{"title":"Review of: Ballard B and Cheek R, editors. “Exotic animal medicine for the veterinary technician”, 4th edition. Wiley Blackwell Inc, 705p; 2024","authors":"Lorelei D’Avolio","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.06.002","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.06.002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 37-38"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144687261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hannah J. Dadah , Michelle G. Hawkins , Andrea W. Munk , Jodi L. Westropp , Philip H. Kass , Hugues Beaufrère
{"title":"Risk and protective factors associated with clinical urolithiasis in pet guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)","authors":"Hannah J. Dadah , Michelle G. Hawkins , Andrea W. Munk , Jodi L. Westropp , Philip H. Kass , Hugues Beaufrère","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.07.005","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.07.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To determine potential risk and protective factors for the development of clinical urolithiasis in pet guinea pigs.</div></div><div><h3>Animals</h3><div>Approximately 242 guinea pigs (<em>Cavia porcellus</em>).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Signalment, dietary and medical history were recorded from urolith submissions from affected guinea pigs. The controls were identified via an online survey from owners of nonclinical pet guinea pigs, and data was collected regarding signalment, past medical history and diet. Clinical urolithiasis is defined as animals having or had the presence of uroliths identified via imaging, surgery, or manual expulsion, and control subjects may include subclinical or asymptomatic cases. Diets for control and affected subjects were assessed for percentage of pellets, hay, fruits/vegetables, high-calcium dietary items and vitamin C offered. Models were constructed with the best fit evaluated using Hosmer-Lemeshow tests. The 2 predictive models used, %hay (PH) and %pellets (PP), could not be combined due to their collinear nature.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Data from 70 affected and 172 control guinea pigs were included in the analyses. Guinea pigs ≥24 months had higher odds of developing urolithiasis (PH: OR = 30.74; 95% CI [6.26–150.9], <em>P</em> < 0.001; PP: OR = 19.23; 95% CI [4.64–79.65], <em>P</em> < 0.001). Animals ≥1300 grams were more protected against urolithiasis (PH: OR = 0.05; 95% CI [0.0042–0.48], <em>P</em> < 0.010; PP: OR = 0.05; 95% CI [0.0045–0.47], <em>P</em> < 0.009). Affected males were overrepresented (62.8%, 44/70). Diets higher in %hay (PH: OR = 0.94; 95% CI [0.91–0.97], <em>P</em> < 0.001) or greater variety of fruits/vegetables (>7 types) (PH: OR = 0.66; 95% CI [0.57–0.76], <em>P</em> < 0.001; PP: OR = 0.69; 95% CI [0.61–0.80], <em>P</em> < 0.001) were more protective; guinea pigs with diets higher in %pellets were more likely to develop urolithiasis (PP: OR = 1.05; 95% CI [1.02–1.09], <em>P</em> < 0.003). High moisture (>50%) food items, such as bell peppers, tomatoes and romaine lettuce were especially protective against the formation of uroliths.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions and clinical relevance</h3><div>Age, body weight, sex and dietary factors are important considerations for the development of clinical urolithiasis in guinea pigs and should be considered when tailoring preventative strategies for guinea pigs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 28-34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144687259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diagnosis and treatment of an ossified auricular hematoma in a domestic rabbit","authors":"Hilary S. Stern , Ethan Biswell","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.07.001","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.07.001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 26-27"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144687562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexandra T. Troiano , Melanie Ammersbach , Kelsey D. Brust , Kathryn L. Philips , Hugues Beaufrère , Esteban Soto
{"title":"Sex and age-specific select hematologic and biochemical reference intervals for koi (Cyprinus rubrofuscus)","authors":"Alexandra T. Troiano , Melanie Ammersbach , Kelsey D. Brust , Kathryn L. Philips , Hugues Beaufrère , Esteban Soto","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.05.001","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.05.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Fish are the most numerous pet throughout the United States, and ornamental Koi (<em>Cyprinus rubrofuscus</em>) are one of the most common ornamental pet fish in California, USA. Previous reference intervals have been established in a small sample size of koi but differences between age and sex in ornamental koi have not been investigated. The objective of this study was to establish hematologic and biochemical reference intervals for healthy koi stratified by age (juvenile vs adult) and sex (male vs female).</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Blood samples were collected from 50 adult males, 50 adult females and 50 juvenile koi from a commercial vendor. Heparinized whole blood was used to perform a manual complete blood count (CBC) and biochemical parameters were analyzed from plasma samples. Reference intervals were determined using a non-parametric method to obtain the 2.5% and 97.5% percentiles following elimination of outliers.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Many of the investigated laboratory values were found to be similar between groups, but statistically significant differences were found between ages for calcium, anion gap, and thrombocyte count, and among both age and sex for phosphorus, bicarbonate, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), glucose, red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), and lymphocyte count.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Statistically significant differences between ages and sexes were found to exist for various analytes, but the differences are unlikely to be clinically relevant given the large degree of overlap of the partitioned reference intervals. Overall, reference intervals for the investigated hematological and biochemical values were similar in nonbreeding koi regardless of sex and age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144270104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Surgical management of metritis, salpingitis and vaginal tubular adenocarcinoma in a sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps)","authors":"Veronica Pardini , Bairon Madrigal","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.07.004","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.07.004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 35-36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144687260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Utilization of apitherapy in a liposarcoma in a guinea pig","authors":"Samuel Batson, Joerg Mayer","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.05.002","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.05.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The use of bee products such as bee venom and IV honey solution is an under-documented avenue of adjunctive therapy when treating neoplasms.</div></div><div><h3>Case description</h3><div>A 2-year-old female guinea pig presented with a recurrent submandibular liposarcoma. Administration of bee venom was utilized to prolong reoccurrence, and no growth was seen in the first 141 days. The mass eventually did recrudesce, and bee venom along with IV honey were employed over the following 120 days, where the tumor again eventually regressed in size. Within the next 100 days, the tumor regrew and apitherapy was once again initiated, where the mass fluctuated in size. The guinea pig eventually succumbed to secondary cardiopulmonary distress and was euthanized.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions and case relevance</h3><div>Administration of bee venom at the site of the mass correlated with regression in tumor size on several occasions. The relevance of adjuvant apitherapy for its antineoplastic effects should be considered and further study is warranted due to its potential to impact treating otherwise challenging neoplastic disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 17-20"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144366453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Linda J. Siperstein , Janina A. Krumbeck , Kaylie Zapanta , Elizabeth Marie Rush
{"title":"Characterization of nasal cavity microbiome from healthy rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus) using next-generation DNA sequencing and geographically specific bacterial and fungal differences","authors":"Linda J. Siperstein , Janina A. Krumbeck , Kaylie Zapanta , Elizabeth Marie Rush","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.05.003","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.05.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Upper respiratory infections in rabbits (<em>Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus</em>) present common yet challenging cases for veterinary practitioners. While conventional cultures may only grow a small percentage of microbes, next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) can be more effective at revealing fastidious or novel organisms. This study aimed to characterize the rabbit nasal cavity microbiome and determine potential geographical differences.</div></div><div><h3>Animals</h3><div>Clinically healthy pet rabbits from California (CA, n = 25) and Alabama (AL, n = 24), United States.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Samples were collected via standard protocol of swabbing both nasal cavities. The bacterial and fungal microbiomes were profiled using NGS, targeting the 16S rRNA V1 to V3 region for bacteria and ITS-2 for fungi.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In total, 186 bacterial taxa were detected, 9 representing at least 1% of the microbiome. In each sample, a mean of 37.5 ± standard deviation (SD) of 18 bacterial taxa were detected (mean 36.79 ± SD 19.8 in the AL group, and a mean of 38.20 ± and SD of 17.1 in the CA group). The most abundant bacterial taxa were species within the Pseudomonadales order (mean 12.7% ± SD 17), <em>Moraxella cuniculi</em> (mean 11.9% ± SD 18), and Neisseriaceae sp. (mean 8.5% ± SD 9). Although rabbits were considered healthy, a species within the <em>Mycoplasma</em> genus was detected in 37 out of 49 samples (mean 4.7% ± SD 9). The <em>Helicobacter</em> genus (mean 3.7% ± SD 5.5) and the Campylobacteraceae order (mean 2.84% ± SD 6.1) were also present. The fungal mycobiome was more diverse than the bacteriome, with the most abundant fungal taxa being a species within the <em>Cladosporium</em> genus (mean 38.1% ± SD 25), followed by a species within the <em>Alternaria</em> genus (mean 5.5% ± SD 8), a species within the Pleosporales order (mean 3.8% ± SD 10), <em>Alternaria infectoria-rosae</em> (mean 3.72% ± SD 6.8)<em>, Vishniacozyma victoriae</em> (mean 2.93% ± SD 4.4)<em>,</em> and a species within the <em>Microascus (Scopularipsis)</em> genus (mean 1.02% ± SD 5.1). Twenty-three fungal taxa were more abundant in the CA group, and 3 species were more common in the AL group.</div></div><div><h3>Clinical Relevance</h3><div>Findings from this study establish the healthy rabbit nasal cavity microbiome and mycobiome using NGS for veterinary professionals to use a comparison for rabbits with upper respiratory signs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 8-16"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144297677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alison P. Savo , Vicki Miksicek , Kelsey Brown , Jeffrey R. Applegate Jr
{"title":"Diagnosis and surgical management of primary hyperparathyroidism in a New Zealand white rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)","authors":"Alison P. Savo , Vicki Miksicek , Kelsey Brown , Jeffrey R. Applegate Jr","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.06.001","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Primary hyperparathyroidism is a disorder of the parathyroid gland (s) resulting in excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone, leading to elevated calcium levels. Primary hyperparathyroidism has been poorly described in rabbits.</div></div><div><h3>Case description</h3><div>A 9-year-old male neutered New Zealand white rabbit (<em>Oryctolagus cuniculus</em>) presented for weight loss, inappetence and reduced ambulation. Blood work revealed markedly elevated total calcium (>20mg/dL), ionized calcium (>2.7mmol/L), and PTH (18.10 pmol/L). A cervical ultrasound confirmed the presence of a suspected parathyroid nodule. The patient was anesthetized and a nodulectomy was performed. Hypocalcemia occurred 48 hours post-op, which was managed on a tapering dose of calcitriol. The calcium normalized after 6 weeks of therapy.</div><div>The rabbit also suffered a complete fracture of the right humerus and right shoulder subluxation during recovery. The fracture was surgically stabilized and reduction of the subluxation attempted. The rabbit remained asymptomatic 6 months after presentation.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions and case relevance</h3><div>Primary hyperparathyroidism should be considered as a differential in rabbits presenting with hypercalcemia. Successful management of this case was achieved via surgical nodulectomy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 21-25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Péter Pazár , Judit Csöndes , Zsolt Abonyi-Tóth , Adrienn Kaba , Viktor Molnár , Nándor Balogh
{"title":"Blood and urinalysis measurements in ferrets with clinically suspected chronic kidney disease","authors":"Péter Pazár , Judit Csöndes , Zsolt Abonyi-Tóth , Adrienn Kaba , Viktor Molnár , Nándor Balogh","doi":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.03.004","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.jepm.2025.03.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is probably underdiagnosed in ferrets. Laboratory data of ferrets with CKD are lacking and no staging or treatment guidelines are available in this species. The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential blood and urinary biomarkers beyond urea and creatinine in diagnosing CKD in ferrets.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A retrospective study using blood and urine results from ferret suspected of having clinical CKD as well as 60 clinically healthy pet ferrets in a private practice specializing in exotic animals was conducted. Selected variables related to renal function including red blood cell count, albumin, urea, creatinine, total calcium, inorganic phosphate (P), symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), urine specific gravity (USG) and urine protein creatinine ratio (UPC ratio) were compared to a clinically healthy population. Diagnostic performance of serum urea, creatinine and SDMA were evaluated using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Statistically significant differences were found between the results of the 2 groups for all variables except for P. Ferrets from both groups had lower serum creatinine (median 73 µmol/L; 0.82 mg/dL in the CKD and 40 µmol/L; 0.45 mg/dL in the healthy group) and SDMA (median 7.45 µg/dL in the CKD and 5.1 µg/dL in the healthy group) values than described in dogs and cats. Ferrets with suspected CKD exhibited lower USG (1018 ± 6.71) and higher UPC ratio (median 1.86) compared to healthy animals (1039 ± 12.67 and median 0.23). The diagnostic value of serum creatinine (AUC = 0.807) was higher than that of urea (AUC = 0.720) or of SDMA (AUC = 0.713) for detecting CKD based on ROC analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions and clinical relevance</h3><div>The use of species-specific reference intervals is mandatory to recognize mild changes in renal function in ferrets. Urinalysis, including the measurement of USG and UPC ratio, can facilitate the diagnosis of CKD and are recommended in all ferrets with suspected renal disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15801,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine","volume":"53 ","pages":"Pages 32-40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143881843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}