Small Ruminant Metabolic Diseases Flashcards
This metabolic disease is due to
negative energy balance in late gestation
Pregnancy Toxemia
What are the risk factors for pregnancy toxemia?
Late gestation, multiple lambs/kids
Thin animals
Over conditioned animals
Concurrent disease affecting feed intake (foot rot, dominant animal)
What clinical signs do you expect to see in animals with
pregnancy toxemia?
Separation from flock
Head-pressing, star-gazing
Ketone smell to breath
Recumbency
This is a poor prognostic indicator for pregnancy toxemia
High blood glucose
Are animals with pregnancy toxemia hypo or hyperglycemic?
IT DEPENDS on the stage they are in!
How do you prevent pregnancy toxemia?
Feed a higher plane of nutrition, especially in the last
4-6 weeks of gestation
Why is it important to know the blood glucose status of
animals with pregnancy toxemia?
To know how to treat!
Give GLUCOSE to HYPOglycemic
Give INSULIN to HYPERglycemic
Don’t mix up or will kill animal!
What is the BEST way to treat pregnancy toxemia?
Terminate pregnancy via C-SECTION!
(Not induce, too weak and will lose both mom and baby)
These plants can cause hypocalcemia in small ruminants
Oxalate rich plants- PHILODENDRON
What are the risk factors associated with hypocalcemia?
Forced exercise
Long distance transport
Feed deprivation
Grazing oxalate rich plants
High magnesium diets
What clinical signs do you expect to see in animals with
hypocalcemia
Stilted gait
Muscle tremors
Recumbency
What are your 2 top differentials for an ewe in late gestation
that is sick or recumbent?
Pregnancy Toxemia
Hypocalcemia
How do you treat hypocalcemia?
Calcium Borogluconate IV
or
Oral Calcium Paste
Why must you monitor HR in sheep
treated with Calcium Borogluconate IV
for hypocalcemia?
Can get arrhythmias or asystole
What are the risk factors for hypomagnesemia?
Grazing on young, lush, green, cereal crops in the spring
High milk yield in does/ewes
A sheep that was recently turned out to lush, green pasture
in the spring is found recumbent and paddling
with extreme muscle tetany.
What is your primary ddx?
Hypomagnesemia
How do you treat hypomagnesemia?
Magnesium hypophosphite
(anesthetic if given IV)
How much magnesium do sheep and goats require daily
in order to prevent hypomagnesemia?
7 grams
_________ deficiency causes cerebral cortical necrosis
(polioencephalomalacia)
THIAMINE
What are the risk factors for
polioencephalomalacia due to thiamine deficiency?
Thiaminases
High sulfate intake
Certain drugs that activate thiaminase production
Which drugs should be avoided in order to
prevent thiamine deficiency?
AMPROLIUM
Acepromazine
Levamisole
Thiabendazole
A sheep has sudden onset of
head pressing, tremors,
STAR-GAZING, blindness,
recumbency, and rumen inactivity
soon after being treated for parasites.
What is your primary ddx?
Polioencephalomalacia due to
THIAMINE deficiency
What CNS diseases should be on your ddx list
if your primary ddx is
polioencephalomalacia due to thiamine deficiency?
Lead toxicosis
Meningoencephalitis/Leukoencephalomyelitis
Rabies
Tetanus
Enterotoxemia
How is thiamine deficiency quickly diagnosed?
By giving Thiamine Hydrochloride and seeing
improvement in 10 minutes
How is thiamine deficiency treated?
Thiamine Hydrochloride IV
