Rabbits and african dwarf hedgehogs – pathology, diagnosis, therapy

Kunići i afrički patuljasti ježevi su vrste koje se sve češće pojavljuju kao pacijenti u veterinarskim ambulantama. Ove vrste životinja imaju veliki broj anatomskih i fizioloških specifičnosti koje je potrebno poznavati da bi se mogla razumeti i njihova patologija. Prepoznavanje simptoma bolesti od strane vlasnika nije jednostavno jer i kunići i ježevi mogu jako dugo da prikrivaju simptome. Oni u prirodi predstavljaju plen i na taj način se štite od predatora. Do ispoljavanja kliničke slike dolazi tek kada se iscrpu svi kompenzacioni mehanizmi jedinke. Vlasnici najčešće uočavaju naglu pojavu simptoma i dolaze u veterinarsku ambulantu sa pretpostavkom da se radi o akutnom procesu. U tom trenutku se, pored znakova primarnog oboljenja uočavaju i brojni simptomi sekundarnih procesa, što čini dijagnostiku izazovnom. Da bi se utvrdio primarni uzrok oboljenja potrebno je odabrati adekvatan uzorak za ispitivanje i primeniti odgovarajuće specijalističke dijagnostičke metode, ponekad uz primenu anestezije. Naravno, svaka od ovih metoda mora da se prilagodi vrsti da bi rezultati mogli da se pravilno interpretiraju. Kada se postavi dijagnoza, neophodno je odabrati odgovarajući terapijski protokol (konzervativan i radikalne). Na osnovu navedenih informacija, potrebno je da se veterinari upoznaju sa specifičnostima patologije, dijagnostike i terapije ovih vrsta životinja.Rabbits and African pygmy hedgehogs are, other than dogs and cats, most common pets seen in veterinary practice in Serbia. These animals have a number of specific anatomical and physiological traits, of which veterinarian must be aware in order to understand their pathology. Owners often have trouble recognizing the symptoms, because both rabbits and hedgehogs can hide their symptoms for quite a long time, due to them both being a pray species in the wildernes. Signs of disease usually manifest only after all compensatory mechanisms are exhausted. Owners usually notice sudden onset of disease and come to their veterinary practitioner with an assumption that their pet is suffering from an acute condition. At that time, other than signs of primary illness, many symptoms of secondary processes are also present, which makes diagnosing more difficult. To determine the primary cause of disease, the use of special diagnostic procedures is often necessary, sometimes it is required that they should be done under anesthesia. Naturally, each of these procedures must be adjusted to the species, so that the results could be adequately interpreted. After establishing the diagnosis, next critical point is choosing appropriate therapeutical protocol, namely deciding between conservative and radical approach. For these reasons it is necessary to familiarize veterinarians with specific aspects of pathology, diagnostics and therapy of these species