Emergency Presentations of the Exotic Small Mammalian Herbivore Trauma Patient

Abstract

Trauma is a common complaint by owners of small exotic mammalian herbivores (e.g., rabbits, rodents) presented to veterinary hospitals. The term “trauma” is a broad disease category applied to patients with physical debilitation associated with injury often classified as “blunt,” “penetrating,” or “burn” in origin. Because many small exotic mammalian herbivores are prey animals, clinical signs of trauma may be masked until the effects of the injury outweigh the innate nature to survive. Small exotic mammalian herbivores are disproportionately sensitive to stress; thus, pain management and supportive care are extremely important during the initial stages of trauma management. Small exotic mammals differ slightly from other companion animals (e.g., dogs, cats) in regard to common trauma presentations. However, with a few therapeutic modifications (e.g., antibiotic selection, avoidance of corticosteroids, preventing self-trauma), treatment of small exotic mammalian herbivore trauma cases follows the same conventional guidelines used for other companion animals.