Care of Injured and Orphaned Wildlife

  1. What are the different steps to care for wounds of wildlife?
    • flush wounds
    • debride dead tissue
    • clean area - clip hair or pull feathers, scrup or paint with antiseptic
    • bandage
    • suture if fresh
    • topical medication
    • systemic medication
  2. What color are the bruises of wildlife?  Why?
    green because of the biliverdin
  3. What is 1st intention healing and 2nd intention healing?
    • 1st intention:  with sutures
    • 2nd intention:  without sutures
  4. What are the different materials we can use for wound treatments?
    • Copolymer flakes
    • Travase
    • Dermaclens
    • EZ Derm
    • Duoderm
    • Dermaheal
    • Bio Dres
  5. How do we bandage a wound?
    • clean wound first
    • protective layer (non-stick)
    • padding
    • masking tape (keep off feathers)
  6. What are some clinical signs of an animal that has brain damage?
    • head tilt
    • depression
    • convulsions
  7. How do we treat brain damage if it is caught soon after injury?
    • PSS
    • heatstarch or mannitol to decrease swelling
    • supportive therapy
  8. What are some neurologic signs that may not be due to trauma?
    • congenital defects
    • tame animal
    • disease
  9. What are some underlying problems that can cause neurological problems?
    • infectious disease (rabies, distemper)
    • parasitic disease (baylisascaris, toxoplasmosis)
    • bacterial infection (brain abscess)
  10. What clinical signs will we see when there is damage to the spinal cord?  What is the treatment and prognosis?
    • paresis or paralysis
    • treatment:  same as with brain, supportive therapy very important
    • poor prognosis - especially if vertebral fractures
  11. How do we evaluate a wild animals vision?
    • look for external lesions
    • ability to follow objects
    • pupillary light response
    • internal ophthalmic exam
    • behavior in its enclosure
    • behavior in a larger enclosure
  12. _____ of head damage will cause vision loss.
    90%
  13. Where is pectin and what is its function?
    • its on top of the optic disk in a birds eye
    • unsure of its function
  14. Bone ends must be _____ for fractures to heal.
    aligned
  15. How do we immobilize fractures?
    must immobilize the joints above and below the fracture
  16. Do we usually see infection with a closed fracture?
    no
  17. Is the external fixation of a fracture invasive?
    no its the least invasive methose
  18. How long should we keep birds or young mammals immoblized with an external fixation of a fracture?
    no more than 3 - 4 weeks
  19. Do we use an external fixation with a internal fixation?
    yes we can
  20. What can we use as an internal fixation of a fracture?
    pins, wires, screws, plates
  21. How do we prepare for surgery on an animal who is getting an internal fixation of a bone?
    • stabilize patient first before going into surgery (a broken bone does not need to be fixed immediately)
    • keep warm
    • clip hair or pull feathers
    • paint or scrup antiseptic
    • use drapes
    • maintain hemostasis
  22. What kind of physical therapy should we do after a fracture has healed?
    • flex and extend joints to increase range of motion
    • encourage exercise
  23. What are some external parasites wild animals get?
    fleas, mites, lice, maggots
  24. How do we treat external parasites?
    • change bedding
    • treat fleas/lice with pyrethrins
    • treat mites with ivomec
    • need to remove/flush maggots
  25. What are some common internal parasites we will see in wildlife?
    • trichomonas and giardia
    • coccidia
    • ascarids and capillaria
    • flukes and tapeworms
  26. How do we treat internal parasites?
    similar to domestic animal treatments
  27. How do we test wildlife for toxins?
    • need index of suspicion for tests and treatments
    • submit blood, urine, tissue, or GI contents samples depending on the toxin we are suspicious of
  28. What are the different labs we can send samples for toxin testing to?
    • in-house
    • private labs (costs a lot of money)
    • human hospital labs
    • public health labs (good for lead levels)
    • state/federal labs
  29. What are the three most common toxins we will see in wildlife?
    • botulinum
    • cholinesterase inhibitors
    • lead
  30. What toxin kills more birds than any other?
    botulinum
  31. What toxin is used to kill nematodes/insects and is an organophosphate/carbamate?
    cholinesterase inhibitors
  32. What are some other toxins we will see in wildlife?
    • mercury
    • arsenic
    • selenium
    • thallium
    • strychnine
    • mycotoxins
    • algae toxins
    • PCBs
    • OCs
    • rodenticides
    • salt
    • avicides
    • oil
    • nitrates
  33. How do we treat toxin poisoning?
    • few antidotes available:  EDTA for heavy metals, atropine for CHEs
    • supportive therapy:  GI protectants, fluids/warmth/nutrition
  34. Is lead poisoning common?
    yes very common
  35. How do we treat for lead poisoning?
    • 35 mg/kg calcium versinate BID
    • recheck lead levels in 5 days
  36. Is CHE inhibitors a common poision?
    yes, very common and very toxic
  37. How do we treat for CHE inhibitor poisoning?
    treat with atropine
  38. How many waterfowl are killed each year due to botulism?
    100,000
  39. What causes botulism?
    • disease at water's edge
    • something dies on the edge of the water and then flies come and then maggots, then the birds eat the maggots and get sick
  40. How do we treat botulism poisoning?
    supportive therapy
  41. How do we treat oiled birds?
    • dawn detergent
    • supportive therapy
  42. What are some common infectious diseases we will see with wildlife?
    • avian pox
    • mycoplasmosis
    • avian cholera
    • duck viral enteritis
    • newcastle's disease
    • canine distemper
    • rabies
    • feline panleukopenia
    • parvovirus
    • cutaneous fibroma
    • EHD
    • bluetongue
    • ringworm
    • tularemia
    • tuberculosis
    • dermatophilosis
    • cryptosporidiosis
    • salmonellosis
    • brucellosis
    • west nile virus
    • hanta virus
    • plague
    • CWD
  43. What are the clinical signs of avian pox?
    • masses on face, mouth
    • membranes on face, feet
  44. What kind of disease is aspergillosis?
    fungal disease
  45. What parts of the body do aspergillosis affect?
    lungs/air sacs
  46. What is aspergillosis related to?
    stress and poor ventilation
  47. How do we treat aspergillosis?
    Itraconazole
  48. What are the clinical signs of turtle respiratory disease?
    • eye or nasal discharge
    • swelling at ear
  49. How do treat a turtle with a respiratory disease?
    • lance/flush
    • antibiotics
  50. What are the two types of gout?
    visceral and articular
  51. What is gout related to?
    dehydration and renal disease
  52. What are some diseases that are zoonotic?
    • rabies
    • leptospirosis
    • salmonellosis
    • hantavirus
    • yersinia pestis
    • borreliosis
    • scabies
    • larval migrans - encephalitis
    • tularemia - septicemia
    • hydatid disease - liver disease
    • toxoplasmosis (brain, lung, congenital disease)
    • chlamydophilosis
    • newcastle's disease
    • tuberculosis
    • amoebiasis
    • giardiasis
  53. Describe how we should house wildlife?
    • escape proof
    • avoid creating hazards (walls, front, substrate)
    • minimize stress
    • proper temperature/humidity
    • choose cage mates carefully
    • move outside asap
    • proper sized perches
    • protection from weather
    • allows adequate exercise
    • limit human traffic
    • keep predators away from prey
  54. What are some complications we will see with housing wildlife?
    • bumblefoot
    • feather damage
    • head injury
    • starvation
    • predation
    • escape
  55. How do we repair feathers?
    • if shaft is bent:  can straighten and hot glue
    • if broken:  can replace or amputate
  56. Where do most orphaned animals come from?
    most are kidnapped
  57. What are ways to care for orphans?
    • rebuild/replace nests
    • cross foster
    • take a history 
    • physical exam
    • diagnostic tests
  58. What are some things we will see on a physical exam for orphaned animals?
    • dehydration
    • hypothermia
    • fractures
    • infections
  59. How do we house orphaned animals?
    • keep warm
    • if no feathers keep at 90 degrees and decrease by 5 degrees each week
    • beware of low humidity
    • keep in escape proof enclosures
  60. What are fluids we can use to rehydrate orphaned animals?
    use multiple electrolytes (pedialyte, emeraid I, IV fluids
  61. What are ways we can rehydrate orphaned animals?
    • use oral route if animal is alert (feeding needle, stomach tube)
    • injectible if too weak to swallow (IP, IV, IO)
  62. How do we feed orphans?
    • feed until they don't want to eat anymore (except deer fawns)
    • weigh daily
    • feed every 3 - 8 hours
    • wean asap
  63. What is the most difficult wild animal to raise?
    rabbit
  64. How do we wean mammals?
    • do it gradually
    • thicken formula then add solid items
    • decrease hand feedings
    • make sure diet stays balanced
  65. How do we feed orphaned birds?
    • weigh daily
    • feed every 30 - 60 minutes
    • wean 2 - 3 weeks
  66. How do we feed raptor babies?
    • use surrogates
    • feed chopped rodents 3 - 4 times a day
    • wean early
  67. How do we feed precocious waterfowl babies?
    • can offer turkey or chick starter
    • still need to be warm
  68. What do we need to beware about handraising orphaned wildlife?
    beware taming or imprinting by minimizing human contact
  69. When do precocial birds imprint?
    at birth
  70. When do birds of prey imprint?
    about 18 days after being born
  71. How do we avoid imprinting?
    use surrogates with young
  72. Can we reverse a tame animal to be wild again?
    yes, but it takes time
  73. When can we release predator animals back into the wild?
    young must be allowed to learn to kill prey in captivity before being allowed to be released into the wild
  74. When do we know when an animal is ready for release?
    • injuries have healed
    • able to obtain natural food
    • able to avoid predators
    • exhibit normal behavior
    • lab tests are normal
  75. What time of year should we release animals into the wild?
    • avoid inclement weather
    • decided if they will be okay to release during the winter or keep them through the winter and release in the spring
  76. Where should we release animals?
    • proximity to where they are found
    • away from people, pets, traffic
    • suitable habitat - food, water, shelter, don't create pests
  77. What are the three different release methods?
    • gradual (soft) release
    • hacking out
    • hard release
  78. What is the gradual (soft) release?
    • use for hand-raised young
    • pre-release enclosure on site
    • must be suitable hapitat
    • provide food and water for days before and after release
  79. What is hacking out?
    • pre-release enclosure at distant site
    • provide food and water for days - weeks before and after
  80. What is hard release?
    take to a suitable spot and turn loose
Author
kris10leejmu
ID
216065
Card Set
Care of Injured and Orphaned Wildlife
Description
Exotic Animals
Updated