RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice Exotic, Pocket Pet, Pet Bird & Reptile Medicine: practice questions

Question 1 · medium

A green iguana fed mainly on cat food develops swollen joints with white deposits and raised blood uric acid. What is the most likely diagnosis?

1. Hypervitaminosis D causing soft-tissue mineralisation of the joints
2. Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism causing fibrous joint swelling
3. Gout from a high animal-protein diet in a herbivorous reptile
4. Septic arthritis from Salmonella carried in the cat food

Question 2 · hard

Amphibians are handled with moistened, powder-free gloves. What is the main reason?

1. Their permeable skin absorbs and is damaged by residues, powder and drying
2. Their skin carries no microbes, so gloves protect the frog from the handler
3. Their skin is keratinised and abrasive, so gloves protect the handler's hands
4. Their skin produces heat, and moist gloves cool them to prevent hyperthermia

Question 3 · hard

A 30 g budgerigar needs a drug at 10 mg/kg. The stock is 100 mg/mL, so it is diluted 1 in 10 with a compatible diluent. What volume of the diluted solution is given?

1. 0.3 mL
2. 3 mL
3. 0.003 mL
4. 0.03 mL

Question 4 · hard

A one-year-old guinea pig sow mated for the first time is presented in prolonged unproductive labour. Which anatomical factor most likely explains the dystocia?

1. The uterus of guinea pigs has no muscle layer to contract
2. The pubic symphysis fused before she was first bred
3. Guinea pig fetuses are born hairless and swell with fluid
4. The cervix of guinea pigs never dilates in first litters

Question 5 · hard

A guinea pig with vitamin C deficiency weighs 900 g. A treatment rate of 30 mg/kg/day is chosen and the oral solution contains 100 mg/mL. What daily volume is given?

1. 2.7 mL
2. 0.27 mL
3. 0.03 mL
4. 27 mL

Question 6 · hard

A ferret in a hypoglycaemic crisis from insulinoma is treated with glucose. Why is it given carefully rather than as a large rapid bolus?

1. A large glucose bolus stimulates the tumour to release more insulin
2. A large bolus causes an immediate allergic reaction in most ferrets
3. Ferrets lack the transporters to move glucose into red blood cells
4. Glucose crystallises in the ferret's short renal tubules on contact

Question 7 · medium

A male corn snake has an everted, swollen, dry, necrotic hemipenis that cannot be replaced. Why is amputation an acceptable treatment?

1. Snakes have four hemipenes, so the loss of one leaves three in place
2. Hemipenes regrow within a single shed cycle after being amputated
3. The hemipenis has no urinary function, so removal leaves urination intact
4. The hemipenis carries the urethra, but snakes then urinate via the skin

Question 8 · hard

Which approach to euthanasia of a pet lizard is consistent with veterinary euthanasia guidelines?

1. Drowning it in cold water to induce rapid hypothermic arrest
2. Cooling the lizard in a refrigerator and then decapitating it
3. Placing the conscious lizard in a household freezer overnight
4. Injectable agent, then confirmed death or brain destruction

Question 9 · medium

A snake owner's child develops salmonellosis although the child never touched the snake. Which source is a recognised cause of such cases?

1. Snake venom glands, which harbour Salmonella in all species
2. Shed snake skin, the only part of a snake that carries Salmonella
3. Frozen feeder rodents and surfaces they or the snake contaminated
4. UVB lamps, which release Salmonella from the warmed substrate

Question 10 · medium

Which behaviour scale is validated for pain assessment in rabbits, rats and mice?

1. A grimace scale scoring facial action units
2. A crop-emptying time scale for birds after feeding
3. A tail autotomy score used in lizards
4. A cere colour change score for budgerigars