Rabbits Flashcards
What is a common GI presentation/symptom in rabbits?
Gut stasis (symptom, not a diagnosis)
Is gut stasis painful? Can gut stasis be fatal in rabbits?
Yes - painful and can be fatal
What is the pathogenesis of gut stasis?
Caused by anorexia
Anorexia causes slowing down of gut motility
Reduction of faecal production
Deteriorating cycle until eating and defaecating stops
Is a rabbit with gut stasis a suitable candidate for anaesthesia?
No
Electrolytes not predictably absorbed/secreted - causes electrolyte derangements
How does gut stasis cause dehydration?
Interstitial fluid moves from tissues into gut
What are the symptoms/history of gut stasis?
Reduced/absent appetite
Reduced/absent faecal production
Lethargy
What is heard on abdominal auscultation in a rabbit with gut stasis?
Reduced gut sounds
May hear abnormally loud borborygmi
What can be felt on abdominal palpation of a rabbit with gut stasis? (more than 1 presentation)
‘Empty’ abdomen if guts not normally filled
OR dilated/fluid filled gut loops
OR impactions of viscera
May be painful
Is gut stasis a disease?
No - a symptom
Important to diagnose the cause as well as treating the gut stasis itself
How is gut stasis diagnosed?
History - reduced appetite and faecal production, lethargy
Gut auscultation - lack of gut sounds or loud borborygmi
Abdo palpation
Imaging, surgery
How is blood glucose linked to GI blockage in rabbits?
Elevated blood glucose causes suspicion of GI blockage
HOWEVER poor sensitivity/specifity - not all blocked show high glucose, and not all hyperglycaemic rabbits are blocked
What is the treatment for gut obstruction in rabbits?
Surgical intervention (once stabilised)
Give examples of good surgical technique in rabbits
Minimise direct handling
Used moistened swabs
Use wet, non-powdered gloves
Ensure good homeostasis
Should prokinetics be given in the case of rabbit obstruction or after gut surgery?
NO - contraindicated
What is dysbiosis in rabbits?
Alteration in gut bacteria
What can cause dysbiosis in rabbits?
Antibiotic use - care with which you use
Altered body temperature
Change in gut motility (gut stasis)
Drastic diet alteration
What are the clinical signs of dysbiosis in rabbits?
Change in faecal consistency
Altered appetite
Possible production of bacterial endotoxins (C. prevail)
What is the treatment for dysbiosis?
Aggressive treatment of underlying cause
Adsorbents - choletsyramine, activated charcoal
Gut stasis can lead to dysbiosis. Which is more serious?
Dysbiosis potentially much more serious than gut stasis alone
What is failure to eat caecotrophs commonly misdiagnosed as?
Diarrhoea
Do rabbits that fail to eat caecotrophs still have normal faeces?
Yes - still produce normal hard faeces
What can cause failure to eat caecotrophs?
Change in taste - diet change, medications, infection
Change in consistency - may be more runny than usually if infection/inflm of caecum
Inability/unwilling to turn around and eat them - pain, dental disease, spondylosis, osteoarthritis, poor balance due to inner ear disease
Is diarrhoea serious in the rabbit?
Yes - true emergency!
Why is diarrhoea so serious in rabbits?
Gut motility seriously disordered
Rapid fluid loss
Significant electrolyte imbalance
What can cause diarrhoea in rabbits?
Protozoan parasites - coccidia
Bacterial infection and endotoxin production - Tyzzer’s disease (C. piliformis)
Mucoid enteropathy
What is mucoid enteropathy? What age rabbits is it usually seen in?
Distinct diarrhoea complex
SI and LI dilated with mucoid diarrhoea
Usually juvenile rabbits
What/are histological changes seen with mucoid diarrhoea?
Few/no histological changes seen
What is the cause and treatment for mucoid enteropathy?
Unknown agent - may co-exist with other GI infections e.g. coccidiosis
Thought to be contagious
Treatment unrewarding
What is the definition of bloat in rabbits?
Gut loops filled with gas
Intensely painful
What causes bloat in rabbits?
Bacteria within gut produce gas when multbiome or diet changes
What can bloat in rabbits lead to?
Functional obstruction of pyloric outflow - gastric dilatation
(Rabbit stomachs do not usually progress to torsion)
What is the treatment for bloat?
May require surgery to allow gas to pass out of the stomach
With caecal impaction, does the animal continue to defaecate normally?
Produces normal hard faeces
But NO caecotrophs are passed
Describe the pathology and sequelae of caecal impaction
Caecum fills with ingesta and fails to empty
Caecum gets progressively more and more full –> pain
As no caecotrophs, rabbit loses weight due to lack of calories/nutrients
Is there a treatment for caecal impaction?
Not really
PGF-2a suggested - but not very helpful
What age of rabbits is typically affected by coccidiosis?
Weanlings
(Rare in adults
Kits immune prior to weaning)
What are risk factors for coccidiosis?
Poor hygiene
Overstocking
Stress
Is coccidiosis infection and disease common?
Infection common
But disease relatively rare - each species has different pathogenicity and different area of predilection
What are the clinical signs of enteric coccidiosis?
Diarrhoea - possibly with mucus/blood
Stunting, weight loss, lethargy, anorexia, death
What are the clinical signs of hepatic coccidiosis?
Weight loss, stunting, ascites, jaundice hepatomegaly
May be subclinical
What are the 2 forms of coccidiosis in rabbits?
Enteric
Hepatic
Is routine worming indicated for most rabbits in UK?
No
Passalurus ambiguus is a common pinworm in rabbits. Is it always pathogenic?
No - part of multi-biome
Potentially helps in caecal contents mixing/digestion