physiological weight loss in newborn puppies of boxer breed

In the first days after birth is common to see weight loss in puppies that should not exceed 10% of body weight at birth. The main causes of weight loss are urine and meconium issued followed by non-recovery of fluids expelled. The aims of the study were to check and outline growth curves in boxer breed during the first two week of life. In our study between 3th and 5th day after birth puppies retrieved the weight and got back a gain that leads to double in two weeks. We observed a mean weight loss of 11.26 g (2.27%) between the first two days of life, subsequently they recovered the birth weight on day four. In our study puppies that regained the birth weight earlier were the puppies with higher weight at birth and were the heaviest at day 13

A Rare Clinical Case Of Double Scrotum With Ectopic Testicle In a Dog

A two-years old male mixed breed dog weighing 11 kg was brought to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital by its owner because he noticed a pigmented skin zone with a mass lateral to the penis. The patient was in good clinical condition. On clinical examination, only one testicle was found within the scrotum, and a mass lateral to the right site of the penis was present; upon palpation, the mass was presumed to be a testicle. An ultrasound examination confirmed the presence of an ectopic testicle in that position. The dog had normal fertility and testosterone levels were normal. The patient underwent bilateral orchiectomy and was discharged the following day. The peculiarity of this case is the presence of two independent scrota, an ectopic testicle and its adnexa passing through the abdominal wall, was not supposed to be due a migration along the typical male gonad path during descent

Evaluation of effectiveness of an innovative semen extender (Formula®) comparing with a traditional extender (Lepus®) for artificial insemination in rabbits does

This study aimed to investigate the preservability and viability of the rabbit spermatozoa diluted in a new semen extender Formula® in comparison with Lepus® at 17 °C of storage. The main characteristic of the new extender formulation is the use of an enzymatic agent associated to a polysaccharide as energy source precursor, added with gentamycin. During eight trials, ejaculates from 70 bucks were collected and diluted at 1:10 ratio with both the extenders, after 24 h of storage the semen doses were used for the artificial insemination (AI). Aliquots of the semen doses for each trial were stored at 17 °C, the total and progressive motility were checked at 0, 4, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108 h of storage. A total of 1267 and 1525 does were inseminated, respectively with Formula® and Lepus®. During storage the mean total and progressive motility (77.23% and 72.854%, respectively) were significantly higher for Formula® (p < .01) and the progressive motility at almost 70% was maintained for at least 60 h vs the 24 h of storage for Lepus® with significant differences after 12 h of storage (p < .05). The new extender reported a higher pregnancy rate (p < .05) and an average of 9.25 rabbits born per litter vs 8.83 for the traditional extender (p < .05), while the mean of the newborn alive was 9.08 using Formula® vs 8.51 with Lepus® (p < .05). In conclusion, the use of Formula® is recommended for rabbit semen AI programmes

Antimicrobial activity of a standardized medical honey on bacterial isolates from infected skin lesions of non-traditional companion animals

: In recent years, due to the growing phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance, the search for alternative strategies to antibiotic treatments is increasing and a considerable interest for the use of medical honey in clinical practice has emerged. Honey has been used for the treatment of skin lesions, in both humans and animals. However, knowledge concerning the use of medical honey in non‑traditional companion animals is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial activity of a standardized medical honey (Revamil, BFactory) against bacterial strains isolated from skin lesions of non‑traditional companion animals. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Revamil honey against seventeen clinical isolates and three reference strains was established.The medical honey showed antimicrobial activity against both Gram‑positive and Gram‑negative bacteria. Growth was inhibited for all the strains at concentrations of medical honey ranging from 10 to 40%. Pseudomonas oryzihabitans and Alcaligenes faecalis showed the lowest MBC (10%). The reference strain Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923 showed a higher sensitivity to 20% honey compare to the corresponding clinical isolate (P = 0.001). The observed results suggest that Revamil could represent an effective therapeutic aid, useful for the reduction of antibiotic use, in case of pathological skin infections in non‑traditional companion animals

The prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in healthy captive ophidian

Background Snakes are globally considered as pet animals, and millions of ophidians are bred in captivity. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium that can act as an opportunistic pathogen of man and animals and is frequently present in the oral and cloacal microbiota of healthy ophidians. It can cause severe clinical diseases and often shows antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and antibiotic resistance profiles of P. aeruginosa isolated from the cloacal microbiota of a large population sample of healthy captive ophidians and to evaluate the statistical associations with farming conditions. Methods A total of 419 cloacal swabs were collected from snakes belonging to the Boidae (n = 45), Colubridae (n = 48) and Pythonidae (n = 326) families and inoculated onto complete culture media. Food, water and bedding samples were also analyzed. The antimicrobial susceptibility of P. aeruginosa isolates was evaluated through the Kirby-Bauer agar diffusion test. Statistical analyses were performed with the chi-square test. Results The prevalence of P. aeruginosa was 59.9%, and 35.5% of these strains were multidrug resistant (MDR). The prevalence of MDR P. aeruginosa was significantly higher in adult samples than in young samples, and widespread resistance to Cephalosporins, Polymyxins and Sulfonamides was observed. Statistically significant differences in the prevalence of P. aeruginosa were observed depending on the farm size and snake family. Feeding thawed prey was associated with a higher P. aeruginosa and MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. Moreover, snakes fed home-raised prey had a significantly higher MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence than snakes fed commercially available feed. Less frequent terrarium cleaning was associated with a higher MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. On the other hand, snake reproductive status was not significantly associated with P. aeruginosa or MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. All food, water and bedding samples were negative for P. aeruginosa presence. Discussion The overall P. aeruginosa prevalence found in this study was lower than that found by other authors, but a high proportion of the isolates were MDR. This study highlighted the presence of constitutive (such as age and taxonomic family) and managerial (farm size, cleaning cycle frequency and food type) factors associated with P. aeruginosa and/or MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. Good breeding management and proper antibiotic treatment of P. aeruginosa infections could help reduce the presence of P. aeruginosa and MDR P. aeruginosa in the gut microbiota of snakes and consequently reduce the risk to public health