Tips, Tricks, & Snakes!

I think one of my favorite things about animal science is the need to have the ability to solve a problem for a patient who can't tell you what's wrong. Part of that is being able to use the environment in order to help you. Since I've been in the medical lab, I've learned a lot of tips and tricks of the trade when working with animals.


Today during a go-home exam I took a kitten's temperature. A cat's normal body temperature should be between about 100-103. It ended up being high at around 104 degrees. Whenever something like this happens, we tell a staff member so they can come check it out and show us how to follow up properly. What we did was apply a very small amount of rubbing alcohol to his paws and ears where the skin is exposed. This allows for the cat to potentionally cool down. This technique is only to be used with minimal amounts of alcohol, however, as flooding his paws could have lead to an unnecessary inhalation. In order to avoid this situation we first put alcohol on a cotton ball and then rubbed the cotton ball on the intact skin. Sure enough, about 20 minutes later, the kitten's temperature backed down to a normal range!


Another trick that I've picked up on is how to get a cat to stop purring. I know everyone loves purring cats, but the noise makes it difficult to listen for heart murmurs or abnormalities in the lungs. Something we do in order to get them to stop is put them near some running water. Purring is a phenomenon that no one can really explain because cats don't have any anatomical differences than those animals who don't purr. Ther are a few theories though that try to rationalize purring. One is the alternating of vocal chords and throat muscles rapidly. 

Houdini the snake! He was very friendly!

All of my tricks aren't just for cats, though. One that I appreciate, and use regularly, is to keep a rabbit comfortable and calm. Rabbits are prey animals in the wild, so they are likely to be skittish when they feel distressed. By simply wrapping a big, soft towel around the rabbit's body they feel more safe and are less likely to try and jump out of your arms. I also like to keep the towel on the exam table so they have a soft place to sit. This way, Thistle (the rabbit!) gets to be cozy and I get to perform a thorough exam without worrying that they will jump away. 


Lastly, I learned a lot of interesting things about a species of animal that I knew very little about: snakes! Today there was a ball python named Houdini in for his initial physical exam. One of the staff shared her knowledge with me using her past experience working with reptiles. I learned how to properly hold him using two hands to make sure that he had enough space to lay and feel secure. Snakes, we were told, are difficult to sex because you need to use a probe to ensure accuracy. You actually insert the probe into their cloaca and observe depth allowance. A male's cloaca will be deeper than a females. It is also very important for us to wear gloves and wash our hands when handling Houdini because reptiles carry salmonella. Salmonella is a zoonotic sickness meaning it can be transferred from humans to animals and vice-versa. I am sure that I will use all these tricks throughout my animal science career and implement them on all species!