Veterinary Record最新文献

Background: Due to the limited availability of ketamine in Mexico, alternative anaesthetic protocols for the immobilisation of big cats such as tigers (Panthera tigris ssp.) need to be considered. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of an anaesthetic protocol combining tiletamine, zolazepam and xylazine when used in tigers.

Methods: Sixteen tigers (seven P. tigris tigris and nine P. tigris altaica) at two zoological institutions in Mexico were included in the study. Tigers were either darted or hand injected with a combination of tiletamine/zolazepam (1.5 mg/kg) and xylazine (0.5 mg/kg). Physiological variables, including heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), body temperature, arterial haemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO₂), systolic blood pressure (SAP), diastolic blood pressure (DAP) and mean arterial pressure, were measured and recorded. The tigers were divided into two groups according to their weight: light (≤40 kg) and heavy (≥100 kg). Wilcoxon rank tests were then used to assess the effects of anaesthesia on HR, RR, SpO₂, SAP and DAP.

Results: HR and weight varied significantly among the tigers included in the study, but no statistically significant differences in RR, body temperature, SpO₂, SAP or DAP were found. Time to recovery was shorter in tigers that received atipamezole than in those that did not.

Limitations: The weight, age and sex group sample sizes were unequal. As such, caution should be employed when attempting to draw conclusions from these group comparisons.  CONCLUSION: Despite the controversy associated with tiletamine/zolazepam use in tigers, no adverse effects were observed. Therefore, a combination of tiletamine, zolazepam and xylazine is a suitable alternative for tiger anaesthesia when ketamine is not available.

Background: Dental disease is a painful and highly prevalent condition in companion rabbits. However, the dental disease management techniques currently employed by UK primary-care veterinarians and potential associated clinical welfare implications are scarcely described.

Methods: Anonymised clinical records from primary-care practices participating in the VetCompass programme in 2019 were manually reviewed to identify cases of dental disease in rabbits. Clinical welfare implications were assessed through retrospective analysis of clinical signs, diagnostics and treatment information.

Results: A total of 2219 rabbit dental disease cases were recorded in 2019. The most frequently recorded clinical signs were reduced food intake (25.1%) and reduced faecal output (10.9%). Diagnostic dental radiography was performed in 2.2% of cases. Tooth trimming (including using burs, rasps and nail clippers) was conducted on 34.0% of cases; 6.1% of rabbits undergoing cheek teeth trimming had the procedure performed while conscious. Dietary modification was recommended for 21.5% of cases. Dental disease was the primary reason for death or a contributory factor in 51.2% of the cases that died.

Limitations: Accurate dental disease diagnosis relies on detailed veterinary examination and confidence in diagnosing rabbit dental disease, which may vary.

Conclusion: Dental disease is a major welfare concern for rabbits, as indicated by the high frequency of detrimental clinical signs, the potentially suboptimal treatment methods used in some cases and its frequency as a full or contributory cause of death. Greater owner and veterinarian awareness of dental disease signs and further veterinary education on appropriate diagnostic and treatment methods could improve the welfare of affected rabbits.

Background: The breeding population of the red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) in Scotland has fallen in recent years, with all breeding pairs now confined to the Hebridean islands of Islay and Colonsay. Demographic studies have shown that a significant factor in the population decline on Islay has been reduced survival from fledging to 1 year of age (juveniles). Understanding the significance of infectious and non-infectious diseases in chough mortality is crucial to the development of successful management strategies aimed at conserving breeding populations of choughs in Scotland and elsewhere.

Methods: Postmortem examinations were carried out on 72 choughs found dead or euthanased on welfare grounds on Islay between 2004 and 2024.

Results: Significant burdens of helminths, some not previously recorded in choughs, were found in 18 juvenile choughs (78.3% of all juveniles examined). Genetic eye abnormalities analogous to Peters' anomaly in people were present in 16 nestling/fledgling choughs. Several other infectious and non-infectious causes of death were also found.

Limitations: The number of carcases examined was only a small sub-sample of all choughs dying on Islay.

Conclusion: Future strategies to conserve choughs on Islay will need to address the underlying causes of the increased losses from helminthiasis in juvenile choughs and assess the implications of inbreeding as demonstrated by the genetic eye disorders.

Georgina Mills reports on new research looking at the possibility of resuscitation behaviour in a non-human species, and the neural pathways that might be behind this.