To cover... History Handling Examination Rabbit- friendly practice FAQ s Preventive medicine Therapeutics and fluids Sampling

Transcription

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2 To cover... History Handling Examination Rabbit- friendly practice FAQ s Preventive medicine Therapeutics and fluids Sampling

3 LET S START... RABBITS ARE PREY SPECIES

4 How do prey species behave? Enhanced senses for detecting predators They stick together They want to have an escape plan They can be aggressive They have a TI response They are anxious when they don t have these or when they are in unfamiliar settings They breed lots

5 HISTORY...full or focused?

6 What should you ask on the history? Signalment Time owned/ source if recent/ vaccine or drug hx How kept...vids/ pics Diet Previous problems Recent changes in diet/ what is eaten Eats strange things? Caecotroph problems? Management changes Moulting Climate changes!! Listen to kids!!!!!!!!!

7 Diet?? All grass and hay? Some herbage? Pellets <25g/kg/day How to feed?? Consequences Obesity Dental disease

8 How did problem start vs how it is now!

9 What is normal??

10 When to take history?

11 Handling...do you need to??

12 Handling Always support the back Height? Always use two hands Be steady and quiet! Turning upside down???

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14 ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION!!!

15 The Rabbit Wrap

16 Prey species?? Remember that they will be very anxious They will show minimal clinical signs Many of their clinical signs will relate to pain and/ or anxiety

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18 Signs of Pain Reduced activity Lame/ gait changes Weight/ muscle loss Altered mood Altered appetite Faecal / urinary changes

19 Dental Diagnosis Clinical signs? Dental examination

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21 Dental disease cannot be ruled out without a full examination under anaesthesia and skull imaging

22 Auscultation Rewarding?? Don t forget to watch patterns of breathing FIRST! Small stethoscope head

23 The Rabbit Friendly Practice Attitude not equipment or sales? Not just RAW! Think cat! Quiet Waiting area Wards Attitudes to anaesthesia Preventive health plans Understanding rabbits

24 FAQ s How long do rabbits live? How to keep? How do you mix rabbits? How to feed?

25 How long do rabbits live?

26 How do you mix rabbits?

27 Consequenes of being on own??

28 Husbandry In vs out? We are not just keeping rabbits in hutches!!!

29 Think 5 Freedoms!

30 In Safe Disease predators More eating hazards No U- V Less ability to forage Harder to get natural diet?? More space???? Foot wear and tear

31 Out Forage and space?? Less safe? UV Better on feet? NOT concrete Harder to contain More able to perform natural behaviours? Harder to handle?

32 What is the ideal hutch/ run system?

33 In the wild they eat... Grass Dried grass Herbage Other stuff...

34 Diet Fibre!!! % grass/ hay + some green leaves NOT grass clippings Pellets? Max= 25g/kg/day NO muesli Treats? Training?

35 Preventive medicine Diet Husbandry Vaccination Parasite control Regular checks Owner Vet Neutering

36 Rabbit Intestinal Nematodes NOT a cause of disease! Except in rare cases! Commensal/ symbiotic??

37 Coccidiosis Young rabbits E stiedai Hepatic necrosis Wasting and death Intestinal forms Wasting Failure to thrive Diagnosis Therapy

38 E cuniculi Parasite? Fungus? Disease prevalence? Parasite prevalence? Therapy? Prophylaxis? Justified???

39 What about E cuniculi? Not all neuro disease is Ec Not all weakness is neuro disease Not all head tilt is Ec Rabbits do not suffer from panacur deficiency! Diagnose!!!

40 Vaccination Core Myxomatosis

41 Non- core RHD- 1 RHD- 2

42 Neutering...why do we do it? Females Breeding? False preg? Uterine adenocarcinoma

43 Spay When? Consequences??

44 Castrate Why? Breeding Behavioural problems? Tumours? Fight damage?

45 Retained testes

46 What if we keep a male with spayed female???

47 Overall... Spay females Castrate some males Think GA???

48 How to give drugs NOT in water! Oral The rabbit wrap?? Intra- muscular? Subcutaneous

49 Stabilisation- Fluids Route? Iv Io Sub- q ip Type of fluid? Rate etc Maintenance?? Stress on patient?

50 Intra- osseous Proximal femur Need pump

51 Choosing drugs... Diagnose! Explain to owners Assess Potential benefits Potential dosing issues Potential side- effects Cascade? Owner consent?

52 What about antibiotics? First guess? Culture? Gut issues? Route? Duration of use?

53 Antibiosis: Bacteriology/ sensitivity Likely to find pathogens? Likely to find commensals? Likely to get contamination? Likely to find anything? Aerobic vs anaerobic Significance of results?

54 Culturing Pasteurella In healthy rabbit No significance DO NOT use prophylactic antibiotic Consider other rabbits Diseased rabbit Young or in colony May be significant Consider health status of others Older or individual rabbit Significant? Consider underlying causes

55 Antibiotic Failure Consider Dose rate Penetration of drug Drug activity Failure of culture/ sensitivity Underlying causes Chronicity

56 Cytology More useful than bacteriology? Faster Shows cellular response to bacteria Shows bacterial morphology Shows its not bacterial??

57 Tips on blood- taking Sites Ear Jugular Lat Saphenous (tibial)

58 Ear Vein Easy to access Weak Relies on good peripheral circulation Use small needle and syringe EMLA?

59 Jugular Good vein Very lateral Effect of female dewlap? Need GA? Use cranial vena cava? Haemostasis?

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62 Summary Rabbits have their own unique points It is hard to manage them as per dogs and cats There are a lot of them......and switched on owners expect the correct approach! The rabbit fora are VERY active!