Common Emergencies in Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, and Chinchillas

摘要

Rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas are small hindgut fermenting herbivores that are popular exotic pets. Although they share many physiologic features, they have each developed unique adaptive differences to survive in often-harsh environments on grass-based diets. The illnesses seen in them as pets are frequently related to subop-timal diets and husbandry (small enclosures, poor ventilation, low-fiber and less-abrasive diets) but also to the relative longevity of captive animals (chronic disease,immunosuppression, infection). As prey species, they attempt to mask their illness, and can present with an acute problem (anorexia) that is often the result of several chronic (poor diet, dental disease) and subacute (dysbiosis, enteritis) problems. This article discusses some of the more common diseases seen in rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas presenting for emergent evaluation, highlighting differences. Management of acute trauma and shock is covered in the adjoining article (See Huynh M: Rabbit Physiology and Treatment for Shock, in this issue).