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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
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What color are the bruises of wildlife? Why?
green because of the biliverdin
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What is 1st intention healing and 2nd intention healing?
- 1st intention: with sutures
- 2nd intention: without sutures
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What are the different materials we can use for wound treatments?
- Copolymer flakes
- Travase
- Dermaclens
- EZ Derm
- Duoderm
- Dermaheal
- Bio Dres
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How do we bandage a wound?
- clean wound first
- protective layer (non-stick)
- padding
- masking tape (keep off feathers)
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What are some clinical signs of an animal that has brain damage?
- head tilt
- depression
- convulsions
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How do we treat brain damage if it is caught soon after injury?
- PSS
- heatstarch or mannitol to decrease swelling
- supportive therapy
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What are some neurologic signs that may not be due to trauma?
- congenital defects
- tame animal
- disease
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What are some underlying problems that can cause neurological problems?
- infectious disease (rabies, distemper)
- parasitic disease (baylisascaris, toxoplasmosis)
- bacterial infection (brain abscess)
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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
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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
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_____ of head damage will cause vision loss.
90%
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Where is pectin and what is its function?
- its on top of the optic disk in a birds eye
- unsure of its function
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Bone ends must be _____ for fractures to heal.
aligned
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How do we immobilize fractures?
must immobilize the joints above and below the fracture
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Do we usually see infection with a closed fracture?
no
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Is the external fixation of a fracture invasive?
no its the least invasive methose
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How long should we keep birds or young mammals immoblized with an external fixation of a fracture?
no more than 3 - 4 weeks
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Do we use an external fixation with a internal fixation?
yes we can
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What can we use as an internal fixation of a fracture?
pins, wires, screws, plates
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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
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What kind of physical therapy should we do after a fracture has healed?
- flex and extend joints to increase range of motion
- encourage exercise
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What are some external parasites wild animals get?
fleas, mites, lice, maggots
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How do we treat external parasites?
- change bedding
- treat fleas/lice with pyrethrins
- treat mites with ivomec
- need to remove/flush maggots
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What are some common internal parasites we will see in wildlife?
- trichomonas and giardia
- coccidia
- ascarids and capillaria
- flukes and tapeworms
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How do we treat internal parasites?
similar to domestic animal treatments
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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
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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
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What are the three most common toxins we will see in wildlife?
- botulinum
- cholinesterase inhibitors
- lead
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What toxin kills more birds than any other?
botulinum
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What toxin is used to kill nematodes/insects and is an organophosphate/carbamate?
cholinesterase inhibitors
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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
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How do we treat toxin poisoning?
- few antidotes available: EDTA for heavy metals, atropine for CHEs
- supportive therapy: GI protectants, fluids/warmth/nutrition
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Is lead poisoning common?
yes very common
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How do we treat for lead poisoning?
- 35 mg/kg calcium versinate BID
- recheck lead levels in 5 days
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Is CHE inhibitors a common poision?
yes, very common and very toxic
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How do we treat for CHE inhibitor poisoning?
treat with atropine
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How many waterfowl are killed each year due to botulism?
100,000
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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
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How do we treat botulism poisoning?
supportive therapy
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How do we treat oiled birds?
- dawn detergent
- supportive therapy
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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
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What are the clinical signs of avian pox?
- masses on face, mouth
- membranes on face, feet
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What kind of disease is aspergillosis?
fungal disease
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What parts of the body do aspergillosis affect?
lungs/air sacs
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What is aspergillosis related to?
stress and poor ventilation
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How do we treat aspergillosis?
Itraconazole
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What are the clinical signs of turtle respiratory disease?
- eye or nasal discharge
- swelling at ear
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How do treat a turtle with a respiratory disease?
-
What are the two types of gout?
visceral and articular
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What is gout related to?
dehydration and renal disease
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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
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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
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What are some complications we will see with housing wildlife?
- bumblefoot
- feather damage
- head injury
- starvation
- predation
- escape
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How do we repair feathers?
- if shaft is bent: can straighten and hot glue
- if broken: can replace or amputate
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Where do most orphaned animals come from?
most are kidnapped
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What are ways to care for orphans?
- rebuild/replace nests
- cross foster
- take a history
- physical exam
- diagnostic tests
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What are some things we will see on a physical exam for orphaned animals?
- dehydration
- hypothermia
- fractures
- infections
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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
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What are fluids we can use to rehydrate orphaned animals?
use multiple electrolytes (pedialyte, emeraid I, IV fluids
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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)
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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
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What is the most difficult wild animal to raise?
rabbit
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How do we wean mammals?
- do it gradually
- thicken formula then add solid items
- decrease hand feedings
- make sure diet stays balanced
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How do we feed orphaned birds?
- weigh daily
- feed every 30 - 60 minutes
- wean 2 - 3 weeks
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How do we feed raptor babies?
- use surrogates
- feed chopped rodents 3 - 4 times a day
- wean early
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How do we feed precocious waterfowl babies?
- can offer turkey or chick starter
- still need to be warm
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What do we need to beware about handraising orphaned wildlife?
beware taming or imprinting by minimizing human contact
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When do precocial birds imprint?
at birth
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When do birds of prey imprint?
about 18 days after being born
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How do we avoid imprinting?
use surrogates with young
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Can we reverse a tame animal to be wild again?
yes, but it takes time
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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
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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
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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
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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
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What are the three different release methods?
- gradual (soft) release
- hacking out
- hard release
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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
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What is hacking out?
- pre-release enclosure at distant site
- provide food and water for days - weeks before and after
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What is hard release?
take to a suitable spot and turn loose
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