BCSE Exotic, Pocket Pet, Pet Bird & Reptile Medicine: practice questions

B. There is no thermal gradient, so the animal cannot thermoregulate by moving

Reptiles are ectotherms that regulate body temperature behaviourally, moving between a basking spot and a cool retreat. A uniform temperature removes that choice even if it sits in the POTZ. Kept below the POTZ they eat less, digest poorly and become immunosuppressed; a fixed sub-5 °C night drop would harm tropical species.

Further reading: Girling & Raiti, BSAVA Manual of Reptiles

A. They lack L-gulonolactone oxidase and cannot synthesise vitamin C

Guinea pigs, like primates, lack the enzyme L-gulonolactone oxidase, the last step in vitamin C synthesis, so they need a daily dietary source. Requirements rise in pregnancy and illness, but deficiency occurs in any guinea pig without a source; it is not limited to reproduction.

Further reading: Quesenberry et al., Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents

B. 0.3 mL

Weight = 450 g = 0.45 kg. Dose = 1 mg/kg × 0.45 kg = 0.45 mg. Volume = 0.45 mg ÷ 1.5 mg/mL = 0.3 mL. 300 mL uses 450 kg (a gram–kilogram slip); 0.675 mL multiplies by the concentration instead of dividing; 0.03 mL is a tenfold slip. (Dose figures in the question are for calculation practice — confirm against the product label and your national formulary.)

Further reading: Carpenter & Harms, Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary

C. A renal portal system routes hind-limb blood through the kidneys first

Many reptiles (and birds) have a renal portal system through which blood from the caudal body can pass through the kidneys before reaching the systemic circulation. Its clinical importance is debated, but cranial injection is a common precaution for nephrotoxic or renally excreted drugs.

Further reading: Divers & Stahl, Mader's Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery

B. Its gut transit is short, and ferrets with insulinoma become hypoglycaemic

Ferrets can vomit, so a short fast is used, but their short gut means the stomach empties within a few hours and longer fasts risk hypoglycaemia, particularly with insulinoma. Ferrets have no caecum.

Further reading: Keeble & Meredith, BSAVA Manual of Rodents and Ferrets

A. Guinea pig

Hystricomorph rodents (guinea pigs, chinchillas, degus) have elodont incisors and cheek teeth. Myomorphs (rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils) have continuously growing incisors only, with rooted molars.

Further reading: Quesenberry et al., Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents

C. A male bird

Adult normal-coloured male budgerigars have a blue cere and females a brown one; this is the familiar exception among mostly monomorphic psittacines, which are sexed by DNA tests. A male's cere turning brown can indicate a Sertoli cell tumour.

Further reading: Chitty & Monks, BSAVA Manual of Avian Practice

C. Tetracyclines, usually doxycycline, given for a long course of 45 days

Long-course doxycycline is standard, and US public health guidance has traditionally recommended 45 days, with retesting after treatment. People are also treated with tetracyclines. Penicillins are not reliable against chlamydiae.

Further reading: NASPHV Compendium of Measures to Control Chlamydia psittaci Infection

C. Washing the reptile's bowls and enclosure items in the kitchen sink

Indirect contact through contaminated surfaces is a major route. Guidance advises cleaning enclosures and bowls away from food areas, hand washing after contact and keeping reptiles out of kitchens.

Further reading: CDC, Healthy Pets, Healthy People

C. 0.3 mL

Blood volume = 10% of 30 g = 3 mL. Maximum sample = 10% of 3 mL = 0.3 mL (equivalent to 1% of body weight). 3 mL is the whole blood volume; 0.03 mL is a tenfold slip; 1 mL is a third of the bird's blood volume.

Further reading: Chitty & Monks, BSAVA Manual of Avian Practice