given and in what order should these methods be tried?
1st - tempt diet (ask owner what patient loves!)
2nd - Syringe feed liquid diet.
3rd - tube feed (if none of the above work or in need of a long-term solution)
Name a syringe feed diet that can be used
Emeraid Intensive Care - has ‘herbivore’, ‘ carnivore’ and ‘omnivore’
Critical Care
What should you do when syringe feeding an exotic?
Take it slow and ensure the animal is swallowing itself.
Wrap the animal up in a nice warm blanket - esp rabbits
Can use mouth gags to keep a reptile mouth open
Name and describe the 4 tube types
- Stomach tube
- good for short-term ‘kick-starting’ - Naso-oesophageal (NO) tube
- good for shorter-term
- tubes are narrow and can be prone to blockage - Oesophagostomy tube
- better for longer term
- easily put in under GA - PEG tube
- same as 3.
What must be taken care with regarding a NO tube?
In obligate nose-breathers, care they still have a clear airway.
Why do we gradually re-feed?
To prevent Hepatic Lipidosis (Rapid conversion of fats affects the function of the liver).
What should we do when providing nutritional support to small animals that haven’t been eating in a few days?
Gradual re-feeding.
Small animals should be re-fed over even longer periods than dogs and cats e.g. over 5/6 days instead of 3
What nutritional support should be given to herbivores
Syringe/tube feed etc
AND
provide indigestible fibres to stimulate gut motility
e.g. Alfafa Hay (good for recovery), grass, dandelion leaves etc.
Why should herbivores be fed indigestible fibres as well as the digestible ones in the syringe feed?
The digestible fibres are smooth to pass through a tube so cannot contain the indigestible chunks, but they must be provided as they are very important for the gut lining.
What should be done initially for exotics to maintain hydration?
Provide a bowl of water
Provide a water bottle
Provide a bathing dish if applicable
Ensure the humidity levels are correct for exotics
What are the 6 possible signs of dehydration?
- Fluffed up (especially in birds)
2.Tacky Mucous Membranes
(may be easier to look for stringy saliva on tongue in reptiles) - Sunken Eyes
- Skin tenting
- Hard abdomen (e.g. in rabbits, abdomen would be harder if gut stasis was occurring)
- Dysecdysis in reptiles (patchy shed)
What is the golden rule for maintaining good nutrition and hydration?
If the gut works, use it!
In reptiles what non-invasive methods can be used to maintain hydration?
Bathing retiles in warm water for short periods a few times per day can help shed (warm water helps avoid hypometabolic state).
(Reptiles can absorb water internally through cloaca and externally through skin).
Spraying reptile, viv, plants in the viv with water to increase humidity.
Describe IV fluid therapy in exotics regarding placement of catheter
Can use cephalic and saphenous veins in most.
In rabbits, best to use marginal ear vein.
In reptiles, can use coccygeal/ tail vein.
Name and describe 2 ways to administer fluids apart from IV
S/C - in reptiles, insert needle cranially under a scale flap and inject near the shoulder region. In birds, insert at same angle underneath shorter feathers.
Intraosseous - inserting a catheter into the medullary cavity of the bone and injecting fluids. Key places: back of the femur or the ulnar bone in birds. Care when doing this in birds not to inject any pneumatic bones!
What should be considered when heating exotics?
Monitor Overheating
Monitor for burns (especially reptiles! as may spend too long on heat if we haven’t got environmental temp correct)
Ensure reptiles can move between hot and cool areas
CARE with recumbent patients
Monitor the patient’s body temperature AND the environmental temperature
What are the 2 methods of heating? Give examples
- Insulating - conserving animals own body temp
e. g. bubble wrap, foil, Guinea pig jumper - Actively heating
e. g. heat pads/mats, bair hugger, incubator
How should oral medications be administered to exotics?
Dilute in water and syringe or put in water bottle
Put in food
When should topical medications be administered?
More effective when the problem is topical e.g. wound or a lesion, these are more effective.
Not effective in reptiles for internal problems as their metabolism is so slow
Where should s/c/ injections be given in Chelonia?
Cranial direction in loose skin near shoulder region
Describe I/M injections in exotics?
Similar to in cats and dogs.
May use neck or leg muscle.
In reptiles ad chelonias, the metabolism is so slow, vets may want to inject small amounts over longer periods of time.
What plans need to put in place for reptile wound management and why?
Reptiles and chelonian skin heals so slowly compared to dogs and cats. A plan needs to be agreed with the owner because a lot of the recovery process will take place at home. Need to make sure that the environmental conditions are correct.
