WCV Basic Skills - The Wildlife Center of Virginia

11/15/2011
Basic Skills for
Wild Rabbit
Rehabilitation
16th Annual Call of the Wild
Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference
The Wildlife Center of Virginia
Presented by:
Diana Leggett
Lindsay Hooker
WildRescue, Inc./Rabbit Rescue
Where We Are Now
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Growth of cottontail rehabilitators
Regionality now a recognized factor
WildBuns
State wildlife rehabilitator organizations
IWRC - NWRA
Networking and trainings
Experienced speakers
Refinement of formulas, additives, weaning and
release protocols, housing
• Consistency and dissemination of public information
The Puzzle
Where We Were
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Knowledge base lacking
Few published articles
Handful of nation-wide rehabbers
Internet just coming into play
Little networking ability
Mortality a factor
Additives to formulas either not available or
created.
What’s it All About?
• Passion to:
– rehabilitate
– learn
– grow
– achieve
– contribute
– make a difference
North American Species
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North American Species
• 58 species in 11 genera
• Lagomorpha leporidae
• Ranges from desert/plains/mountains/coastal
North American Species
Genus Sylvilagus
– Swamp rabbit (S. aquaticus)
– Desert or Audubon’s cottontail (S. audubonii)
– Brush rabbit (S. bachmani)
– Forest rabbit (S. brasiliensis)
– Mexican cottontail (S. cunicularius) - Threatened
– Dice’s cottontail (S. dicei) – Endangered
– Eastern cottontail (S. floridanus)
– Pgymy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) - Endangered
North American Species
Genus Sylvilagus
– Tres Ma
Maŕŕias cottontail (S. graysoni) - Endangered
– Omilteme cottontail (S. insonus) - Critical
– Brush rabbit or San Jose brush rabbit (S. mansuetus) Threatened
– Mountain cottontail (S. nuttallii)
– Appalachian cottontail (S. obscurus)
– Marsh rabbit (S. palustris)
Where Do They Live?
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Desert
Forest
Tropical Rain Forest
Arctic tundra
Swamp
Coastal
Tall grasslands
Agricultural landscapes
– New England cottontail (S. transitionalis) - Vulnerable
Natural Behavior/History
• Crepuscular (diurnal) mammal
– Active from dusk to dawn
• Breeding season is regional
– Longer in the southern regions
– Shorter in northern regions
• Nest = “form”
– Wild rabbits do not burrow like their cousins the
domestic rabbit
Natural Behavior/History
• Foraging/grazing
mammal
• Hind gut fermentor
• 99% of diet is
grass/leaves (big
blue stem)
• Nurses up to age 5
weeks in wild
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Natural Behavior/History
• Gestation period is 28-35 days
• Doe pulls loosened fur from her chest/abdomen area lines a
scraped out “form” with her fur and dried grasses usually 1-3
days prior to delivery
• The doe looks only at the environment for the safety of her
nest. She does not “see” the danger of urban or rural
obstacles.
• Young are born over the course of 1-3 hours
• Young are called “kittens”, or “kits”
Natural Behavior/History
• Eastern cottontail
– 2-8 in a litter
– Kits are born altricial –
still embryonic in form, eyes
not fully formed, ears closed
against the head, devoid of
fur, not capable of taking care of themselves making them
totally vulnerable to predators
– Fur starts to appear during the first three days of life
• Mom has “GPS” – she does not move the kits nor can she find
the nest if it is topigraphically different
Natural Behavior/History
• Eastern cottontail
Natural Behavior/History
• Eastern Cottontail
– By 5 days of age, fur has
developed slick to the bodyform
and the ears start to form
away from the body
– Kits eyes open at 10
days of age, but will
open earlier due to
dehydration or stress/
trauma
– By 7 days of age, fur is
well developed and the
ear canals start to open
– Once the kits eyes are
open, they cannot “see”
well for several days
– Doe stay away from the nest during the daylight hours
returning once or twice during the night to nurse kits
– At 2 weeks of age the kits can walk, hop slightly, start
exploring the periphery of their nest and nibbling the
grasses surrounding the nest
Natural Behavior/History
• Eastern cottontail
– 2 ½ to 3 weeks of age kits explore
beyond their nest staying together
starting to eating solid natural foods
– 3-4 weeks of age kits can now take
care of themselves, are weaned or
almost weaned and are eating
vegetation comprised mainly of
grasses – native and planted
– 5+ weeks the doe may leave kits and is either already
pregnant (she can conceive immediately after delivery) or
current conditions may preclude conception
Natural Behavior/History
• Neonate
– 10 days or less (eyes closed)
• Juvenile
– 10 days – 5 weeks
• Sub-adult
– 5 weeks to 4 months
• Adult
– 4 months + (able to reproduce at this age)
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Why do they Come into Rehab?
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Nest-nabbed
Hit by car
Lawnmower
Weedeater
Fire ants
Dog caught
Cat caught
Raptor
Common Rehab Species
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Playground nest
Mom killed
Natural disasters
Dangerous
environment
• Undesired “nuisance”
Eastern Cottontail
Brush Bunnies
S. floridanus
S. mansuetus
Photo courtesy of Pat Katz
Brush Bunnies
S. mansuetus
Photo courtesy of Pat Katz
Swamp Rabbits
S. aquaticus
Photo courtesy of Kelli Sampson
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Swamp Rabbits
S. aquaticus
Marsh Rabbit
Desert Cottontail
S. audubonii
Marsh Rabbit
S. palustris
Pygmy Rabbit
B. idahoensis
New England Cottontail
S. transitionalis
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New England Cottontail
Black-Tailed Jackrabbits
• Are not rabbits – they are hares. Born
precocial, they are born to run!
S. transitionalis
Lepus Lepus
Black Tailed Jackrabbits
S. floridanus
Lepus Lepus
Tools of the Trade
Lepus Lepus
Photo courtesy of Pat Katz
Tools of the Trade
• Heat source
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Heating pad (not auto-shutoff)
SnuggleSafe©
Hood lamp (clamp-on)
Reptile heating pad
Incubator (water based or avian)
Rehydrating solutions (oral)
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Pedialyte (unflavored, plain)
LRS (Lactated Ringer’s Solution©) or Normosol©
Electramine©
Gatorade© (slightly hypertonic)
5% dextrose solution
Tools of the Trade
• Subcutaneous or IV hydrating solution
– LRS (Lactated Ringer’s Solution© or Normosol©
– Track for bag
• Syringes (Basik© o-ring)
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.05 cc
1 cc
3 cc
5 cc
10 cc
Curved tip syringe for
lavaging wounds
• Catac nipples
• Bulb tip nipples
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Tools of the Trade
• Needles (sterile – for rehydrating subcutaneously)
– 18 gauge for adult cottontails
– 20 – 22 gauge to insulin for smaller mammals
– Butterfly catheter for neonates
• Scale (grams/lbs)
• Work light (so you can see what
you are doing)
• Scalpel blade (to cut nipple)
• Q-tips (to help stimulate neonates)
• Washcloths (to keep the buns where
you want them)
Tools of the Trade
• Gavage tubes (clear or french)
– 3.5
–5
–6
• Chlorhexidine (Nolvasan) for disinfecting
feeding utensils and lavaging out wounds
– Mix 1:9 (one part Nolvasan to 9 parts water or
“Smurf blue”
Tools of the Trade
• Formula basics
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Fox Valley 32/40
Fox Valley 42/50
Zoologic 42/25
KMR (PetAg)
Meyenberg Goat Milk
(powered)
• Small dishes/lids for
lappers and to hold water
• Timothy/orchard/oat/botanical hays
• Containers
– Shoeboxes
– Tall sided containers (Sterilite)
– Carriers (clamshell, small cat)
Triage/Stabilization
Triage/Stabilization
Prioritize and assess quickly
•Warmth
•Dark
•Fluids
•Drugs
• Warmth
• Quiet
• Darkness
• Fluids
• Establish a feeling of “safety”
• Prioritize injuries/hydration/emaciation/other physical state
• Assess again after stabilizing
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Stabilization/Intake
Warmth
• Ambient is best
• Stimulate neonate to 2 week old
cottontail noting color and
amount of urine.
• Essential to maintaining
body core temperature
• Dark brown urine, sometimes in
copious amounts, indicates
concentrated urine.
• After stimulation, rere-examine
the holistic picture of the
baby/injured cottontail for other
signs of trauma and continue
your protocol.
• Rabbit’s temperature is
101 - 103
°
°
Darkness
• Darkness greatly reduces stress
• Place towel or sheet over the container
• Sight barrier
Fluids
• Deliver fluids warm
subcutaneously or
orally
• If delivered cool, it only
serves to reduce the
adrenal’s function to
ramp up core heat
• Hydrates at cellular
level
What Drugs to Use?
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Analgesics
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– Metacam (meloxicam)
• 1 drop in 9 drops of water
• NSAID (non-steriodal
anti-inflammatory)
• Head trauma/general
trauma
– Mannitol
• Head trauma
– Banamine
• Pain management
Antibiotics
– Bactrim
• Dog/cat caught
• Upper respiratory
• Renal infection
• Upon intake when fed
inappropriate formula
– Baytril
• Dog/cat caught
• Bone/eye/mouth
– Injectable penicillin G with
Benzathine
• Dog/cat caught
• Abscesses
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!
• Get as much information as
possible!
• Dog/cat caught?
• lawnmower/weedeater?
• Poisoned?
• How long have they had the
babies?
• What have they been fed?
– How often? Last feeding? How
much?
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Were they kept warm?
What are they housing them in currently?
Did they try to re-nest?
Do they know where the nest is?
Visible wounds? (dogs crush, cats puncture)
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Creating a Stress-Free
Environment
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!
• Upon intake, are the babies…
– Warm, cool or cold?
• Do not attempt to feed cool or cold babies – you have to,
over time, bring their body core temperature back up.
– Assume 3-5% dehydration and rehydrate accordingly
– Eyes open or closed?
– Active? Lethargic?
– Full bellies? Emaciated? Bloated?
– Open wounds/lacerations/degloving injuries?
Hiding places are essential to stress reduction
and development of natural instincts
Minimizing Stress
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Minimize stress by:
– Placing indoor caging apart from any predator species
– Having indoor housing in an area free from loud noise or
sounds
– Provide enough space at the appropriate time in the
rabbits’ life to accommodate territorial instincts including
food stress
– Handle with care – while neonates of both species
appreciate human contact, contact should be relegated to
one specific caretaker – YOU!
Handle with Care
Minimizing Stress
• Wild rabbits do not transfer well – minimum movement of
their habitat is essential
• Covering the cage/housing with a sheet or towel to create a
“sight barrier is helpful
• Sunlight is essential on
many levels. It facilitates
the correct assimilation of
D3 and calcium and also
aids in digestion
• Keep consistent with your
feeding schedule
New England cottontail baby
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Minimizing Stress
Camouflaging is essential to the
development of wild instincts
• Provide natural foods immediately including a little soil from
your garden or yard
• THINK like a rabbit – even the sound of an airplane or vacuum
cleaner could trigger a “fight or flight” response in a wild
rabbit
• Keep movement within your
wild rabbit room to a
minimum – do not let the
entire neighborhood in to
see or handle the babies!
Keep some of the original nesting material
for de-stressing cottontails and helping
them adjust to their new environment
Housing and Enrichment
• Chose a container that fits the size of the rabbit.
Neonates adjust better in a smaller space (think of their
nest size)
• Think “ambient warmth” – the nest temperature is at
least 101 degrees
• Do not overcrowd – Nature hates a crowd and cottontails
will die from overcrowding
• Try to keep litters together
• Try to not combine litters unless necessary
Substitute female domestic rabbit fur if nest fur is contaminated
Housing and Enrichment
Housing and Enrichment
• Provide natural elements
• Mimic nest
• Dirt substrates
– Conducts heat
– Provides microbes
– “green” environment – no laundry!
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Use some of the nesting materials if possible
MUST use heat!
Get them outside under dappled sunlight if possible
Ott light is full spectrum light
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Outdoor Environment
Roughing it
Formulas and Diets
Formulas and Diets
• Rabbits are born with sterile gut
• Ph is high at 12 reducing to 0 by 10-12 days old
• Gut is florinated by ingestion of doe’s
cecotropes and soil/grasses in and around nest
• Digestion occurs over a 12 hours time period
• Heat is needed to properly digest
Formulas and Diets
What is Milk Oil?
• Antimicrobial fatty acid present in the nursing
rabbit
• Produced by an enzymatic reaction in the
doe’s milk that takes place in the baby’s
stomach (Brooks 1997).
• Controls the GI tract and protects them from
enteric infections.
Formulas and Diets
• Weigh each cottontail daily up until 3+ weeks of age
• Note if the cottontail was fed another formula, how much and
how often.
– Flush system by either tubing an oral electrolyte solution or
by nipple for at least a few hours until urine is clear and baby
is hydrated
– Start with a 4:1 for 1-2 feedings and increase until at full
strength by the second day.
– Cottontails need calories!!
– Formula is heated to 100-103 degrees
• Do not microwave already constituted formula
• Hot water bath or place in mini crock pot to warm
gradually
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Formulas and Diets
• How to mix the formula
°
– Heat fluid base to 100 or “hot chocolate warm”
in a hot water bath (preferably on the stove)
– Add ingredients
– Whisk or shake well until mixed
– Let set until bubbles/lumps resolve
– Keep warm in a potpourri warmer or small crock
pot set on medium heat
– Try not to reuse – mix fresh each feeding if
possible
Kelli’s Formula
3:1 ratio - feed 2-3 times per day 10% body weight
1 tbls. KMR or PetAg 42/25
3 tbls. boiled, spring or filtered water
Chlorophyll - 2-4 drops
Bovine colostrum (25% IgG) - 1 capsule
Vibra Gest (vegetarian supplement/digestive aid)
– 1 capsule
• Flax Oil (omega 3’s & fats) 1-3 drops
– cold pressed – keep refrigerated
• L-glutamine (amino acid) - sprinkle
• Primal Defense Probiotics (banana flavor) - 1/8 tsp.
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Rhonda’s Formula
• Eyes closed:
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1 tsp Fox Valley 42/50
1/8 ish tsp Probios
1 Bioplasma Tablet
1 drop Propolis Extract
10-15 cc filtered Water or
ElectroStat
– (If on antibiotics, add a dash
of Biosponge)
• Eyes Open:
Rhonda’s Formula
• Weaning/Lapping:
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1 tsp Fox Valley 42/50
1/3 tsp Ultraboost
1 tablet Bioplasma (optional)
1 drop Propolis Extract (optional)
1/2 inch NutriStat
1/8 tsp Critical Care (regular grind)
1/8 tsp Probios
1/8 tsp Exotic Performance
20-25 cc filtered Water or ElectroStat
• A fresh dish/bowl of water and a fresh dish/bowl of
ElectroStat are available at all times after eyes open
and are stable.
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1 tsp Fox Valley 42/50
1/3 tsp Ultraboost
1 tablet Bioplasma
1 drop Propolis Extract
1/4inch NutriStat
1/8 tsp Critical Care (fine
grind)
– 1/8 tsp Probios
– 15 cc filtered Water or
ElectroStat
– (If on antibiotics, add a dash
of Biosponge)
Diana’s Formula
• Fox Valley 32/40 or 42/50
• Ozarka spring water
• Sprinkle of Caprylic acid (comes in capsule
form)
• Glutamine (sprinkle)
• 1/8 tsp. Probios
• 1-3 drops cholorphyll
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What I Add
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Caprylic Acid
Glutamine
Prozyme
Caprylic Acid
Chlorophyll
Probiotics (any one or
combination of these)
– Probios
– FV A/L 200 (mammal) - microencapsulated
– Primal Defense
What I Add
Caprylic Acid (through weaning) •
– “sprinkle” per serving added
when formula is mixed and
ready to use
• Caprylic acid is the common name
for the eight-carbon straight chain
fatty acid known by the
systematic name octanoic acid
• Found naturally in coconuts and
breast milk.
• Also used in the treatment of
some bacterial infections.
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• Glutamine transports ammonia, the toxic metabolic byproduct of protein breakdown, to the liver, where it is
converted into less toxic urea and then excreted by the
kidneys.
• Can convert into alanine, an amino acid that the liver
converts into glucose.
– Feed small amounts often
– 5-10% per feeding 3x’s per day = 30%
– Various
species of
Streptococcus.
• ProZyme© is uniquely
bio-engineered to
survive the stomach’s
acids and works to
release nutrients where
metabolic absorption
take place — in the
small intestine.
Why We Do That
• Mom feeds babies 30% of their body weight
• When? 1-2 times per day dusk/dawn
• We feed a formula foreign to their GI tracts therefore we should:
– Staphylococcus aureus
What I Add
What I Add
• Glutamine can be converted to glutamic acid, which is both a
precursor to the important inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA
(gamma amino butyric acid) and an excitatory
neurotransmitter in its own right.
Due to its relatively short chain
length it has no difficulty in
penetrating fatty cell wall
membranes, hence its
effectiveness in combating certain
lipid-coated bacteria, such as:
Research
• Colibacillosis represents a major cause of diarrhea in young rabbits
• Rabbit milk treated with lipase significantly decreased the number
of viable cells in cultures of Escherichia coli
• Raw milk without lipase decreased the number of E. coli only
marginally
• Seven days after inoculation, caprylic acid at 5 g/kg feed and
triacylglycerols of caprylic and capric acid at 10 g/kg feed decreased
faecal output of E. coli.
•
It can be concluded that (i) lipids rather than proteins seem to be
responsible for the antimicrobial activity of rabbit milk; and (ii) this
activity was lipase-dependent. Caprylic acid or oils with a high
concentration of it may be used as feed supplements for weanlings.
Excerpt from Inhibitory Activity of Rabbit Milk and Medium-Chain Fatty Acids
Against Enteropathogenic Escherichia Coli 0128 – 9th World Rabbit Congress
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What Soy Does
Feeding Chart
• Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually
increase the body's requirement for B12.
• Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D.
• Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature
processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable
protein.
• Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and
may cause pancreatic disorders.
• In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused
stunted growth.
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/index.html
Weanling Diet
Weanling Diet
• Natural foods
– Grass (some with roots/dirt still attached) – 99%
of their diet
– Dandelions
– Henbit
– Chickweed
– Other weeds
– Johnson grass or other broad leaf grasses not as
tasty
Weanling Diet
Tube Feeding
• Can sprinkle Critical Care onto grass/greens/formula
• Good quality non-grain rabbit pellets
– Oxbow
– Mazuri
– Peter’s
– Manna Pro
• Leaves from trees/bushes (no glossy leaf)
• Spring mix (refrigerator greens)
• Jar lid or shallow dish of formula
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Tube Feeding
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Not for the faint-hearted
Necessary for debilitated/dehydrated orphans
30 second ordeal vs. 15 minute fight
Delivers:
– nutrition
– liquids
– electrolytes quickly
Catheters
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2.8 clear pediatric neonate
3.5 clear or french (use for eyes closed)
5.0 clear or french (use for eyes open)
NeoChild – 3.5 and 5.0 silicone
Mila – 3.5 and 5.0 silicone (bottom hole)
www.neochild.com
www.squirrelsandmore.com
Release
Look ma! I got MILK!
Selecting an
Appropriate Release Site
• Edge dwellers – live on the “verve”
• Brambles/briars/hedgerows
• Open grasslands nearby
– Rabbits eat when
the dewpoint is at
it’s highest – dusk
and dawn
Pre-release Protocol
• Always consider the weather
and time of year
• Release where others of the
same species exist
• Consider predation – urban or
rural. Release where they
have a fighting chance!
• Everything is a predator to a
cottontail – except perhaps a
butterfly.
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When to Release
• Release when they are the most active – dusk or dawn.
“Did you say today?”
Knowing When to be a Hero
Letting Go
• Try to have a mentor with you if you are unsure of
your decisions – sometimes even our veterinarians
just do not know enough about wildlife to recognize
symptoms that equate to either further suffering or a
nonreleasable animal.
It is one of the rehabilitator’s greatest responsibilities to
know when to let “go” or euthanize an animal
whether it is upon intake or further into the
rehabilitation process. One of the hardest of decisions
to make, we must at all times remember that it is
indeed one of our greatest gifts to set them free from
pain and suffering.
JOIN WILDBUNS!
Email us at [email protected]
• The decision is NEVER easy, and yet sometimes
obvious. Let your head and heart meld and be
guided by that intuition when a decision of life or
death needs to be made.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
The Encyclopedia of Mammals; An Andromeda Book, planned and produced by
Andromeda Oxford Limited, 11-13 The Vineyard, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3PX
United Kingdom. www.amdromeda.co.uk, ISBN 0-7607-1969-1.
2.
Brown, Harcourt, Frances, Textbook of Rabbit Medicine. Reed Educational and
Professional Publishing Ltd 2002, Butterworth-Heinemann, Linacre House, Jordan Hill,
Oxford OX2 8DP, 225 Wildwood Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801-2041, ISBN 0-7506-4002-2,
www.bh.com/veterinary.
www.rescuedrabbits.org
www.facebook.com/wildrescueinc
3.
Marcum, Debbie, Rehabilitation of North American Wild Mammals Feeding and
Nutrition; Copyright © 1997 by Debbie Marcum pages 40, 41, 42 and 43.
4.
Miller, E.A., editor. 2000. Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation, 3rd edition.
National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, St. Cloud, MN. 77 pages.
5.
Fox Valley Animal Nutrition, Inc., Truitt, Jane, and Vlamis, Nick; P.O. Box 146 Lake
Zurich, IL 60047, (800) 679-4666 Day One
6.
The Mammals of Texas – Online Edition; Black-tailed Jackrabbit
7.
Nature & The Environment; Texas Parks & Wildlife; Black-tailed Jackrabbit.
8.
Ballenger, Liz; The University of Michigan – Museum of Zoology; Black-tailed Jackrabbit,
The Animal Diversity Web.
9.
Orr, Diana, Rehabilitation and Release of the Eastern Cottontail, Copyright 2000.
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