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How many wild animals are found annually?
1,000,000
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Do most people know how to care for wild animals?
no
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What do vet practices need to have in place to help aid in caring for wildlife animals?
- wildlife policy
- wildlife plan
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What is a wildlife policy?
how the staff should handle calls and patients regarding wildlife
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Should we expect to get paid when we are caring for wildlife?
no, it is against the law to charge people when they bring in injured/sick wildlife
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If a vet practice does not work on wildlife animals, where can we refer wildlife patients to?
- wildlife rehabilitation centers (WCV, Chesapeake, Tristate)
- licensed wildlife rehabilitator
- practice which treats wildlife
- willing local zoo/nature center
- contact game department for names of other places
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What is a wildlife plan?
- put in place if a vet practice decides they will work on wildlife animals
- develop record system
- best to work with a rehabilitator and not try to be the rehabilitator
- someone should examine the patient
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Where do most wildlife rehabilitators work?
from their homes
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What kind of permits do wildlife rehabilitators need?
state and federal permits
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Why should a vet clinic get involved with helping wildlife?
- public will call
- VMD interested in it
- humane act
- a good feeling
- because we are able to
- positive PR for the clinic
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What are the goals to wildlife rehabilitation?
- return displaced wildlife to the wild
- euthanize or legally place non-releasable animals
- prevent disease/injury to people
- avoid translocation of wildlife disease
- avoid creating nuisance wildlife situations
- educate the public as to needs and values of wildlife
- investigate causes of wildlife morbidity and mortality
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What is translocation of wildlife disease?
taking an animal with a disease and relocating it to a place where that disease does not exist and now there is a problem with that disease in the new area
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What are the different wildlife laws?
- FWS protects threatened and endangered species (also covers migratory birds)
- AWA covers exhibits mammals
- VDGIF protects all but pest animals
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What are the separate permits needed for wildlife?
- parts and bodies
- education animals
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How often do permits need to be filed?
annually
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If someone owns wildlife with a permit are the subject to inspections?
yes
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What are different reasons people bring wildlife into the vet clinic?
- thought to be "orphaned"
- hit by vehicle
- dog or cat attack
- fly into window, walls, wires
- entrapped in fence, building, or some other object
- gunshot
- poisoning
- trapped by nuisances
- most compromised some way
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When do we restrain wildlife?
necessary to rescue, examine, and treat wildlife
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Should we give advice over the phone on how to restrain wildlife while rescuing it?
no, could be liability issues if the rescuer gets hurt
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What are the different goals of restrain?
- avoid injury to people
- avoid injury to animal
- allow task to be completed
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How do we avoid human injury when working with wildlife?
- evaluate the attitude of the animal
- holder must watch animal
- neutralize animal's weapons
- use restraint aids
- communication with all involved
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How do we avoid animal injury when working with wildlife?
- pay attention to vital signs (don't inhibit sternum/thorax, watch body temp, respond if regurgitates)
- minimize restraint time
- work in enclosed space
- don't let animal slip away
- watch positioning of patient
- avoid slick surfaces
- be prepared to stop procedure
- have emergency drugs ready
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How do we accomplish the task when working with wildlife?
- list what you want to do
- ready all equipment and supplies
- make sure everything done before releasing animal
- have sufficient personnel
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What are the different injectable drugs we can use in wildlife?
- ketamine (combine with acepromazine or xylazine, telazol, or medetomidine)
- xylazine
- telazol
- medetomidine
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What is the reversal agent for xylazine?
yohimbine
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What is the reversal agent for medetomidine?
atipamezole
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What type of inhalation anesthesia can we use for wildlife?
isoflurane or sevoflurane
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What do we need to monitor in wildlife when they are under anesthesia?
- keep warm
- watch HR/RR
- check reflexes
- watch for regurgitation
- may use monitoring devices
- emergency drugs ready
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What is the most critical period of anesthesia in wildlife?
the recovery
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How do we recover wildlife from anesthesia?
- monitor
- keep warm (hold animal until they are awake)
- respond to its needs
- once away place in enclosure
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What kind of history do we need to get about wildlife when they come into the clinic?
- rescuer contact info
- other animals affected/at risk
- description of environment
- description of circumstances
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When the wild animal comes into the clinic, what should we do first?
support the animal, then diagnose and then treat
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What do we do with wildlife if we are unable to release them back into the wild?
euthanasia or place in a legal facility
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What would cause a wildlife to not be able to be released back into the wild?
- totally blind or 75% decrease in vision
- unable to use all extremities
- abnormal behavior (very tame, brain damage)
- non-native species
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What are some diagnostic aids we can use in wildlife?
- blood tests: CBC, blood chemistries, toxin levels, titers, ELISA
- skin scraping
- cytology
- tissue biopsy
- gram stains
- culture and sensitivity
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What are some imaging aids we can use in wildlife?
- radiology
- cat scan
- MRI
- endoscopy
- laparoscopy
- ultrasound
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Why is necropsy of wildlife important?
gain useful information on diseases
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What are some common findings we will see with a wild animal that comes into the clinic?
- trauma
- infection
- hypothermia
- dehydration
- emaciation
- parasites
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What happens to some water birds who get blown by the wind from the sky? What do we do for these birds?
- they land on the land and are unable to walk on land
- people will bring them in thinking there is something wrong with their legs
- do a PE and then return them to water
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What can trauma cause in wildlife?
- CNS damage
- fractures
- wounds
- eye injuries
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What kind of supportive therapy do we need to provide to wildlife?
- fluid balance
- provide warmth
- nutritional support
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How do we provide nutritional support to wildlife as a part of supportive therapy?
- correct diet and presentation
- hand feed
- tube feed
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Why do we provide supportive therapy to wildlife?
- prevent further injury from presenting lesions to other parts like feathers
- keep animal clean
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What is the maintenance fluid rate for wildlife?
50 ml/kg/day plus losses and % dehydration
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How do we get fluids into wildlife?
- oral - tube or dosing needle
- parenteral - subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intravenous, intra-osseous
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Where do we give intraosseous fluids in mammals? Birds?
- Mammals: use trochanteric fossa - into proximal femur
- Birds: proximal ulna
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When do we give intraperitoneal fluids and where do we give these?
- used in mammals when we can't use IV
- inject to right of midline just posterior to the umbilicus
- warm up fluids before injecting
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When do we use collodial fluids?
use in severe hypovolemia and CNS trauma
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What are some examples of colloidal fluids?
hetastarch/dextrans
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What is the fluid rate for colloidal fluids?
- 10 - 20 ml/kg IV, IO
- may give 1 - 4 doses over 24 hours
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How do we correct hypoproteinemia?
- give plasma instead of whole blood or colloids
- may use from different species
- collect fresh or save frozen
- give IO or IV
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When doing blood transfusions, can we give blood from different species?
no
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How fast do we give blood for a blood transfusion?
IV or IO at 8 - 10 ml/kg
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What kind of tube do we collect the blood in that we are going to use for a transfusion?
ACD tube or use heparin
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How do we provide warmth to a wild animal and what the risks for each of these methods?
- heating pad: if the animal is unable to move, could burn the animal - make sure to rotate
- light bulb and heat lamp: could burn animal, make sure there is a place for the animal to get away from the heat
- incubator: we use human incubators - make sure they are sealed off so the animal does not escape
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What kind of humidity should we have in an incubator?
about 60%
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How do we give nutritional support to a wild animal?
- hand feed
- force feed
- stomach tube
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What are the two main nutritional deficiencies we will see in wildlife?
- hypocalcemia (metabolic bone disease)
- starvation
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