What are the common diseases of foxes and raccoon dogs during gestation and the whelping period?
Foxes and raccoon dogs have now entered the critical stage of gestation and whelping since the spring estrus and mating, and a series of changes have taken place in their physiological functions, making them extremely sensitive to external stimuli, so the incidence of disease is very high. Recently many readers have consulted us on this matter. In response, the editor has specially invited Professor Hua Shufang of the Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, to give an introduction to the prevention and treatment of common diseases of foxes and raccoon dogs during gestation and the whelping and lactation period.
1. What are the manifestations of gastroenteritis during gestation and the whelping period, and how is it prevented and treated?
Answer: During gestation and the whelping period, the gastrointestinal function of foxes and raccoon dogs is highly sensitive to spoiled or deteriorated feed, frequent changes in feed varieties, foreign matter mixed into the feed, or insufficient vitamin supply, all of which can cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa, leading to disordered gastrointestinal motility and secretory impairment. It often manifests as diarrhea, even green watery stools, sometimes vomiting, reduced appetite, and in some cases refusal to eat.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) The feed must be fresh; do not feed deteriorated feed. Feed varieties should be kept relatively stable and changed as little as possible; when a change of feed is necessary, it must be done gradually, giving the foxes and raccoon dogs a process of adaptation. In particular, the microbial system in the stomach of raccoon dogs must function in a relatively constant environment, so only gradual change can avoid affecting their digestive function and prevent disease. (2) Oxytetracycline or tetracycline can be given orally, 0.25-0.5 g per animal per day, together with an intramuscular injection of 2 mL of compound vitamin B, which gives a better effect. (3) Intramuscular injection of 0.5 g ampicillin sodium and 2 mL of compound vitamin B.
2. What are the manifestations of vitamin C deficiency, and how is it prevented and treated?
Answer: Vitamin C deficiency has little effect on the health of the mother animal, but a great effect on the normal development of the cubs. This is because lack of vitamin C increases capillary permeability, causing capillary hemorrhage; the affected skin becomes red and tense, the limbs become edematous, the joints become thickened, and the foot pads become swollen. The cubs scream, their cries are weak, crawling is difficult, they cannot suckle, and the mortality rate is very high.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) To prevent this disease, the mother animal must be provided with a complete compound feed, which is required to contain sufficient vitamins, and be given fresh leafy vegetables at 50-100 g per animal per day; refined vitamin C at 30-50 mg can also be added to the daily ration. (2) Affected cubs must be treated promptly; 3-5 drops of 3%-5% ascorbic acid solution can be dropped into the mouths of the cubs, 2 times a day, until the symptoms disappear.
3. What are the manifestations of vitamin B1 deficiency, and how is it prevented and treated?
Answer: Vitamin B1 deficiency can directly harm the health of mother and cub animals. It can cause pregnant mother animals to lose their appetite, show movement incoordination, a staggering gait, and pale visible mucous membranes, and it readily leads to stillbirth, decomposed fetuses, difficult birth, and the delivery of mummified fetuses. Newborn cubs show hemorrhage on the head, and the mortality rate is relatively high.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) During gestation, vitamin B1 should be added to the feed at 2-3 mg per animal per day, which can effectively prevent the occurrence of this disease. (2) Do not feed, over the long term, feeds that can destroy vitamin B1, such as raw freshwater fish or raw eggs. (3) When a pregnant mother animal is found to refuse food or show symptoms of neurological disorder, compound vitamin B can be injected intramuscularly, 2 mL each time, 2 times a day.
4. What are the manifestations of bronchopneumonia, and how is it prevented and treated?
Answer: Bronchopneumonia is caused by respiratory tract microorganisms - pneumococci, streptococci, and staphylococci. Excessive cold weather and poor insulation of the den first cause a cold and then secondary development of this disease. It can also be induced by hot weather, poor ventilation of the den, and damp, stuffy bedding. The manifestations are depression, a dry nose, red or cyanotic visible mucous membranes, elevated body temperature, rapid breathing, sometimes coughing, dry feces, a desire to drink, and refusal to eat. If not treated promptly, it can lead to death.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) Intramuscular injection of penicillin, 400,000-800,000 units for adult animals and 100,000-200,000 units for young animals, 2 times a day; penicillin can also be mixed with streptomycin, 200,000-400,000 units of each per time, 2 times a day. (2) Before whelping, the den must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, then padded with dry bedding; when the weather changes suddenly, add more bedding or paste paper strips over the gaps in the den.
5. What is going on with pregnancy reactions?
Answer: After mating, foxes and raccoon dogs show discomfort such as refusal to eat and vomiting 15-20 days later, but there are no other pathological changes, so it is not a disease but a normal reaction. No drug treatment is needed, and it heals on its own after a few days. However, because they do not eat for a relatively long time, malnutrition occurs, directly affecting the normal growth and development of the fetuses and even possibly interrupting fetal development. Therefore we must take it seriously from the perspective of protection.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) To help the foxes and raccoon dogs regain their appetite as quickly as possible, the feed varieties can be adjusted, that is, let the pregnant mother animal eat whatever it wants; plucked chickens, incubated eggs, eggs, milk, beef, liver, and so on can be fed in rotation, so that it can eat a little food every day and endure the discomfort of these few days. (2) Treat with stomachics; Jianwei Xiaoshi tablets can be given orally, 1 tablet each time, 2 times a day, and at the same time as the medication, compound vitamin B can be injected intramuscularly, 2 mL each time, 2 times a day.
6. Why does miscarriage occur, and how is it prevented and treated?
Answer: Miscarriage is a manifestation of interrupted gestation, in which the embryos disappear completely or partially, and dead premature fetuses may also be delivered. There are many causes of miscarriage, such as infectious diseases, chronic diseases, parasites, trauma, and poisoning, but the most important are still mistakes in feeding and management, such as long-term malnutrition, feeding feed that has been refrigerated too long or has become moldy, lack of vitamins or trace elements, an unquiet animal farm, and sudden fright, all of which can cause miscarriage.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) Intramuscular injection of 2 mL of compound vitamin B, and intramuscular injection of 1% progesterone, 0.3-0.5 mL each time, injected continuously 2 times. (2) Intramuscular injection of penicillin, 400,000-800,000 units each time; or injection of streptomycin, 200,000-500,000 units each time; sulfonamide drugs can also be injected intramuscularly to prevent secondary septicemia. (3) The animal farm should be kept quiet, and sudden fright must be eliminated; keepers who do not belong to the group should not enter the pregnant animal group area without authorization. The feed should be kept relatively stable, complete in nutrition, and fresh in quality.
7. What are the manifestations of endometritis, and how is it prevented and treated?
Answer: During mating, foreign matter or other infectious material is carried into the vagina or uterus of foxes and raccoon dogs, causing inflammation of the endometrium. It generally occurs 7-15 days after mating and manifests as refusal to eat, listlessness, a dry nose, restlessness, and the frequent discharge of serous purulent secretions from the vagina, sometimes mixed with blood.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) Intramuscular injection of penicillin, 400,000-800,000 units, 2 times a day. (2) Intramuscular injection of 2 mL of 0.25% novocaine, and intravenous or subcutaneous injection of 3 mL of calcium chloride. (3) Wash the vagina or uterus with 0.1% potassium permanganate solution or 0.3% rivanol solution; Jie'eryin can also be used to wash and disinfect the vagina or uterus. (4) Before mating, disinfect the cages and pens with a blowtorch flame, and wash the prepuce of the male breeding animal and the external genitalia of the female animal clean with 0.1% potassium permanganate or 0.3% rivanol solution, which can prevent the occurrence of this disease.
8. What should be done about difficult birth?
Answer: Under normal feeding and management conditions, foxes and raccoon dogs rarely suffer difficult birth. Once it occurs, 0.5-1 mL of pituitrin can be injected intramuscularly promptly; if delivery still cannot proceed smoothly after 30 minutes, the injection can be repeated once; if delivery still cannot occur after 24 hours, manual assistance or cesarean section can be performed. For manual assistance, wash and disinfect the external genitalia with 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, then use glycerin or soybean oil as a vaginal lubricant, and use long-beaked sparse-toothed hemostatic forceps, with the assistance of the fingers, to pull the fetus out. To prevent difficult birth, the nutritional level of the feed during gestation should be moderate, a good reproductive body condition should be maintained, and the animal farm should be quiet, without frightening the mother animals.
9. What are the symptoms of mastitis, and how is it prevented and treated?
Answer: Mastitis is caused by infection of the mammary glands and manifests as hard nodules in the mammary glands, swelling of the mammary glands, bite wounds on the nipples, sometimes rupture, and discharge of yellow-red pus. The sick animal often paces around the exercise yard, does not enter the den, refuses to let the cubs suckle, is depressed, and refuses food, and the development of the cubs is hindered.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) Around the inflamed area of the mammary gland, dilute penicillin or streptomycin to 200,000-400,000 units with 0.25% novocaine and inject at multiple points for blocking therapy. (2) When local suppuration occurs, wash with 0.1% ethacridine, and inject penicillin intramuscularly at 400,000-800,000 units. (3) Strengthen the care of whelping mother animals; when mastitis appears, massage or warm compresses can be used in the early stage to expel retained milk; external injuries around the mammary glands should be discovered promptly and treated promptly to strictly prevent infection.
10. How is rectal prolapse treated?
Answer: Rectal prolapse often occurs in young animals and is mostly caused by gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and tenesmus. It often occurs after defecation and can sometimes retract on its own, but if stimulated for a long time and the mucosa becomes swollen, it cannot retract on its own.
Prevention and treatment methods: Clean the dirt from the cylindrical, curved intestinal tube protruding from the anus with warm water, wash the prolapsed rectum with 0.1% potassium permanganate, then moisten the prolapsed area with 1%-2% novocaine solution for anesthesia, and with the fingers, starting from the protruding end, gently press the mucosa and push it back into the abdominal cavity. After all of it has been pushed in, perform a purse-string suture around the anus, leaving a gap that allows feces to pass through; after 3-5 days, when the rectum is seen to no longer prolapse, remove the sutures. During this period, the nursing measure is to treat the gastroenteritis and diarrhea that caused the rectal prolapse; penicillin can be injected intramuscularly at 100,000-200,000 units to prevent infection.
11. Why do cubs suffer heatstroke, and how is it prevented and treated?
Answer: Within 2 weeks of age, cubs have very little activity. Once hot weather occurs, the temperature inside the whelping box rises, air circulation is poor, and the bedding is damp, heatstroke will occur, and the mortality rate is very high.
Prevention and treatment methods: (1) Take sunshade measures for the sheds and cages in the whelping area, such as covering the tops of the cages and boxes with green firewood and grass, and using cloth curtains to block the direction of direct sunlight. (2) Prop open the upper cover of the whelping box for ventilation and cooling. (3) Sprinkle cool water on the site, or let cold water flow in through a ditch by gravity. (4) Treatment results are not ideal; symptomatic treatment can be carried out, bloodletting can also be done, and cool water can also be sprayed on the head of the sick animal as a cold compress, and it should be moved to a well-ventilated, cool environment.