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Chinchillas (Laboratory) - Pathology (view source)
Revision as of 15:19, 18 August 2011
, 15:19, 18 August 2011→Digestive System
==Digestive System==
==Digestive System==
===Iatrogenic (Antibiotics)===
The administration of inappropriate antibiotics such as lincomycin, cephalosporins, penecillins or amoxicillins may result in a decrease in the usual gram-positive gut flora and an increase in gram-negative bacteria causing enterotoxaemia. ''Clostridium perfringens'' is the most common gram-negative causative agent of enterotoxaemia. Clinical signs will include emaciation, diarrhoea, lethargy, dehydration and if untreated, death.
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Gross pathology will include enlarged liver and spleen. The lining of the gut may be inflammed in some cases.
===Constipation===
Constipation is more common than diarrhoea in chinchillas and is often due to insufficient dietary fibre and/or roughage. The causes of constipation have also been linked to dehydration, environmental stress, intestinal obstruction, obesity or uterine compression in pregnant females.
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Gross pathology will include gut contents that consist of fecal pellets that will be thin, hard and in some cases stained with blood. In more chronic cases there may be rectal prolapse or intestinal torsion, colonic flexure or cecal impaction. Chronic cases may also display intestinal adhesions, foreign bodies or abcesses.