Vetnuus | July 2024 19 Approach to the anorexic rabbit with a focus on gut stasis Dorianne Elliott Valley Farm Animal Hospital, Extraordinary Lecturer, Dept of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, University of Pretoria A history of anorexia is one of the most common clinical presentations seen in the pet rabbit. The domestic rabbit still has the physiology and behaviour of a prey species and will respond to illness, stress, or pain with the same instincts as its wild ancestors. This means that they mask the signs of illness until late in the course of the disease, to avoid becoming a target for predators. Being a prey species, the rabbit is very prone to stress and does not tolerate pain and illness as well as predator species do. Anorexia is not a disease in itself but can be caused by any number of conditions including medical conditions, trauma, and simple stress. Discerning the cause of the anorexia requires a detailed history, a thorough physical examination and potentially a variety of diagnostic procedures. Common underlying conditions include dental disease, gastrointestinal disorders, urogenital disease, hepatic disease, renal disease, respiratory disease, severe pododermatitis, arthritis, fractures and ingested toxins. The psittacine emergency in the GP world Johannes Lodewicus Coetzee De Beer Centre for Avian, Reptiles and Exotics, Klapmuts, South Africa This presentation will focus on different case scenarios that one is faced when dealing with psittacines. The cases will include the neonatal, juvenile, adult and geriatric patient. It will focus on common infectious, traumatic and nutritional abnormalities of different life stages of the psittacine. It will focus on anatomic and physiological considerations, stabilisation and treatment until referral or contacting an avian veterinarian for further advice. Wildlife, avian and reptile stabilization for the general practitioner Karin Lourens Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa Veterinary practices may on occasion be presented with rare and unusual wildlife patients. The average small animal veterinary practitioner may have more difficulty in dealing with such patients than practitioners with expertise in exotic animals. Veterinary training facilities do not prioritise wildlife medicine for obvious reasons. South-Africa has a wealth of fauna with their habitat interspersed within human settlements or alongside it. This places them at larger risk for trauma related to human activity and pet predation. However, that also puts them more in the spotlight of their human neighbours that fortuitously often comes come to their rescue and seek veterinary assistance for them. The most common avian species presented range from tiny nestlings belonging to a myriad of avian species, pigeons, swifts and swallows, waterfowl, storks, injured birds of prey and many other. Reptilian species range from tiny geckos to massive monitor lizards, tortoises, chameleons, venomous snakes and enormous Southern African pythons. This presentation describes the preliminary assessment of patients or casualties in order to determine the urgency of their need for treatment and the nature of treatment required. It further deals with correcting fluid and electrolyte balances, pain control, stabilising the shocked patient, thermoregulation and meeting nutritional demands. Prognostication, return to functionality and probability of future release into nature are important considerations with regards to the welfare of the individual animal, and also at population level. Events I WVAC 2024 >>> 20
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