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VET636 - Avian, Exotic pet and Wildlife medicine > Rabbits > Flashcards

Rabbits Flashcards

1
Q

Are rabbits rodents?

A

Rabbits are lagomorphs (4 upper incisors) not rodents (2 upper incisors)

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2
Q

What is a rabbits life span?

A

Varies from 6-12 years (smaller breeds tend to live longer)

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3
Q

Are male or female rabbits more territorial?

A

Females are a little more territorial than males. Both sexes will mark.

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4
Q

Should rabbits be kept indoors or outdoors? What should be considered? What are the benefits?

A

Recommended is a combination of indoor and outdoor (outdoor in the morning and late afternoon).
- If outdoors they will need a mosquito proof enclosure (transmissible viruses).
- Outdoor benefits include exposure to vitamin D (rabbits need sunlight to maintain their vitamin D levels).
- Able to eat grasses, foliage = greater variety promotes better GI health.

Outdoor disadvantages:
- Heat stroke >30 degrees can be fatal
- Mosquitos

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5
Q

What is the recommended diet for a rabbit? (from what should it be fed most to what should it be fed least?)

A
  1. A minimum of 80% Hay/Grass (timothy, meadow or oaten hay) - Avoid lucerne! in adult rabbits as it is too high in calcium.
  2. A variety of low-calcium leafy greens (avoid parsley, kale and spinach everyday) veggies such as bok choi, pak choi, capsicum or lettuce are okay.
  3. A small amount of hay based pellets (1tb/2kg)
  4. AVOID: seed and dried fruit mixes “muesli mixes” and foods that are marketed for rabbits and guinea pigs.
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6
Q

In which 3 main ways does dental disease occur in rabbits?

A
  1. Low fibre diet - occurs after 2 years of age
  2. Congenital - typically in younger animals before 2 years of age
  3. Trauma
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7
Q

Which rabbit breeds are predisposed to incisor malocclusion?

A

Mini lops and Netherland dwarfs - brachycephalic rabbits or the ones with under or overbites

But can also occur due to trauma or underlying infection (can radiograph to assess the cause)

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8
Q

What is the treatment for incisor malocclusion?

A
  1. 4-6 weekly conscious trims
  2. Extraction - cannot remove just one incisor must extract all 4 in rabbits, it is a vascular and painful surgery but often curative - may require a diet change: hay will need to be cut up 1-2 months after extraction until they adapt
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9
Q

What are spurs?

A

Spurs are exaggerated spikes of the cheek teeth.
Maxillary teeth develop buccal spurs
Mandibular teeth develop lingual spurs

Spurs lead to ulcers in the tongue and cheek - painful, cause inappetence, weight loss & drooling

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10
Q

What causes spurs to develop?

A
  1. Low fibre intake (chewing hay vs pellets)
  2. Brachycephalic breeds (lingual ‘points’ are normal)
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11
Q

How do we treat spurs?

A

Increase dietary fibre (early dental disease) or dental ‘float’ surgery

Important: normal rabbits never need a dental, but once spurs are present, ongoing dental floats (every 3-6 months) are common

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12
Q

What happens in apical dental disease in rabbits?

A

Affected teeth grow abnormally - in the wrong direction, tall or short crowns, discoloured (this is called ‘stepping’)

Secondary osteomyelitis is common - jaw, sinus and retrobulbar abscesses

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13
Q

How do we treat apical dental disease?

A
  1. Imaging to find the affected teeth (radiograph, CT)
  2. Extract & Marsupitalise (creating a pouch)- remove the affected teeth and remove or marsupitalise abscesses.
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14
Q

Why can’t we just leave an abscess open for drainage after tooth removal in apical dental disease?

A

Rabbits lack an enzyme that breaks down pus which causes the pus to become caseous so it can’t drain therefore lancing is usually unsuccessful.
AB penetration into rabbit pus is often poor.

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15
Q

What is the prognosis for dental disease in rabbits?

A

Dental disease is chronic, progressive and painful and rarely curable, but often manageable.
Owners need to be committed, long term pain relief, may progress despite treatment.

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16
Q

What is the normal temperature and heart rate of a rabbit?

A

Temperature: 38-39.5
Heart rate: 180-280 bpm (230-250 smaller rabbits)

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17
Q

Where can we administer IM injections in a rabbit?

A

Epaxial lumbar muscles (rabbits dislike this)

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18
Q

Where can we administer IV injections in a rabbit?

A

Marginal ear vein or cephalic vein

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19
Q

Why is it important to use the marginal ear vein and not the central ear ‘vein’ (artery)

A

I mean ‘duh’ its an artery but never ever catheterise into auricular vein/artery as it will bleed a lot and thrombotic/clotting events are common. Side effect: sloughing and necrosis of ear!

20
Q

Where do we take blood samples from in a rabbit?

A

Lateral saphenous vein (most common)
Cephalic vein
Marginal ear vein

21
Q

When administering vaccines for the protection of calicivirus which one is better? Cylap or Filavac?

A

Filavac is a better vaccine as it also covers newer caliciviruses (RHDV-1 & RHDV-2), is a single dose and vaccine reactions are rare (mild pyrexia)

22
Q

What are the clinical signs of Myxomatosis virus infections and can we vaccinate in Australia?

A

No vaccine in Australia

Highly fatal virus in domestic rabbits, oedematous disease (periorbital, genital and ear base oedema)

Euthanasia prognosis

23
Q

What are the two main forms of Calicivirus?

A
  1. Haemorrhagic disease (RHDV-1) - systemic haemorrhage
  2. Acute liver failure (RHDV-K5, RHDV-2) - biochemistry shows extreme liver damage

Euthanasia prognosis

24
Q

What is the most common cause of ill-thrift and liver disease in young rabbits?

A

Coccidia - common!
Different to coccidia in dogs & cats - affects the liver

25
Q

Rabbit flea is uncommon but if we have to treat it, is it safe to use frontline for rabbits?

A

No! - Fipronil (frontline) is very toxic to rabbits, it causes seizures and death 2-3 days after application. Even be very careful if the owner has dogs or cats and is using frontline for other pets in the household.

26
Q

Is desexing of both males and female rabbits recommended?

A

yes!
Castration is a quick and easy surgery, testicular neoplasia is uncommon it is mainly done for behavioural benefits - prevents unwanted pregnancies and reduces urine spraying

Spey - is easier in young rabbits before broad ligament fat accumulates. For females strongly recommended as uterine adenocarcinomas occur in 50-70% of mature female rabbits by 3 years of age

27
Q

Why do we need to be cautious about anaesthetic recovery in rabbits?

A

Anaesthesia can cause rabbits to develop gastrointestinal ileus - to reduce this we can give prokinetics in their anaesthetic protocol. (Metoclopramide)

But the best prokinetic is food! ‘Critical Care’ is a supplementary feed given to inappetant rabbits - this should be dispensed with every rabbit after surgery

Also remember to dispense pain relief!

28
Q

What can cause gastrointestinal ileus (gut stasis) in rabbits?

A
  • A chronically poor diet (low fibre)
  • Pain (they stop eating - everything slows don)
  • Dehydration (GI contents move slower)
  • A stressful environment
29
Q

How do we treat GI ileus (gut stasis)?

A

Step 1: Provide symptomatic relief
- Pain relief (build up of gas is painful)
- Start assist feeding
- Consider prokinetics
- Give fluids if dehydrated
(NO NSAID’s if dehydrated)

Step 2: Find the underlying cause!

30
Q

What is bloat in rabbits and what usually causes it?

A

Bloat is an obstructed stomach and usually caused by a trichobezoar

31
Q

Why is it important to differentiate between gut stasis and bloat?

A

Their treatments are the opposite of each other.
- With gut stasis you give prokinetics and assist feeding, if this was done with a bloated rabbit, we would cause rupture of the stomach/intestine -> fatal!

32
Q

How do we diagnose and treat bloat in rabbits?

A

Diagnosis:
-Blood glucose >20nmol is highly suggestive
- X-rays to see if the stomach extends beyond the ribs & 2 populations of GI tract
- Palpation to see if the stomach is compressible (not compressible if bloated)

Treatment:
- Medical treatment is preferred over surgery. Medical treatment involves stomach tubing, aggressive IV fluids and strong pain relief
- if a rabbit is in cardiovascular shock, need to stomach tube ASAP

if treatment not successful then surgery is recommended. Surgery is an ex lap where trichobezoar is located and milked to the caecum

33
Q

What could be the possible reasons of why a rabbit has liver disease?

A
  1. Calicivirus (RHDV-2) - acute to subacute liver failure
  2. Liver lobe torsion - idiopathic, ultrasound to diagnose, surgery to fix
  3. Coccidiosis - the most common cause of liver disease and ill-thrift in young rabbits, can be severe and life threatening. Treat with toltrazuril (anti-coccidial medication)
34
Q

Why do diets high in calcium lead to calcium build up in the urinary system?

A

Rabbits have a passive mechanism for calcium absorption. They can not control how much calcium is absorbed from their diet.

35
Q

How do we diagnose and treat calcium sludge and stones?

A

Diagnostics: Radiographs, ultrasound

Treatment: Calcium sludge may be expressed manually under GA otherwise cystotomy. Uroliths require surgery - no medical options in rabbits - they have alkaline urine

Long term treatment: Will often reoccur, lifelong potassium citrate and hydrochlorothiazide, low calcium diet, increase water intake, weight loss

36
Q

How do we diagnose renal insufficiency in rabbits?

A

Need to perform urinalysis and urine protein creatinine ratios (UPC) to diagnose kidney disease.
Bloodwork misses 75% of chronic renal diseases in rabbits!

37
Q

What could be some underlying causes of urinary scalding? And how do we treat it?

A

Cystitis
UTI’s
Calcium sludge
Hindlimb arthritis - inability to posture for urinating

Painful, lead to ulcers on the skin, causing infections, flystrike

Treatment: Address the underlying cause, barrier creams, pain relief

38
Q

How does pododermatitis occur and how do we treat it?

A

Rabbits have haired feet - Rex breeds lack guard hairs, so they often have poorly haired feet. Loss of this hair leads to pododermatitis. In severe cases osteomyelitis of the underlying bone occurs.

Treatment: Consider bandaging, socks and pain relief

39
Q

What breed of rabbit is predisposed to otitis externa and why does it occur?

A

Otitis externa is very common in lope-eared rabbits.
There is a gap between the normal cartilages in lops, they are bred that way but it leads to pain and infection through wax build up in the ear as it is unable to move out of the ear.

40
Q

How do we diagnose otitis externa and how can we treat it?

A

Diagnosis on physical exam - ear cytology can help differentiate between wax and pus. Once present, usually chronic or recurrent.
Aim for prevention: ‘Otoflush’ from 6 months of age for lop-eared rabbits.
Treatment for lops: many treatments available: antibiotic washes, injections, endoscopic flushes, lateral ear canal resection,..

41
Q

What is a common sign of otitis media in rabbits?

A

Facial paralysis is a common sign as the facial nerve circles the tympanic bulla (can also have tear production issues, teeth misalignment issues)

42
Q

How do we diagnose and treat otitis media?

A

Otitis media is severely underdiagnosed - requires a CT to diagnose as x-rays are poorly sensitive.
May be secondary to progressive otitis externa, respiratory/dental infections through the eustachian tube.

Treatment:
Long term AB (palliative), Myringotomy

43
Q

What is Floppy Rabbit Syndrome (FRS)?

A

FRS is a syndrome = a collection of presenting signs - used to describe any rabbit presenting with paresis or paralysis (floppiness) of their hindlimbs, all limbs and /or their whole body.
This is very common and can have many causes:
-> Hypoglycaemia, hypokalaemia, hypocalcaemia, hypothermia, hypotension, severe dehydration, spinal fracture or damage, selenium/Vit E deficiency, toxins, E. cuniculi, bacteria meningitis.

Regardless of the underlying cause, without supportive care they will develop: dehydration, GIT ileus, hypoglycaemia, hypothermia and death

Treatment: supportive care, empirically start treatment for E. cuniculi

44
Q

What is E. cuniculi? How do we diagnose and treat it?

A

E. cuniculi is a fungal parasite that can live in the brain, kidney, and eyes of rabbits. About 40% of domestic Australian rabbits carry the parasite but many will never develop any disease. (immunosuppressed rabbits develop the disease).

E. cuniculi can cause cataracts, meningitis (floppy rabbit syndrome), head tilts, renal insufficiency (kidney disease in early life). It is very contagious between rabbits through vertical transmission or through the urine.

Diagnosis: blood tests for antibodies (not antigen)
Treatment: Management only, no cure. Fenbendazole 20 mg/kg PO SID x 28 days, repeat 9d every 6 months. This stops the parasite from replicating but does not remove it from the tissue of the body.

45
Q

What is snuffles?

A

Snuffles is a chronic upper respiratory tract disease. Pasteurella and bordatella are often blamed but it is difficult to to confirm - they are commensals & difficult to culture.

Clinical signs include: sneezing, serous/mucoid/purulent nasal and ocular discharge
Snuffles can be fatal - rabbits are obligate nasal breathers if their nares are obstructed for long enough they die!

May have ongoing flare ups - give AB as needed, but check for underlying immunosuppression.
Diet, ventilation, in-fighting, ambient temperature…

Severe case show lytic/warped sinusoid bone change on CT

46
Q

Why do rabbits get a third eyelid prominence?

A

Stress related - will go back to normal when stress removed

47
Q

How do we treat nasolacrimal duct obstructions? And what can cause these obstructions?

A

Most common cause of epiphora
Multiple causes of obstruction:
- Dental disease (maxillary incisors & PM1)
- Foreign bodies (hay)
- Abnormal duct (brachycephalic rabbits)

Treatment:
- NLD flush, anti-inflammatories
- AB only if pus is present
- Dental extractions

VET636 - Avian, Exotic pet and Wildlife medicine (12 decks)

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