Rabbits Flashcards
if a rabbit kicks, what can it lead to ?
lumbar vertebral fractures (l6/7) which leads to permanent spinal damage. plus may get osteoporosis from lack of exercise eg. kept in a small hutch.
which breeds are prone to incisor maloclusion due to skull morphology? also prone to?
dwarfs rabbits - mandibular prognathism, maxillary brachygnaithism. plus predisposed to nasolacrimal duct and dental disease.
what is the vertebral formula of a rabbit?
c7, t12, l7, s4, c15-16 (my have t13 in some)
what is the dental formulae of a rabbit? what are the peg teeth? which are wider apart? how many salivary glands?
2/1 0/0 3/2 3/3 - vestigal second pair of incisors are behind the 1st pair and are known as ‘peg teeth’ . teeth are open rooted, long crowned. - grow continuously. cheek teeth are wider apart on maxilla the mandible. mandibular ct grow faster too. 4 pairs of salivary glands.
what is a rabbits coat like? Which breed differs and is therefore prone to sore hocks (plantar pododermatitis) how often do they moult? when do they get their adult coat? when sles may you see loosening of the hairs? why? what is the dewlap? where are scent glands? why are feet prone to pododermatitis?
short soft undercoat protected by longer guard hairs. Rex breeds - guard hairs are shorter - prone to sore hocks. guard hairs are 1st to emerge….adult coat at 6-8 m/o. moult 2 x a year. pregnant/pseudo - loosening of belly thigh and chest so that it can be plucked to expose nipples. female - 4-5 pairs of nipples. absent on the males. nb) skin tears easily. female have large flap of skin under chin - dewlap. feet are covered in hair. - prone to pododerm. inguinal glands often have yellow/oily deposit. (scent glands. )
why are rabbits prone to corneal ulceration and drying of the corneal surface? what must be avoided during enucleation. what is located behind the 3rd eyelid? why is the nasolacrimal duct prone to blockage? what are the ears used for?
rabbits are prone to corneal ulceration - due to only blinking 10-12 times a day. large network of vessels behind the eye and the includes the postorbital venous sinus. - avoid at enucleation.
nasolacrimal duct = 1 punctum. also has 2 sharp bends - narrowed - prone to block.
ears = highly vascular and involved in heat regulation and have a-v shunts.
GIT - what kind of gut does a rabbit have? stomach? why cant they vomit? ph? SI? - site of? terminal ileum? sacculus rotundus? colon separated into? fusus coli? what produces vfa’s? explain caecotrophy? which vits? what else is good and what stimulates them to lick and ingest these?
hindgut fermenters - digest low quality, high fibre diet - mainly grass.
stomach - j shaped. left of midline. cardiac sphincter prevents vomiting, ph - 1-2.
si- nutrients absorbtion. ileum enlarges - sacculus rotundus. - unique and composed of lymphoid tissue.
LI- caecum well developed. fermentation. divided into2 parts - prox colon - distinct haustrae and taenia - and distal = no haustrae.
prox colon = separates into digestible and non. digestible (long) passed back to teh caecum. and non-digestible - passed to distal colon and expelled as hard pellets. junction of prox and distal colon- fusus coli. - intestinall pacemaker!
microbes in the LI - produce VFA’S, - energy. absrbed or caecotrophs.
caecotrophs - produce 2 types of faeces - hard and caecotrophs. good to resorb vit b and k . plus high in AA’s and VFA’s. these are not excreted at the same time. good for caecal transfaunation. the caecotrophs have a mucus envolope which stimulates licking and ingestion. these stay in the stomach for 6-8 hours.
what does the gall bladder secrete instead of bilirubin? (conjugated?) and what is the colour diff? rabbits are prone to hepatic lipidosis why?
it secretes biliverdin. more green. obese - high lipid stores - hepatic lipidosis. or if anorexic. /fasting then they are prone! start to mobilise fat stores for energy.
explain the immune system of a rabbit? spleen? 50% of lymphoid tissue is what? where found? what is the sacculus rotundus and what is the fusus coli?
spleen = small flat and elongated. 50% - GALT. found in the tonsils, sacculus rotundus (ileum) and in the SI peyers patches. NB) fusus coli = the junction from prox to distal colon. - intestinal pacemaker.
respiratory. how do they breath? large amount of intrathoracic fat is normal or abnormal?
they are obligate nasal breathers. and the large amount of fat is normal.
urinary: ph of urine?
how is calcium metabolism different in a rabbit? is crystaluria normal? what is the average fluid intake of a rabbit/day?
alkaline urine. (like all herbivores)
ca is absorbed from the GIT independant of the vit d. urine is the major source of excreteion of ca. therefore crystalluria is normal and common. fluid intake is 50-100ml/kg/day.
repro = amatomy of the doe?
when do they reach puberty - male/female?
why do you alwasy take the doe to the buck?
breeding season? what are the signs?
what causes an pseudopreg?
gestation? when can you palpate preg?
wean at? start copro at? when start on hay?
the doe has no uterine body. she has 2 separate uterine horns and 2 vcervices. - open into vagina.
no os pens in the buck and the inguinal canal is always open.
puberty - male - 5-8m/o
female - 4-5m/o
take doe to buck as she is very territorial.
reflex ovulation. receptive 12-14d then 2-4 not. jan-oct
rub chin, actuve, lordosis, vulva
infetile mating induces ovulation and causes pseudopreg.
palpate at 14d and gestation is 30-32d . wean at 6 weeks and copro at 3 weeks old. hay at 2-3 weeks.
HR? RR? TEMP? FOOD? WATER? URINE? LIFESPAN?
HR - 180-300 RR- 30-60 TEMP - 38.5-40 FOOD - 50G/KG WATER - 50-100 URINE - 10-35 LIFE 8-15 YRS
what factors predispose disease? how should you start an examination and why?
inapp housing, diet, stress, hygiene. you should exam from a distance before you stress them out. they are masters and hiding signs of disease. inspect urine and faeces.
clinical exam of a rabbit? bcs, bw, dehydrated, coat, rr, cv etc.
BCS - 1-5. and BW. dehydrated? - sunken eyes, loss of skin elasticity. look at coat - fur should be soft and free of mats and clean. see skin. ? urne scald - myiasis (fly strike) - emergency. - treat with - rear guard.
see resps and nares and chest. should have short rapid insp.
CV - mm colour, slightly paler than normal is okay. CRT. auscaltate heart rate and rhythm. and pulses rate and quality. (femoral / auricular).
GIT exam - clin exam - what should you alwasy rule out?! how do you check this? what are rabbits esp prone to in the GIT?
ALWASY RULE OUT DENTAL DISEASE!! - need a nurse as can be hard. see incisors and peg teeth. see mucosa. use otoscope and gag/GA. or sedate. serious problems with GIT can follow due to anorexia and ileus. etc.
prone to hepatic lipidosis - if hypoglycaemic. - lipolysis - FA’s and ketones - fatty liver.
you should palpate the face, manipulate the mandible from side to side. palpate the abdo - care. feel stomach kidneys, bladder, si and li. not liver or spleen.
exam anus - diarrhoea, myiasis etc.
Urogenital exam - what should you palpate? male? female?
can palpate kidneys and bladder with care. male - scrotum and faeces and testes.
female - vulva - cant feel inside tract.
MS system - where should you place the rabbit? palpate all and watch them moving
no slip surface
ears - what sis different in the rabbit? small amount of wax normal? what does oedema of the ear suggest?
the rabbit has 2 ear canals!! - one is false but you should look in both. otoscope. parasites/exudate/fb’s/masses.
small wax is normal.
visible tympanic membrane.
oedema suggests - myxomatosis. can vacc for this and RHD.
eyes clin exam - what should you look for? what are rabbit prone to with nasolacrimal duct? why are they also prone to conrneal ulceration and drying.?
discharge, wet, alopecia, crust, eye position, nystagmus, sunken etc.
nasolacrimal duct - has 2 bends where it narows therefore prone to blockage.
corneal ulcers due to only blinking 10-12 times a day. also may have abberant eyelashes,
which LN’s can you feel and should you examine?
popliteal.(pea sized)
prescap (lentil sized) others ou cannot palpate unless enlarged - auxillar, inguinal, SM,
RB03 - if a rabbit presents with anorexia, WL, lethargic, - why is it important? what should you rule out first? what should you monitor?
it is an emergency - quickly leads to GIT stasis and this can lead to hepatic lipidosis and can be fatal. you must rule out dental disease as your main ddx. you should monitor app, urine, faecal production. you should treat with fluids and prokinetics and nutrition. plus treat the primary cause.
